This is characterized by headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, and dehydration. When the body transitions to altitude, it is not uncommon to experience what is known as “altitude sickness”.
While training at altitude can have substantial benefits for runners, there are also cautions that should not be ignored. So, not only does your body become more efficient at transporting oxygen, but your heart actually becomes stronger as well. This causes blood to become more viscous, which in turn makes the heart work harder to pump blood through the body. This means you should not be alarmed when your heart rate monitor reads higher than normal.Īs your body begins to adjust to the lower oxygen environment, it increases the number of red blood cells available to allow a more efficient transfer of oxygen through the bloodstream. Initially, when moving to a higher altitude, the body responds to the decreased oxygen available by increasing your breathing rate and heart rate. The benefits of altitude training occur when the body "drops back down" to sea level, which is a higher oxygen environment. Generally, we refer to training at altitude when the elevation is above 6,000 ft., this is when we begin to notice physiological changes in our training. in elevation, the body expends on average 25% more energy to accomplish the same task then at sea level. When traveling to high altitudes, people refer to the air as being “thinner.” This simply means the air pressure is lower, and therefore, less oxygen is available to be used by the body. This makes it an ideal place for runners. Flagstaff offers the ability to live and train at a higher altitude with the benefit of lower elevations close by in Sedona or Camp Verde.
#Flagstaff altitude professional#
Professional runners worldwide come to Flagstaff to train, whether that be moving, like myself, or for a short altitude camp in the off-season.
Located at an elevation of 7,000 ft., filled with gorgeous landscapes, and soft surfaces to run on, Flagstaff has become one of the distance running meccas of the United States. How would this affect my training? How long would it take my body to adjust? These were questions I found myself asking and although I knew eventually the altitude would benefit my training, I was unsure what the adjustment period would look like.įlagstaff, Arizona, my new home. Not only was I packing up and leaving my childhood home to move across the country, but I was moving to an area that was 7,000 ft. After spending the majority of my life around sea level, in March I found myself facing a new challenge.
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