April 2009
I live at High Altitude - what should I expect racing at sea level? SB - Colorado
Training at high altitude can have a positive impact when you go down to normal altitude, but is not a guarantee. CB trained at High altitude in Silvaplana, Switzerland a training center near St. Moritz at elevation 1,800M (6,000FT) for 3 weeks prior to her gold medal at World Championships in Bled, Yugoslavia. Many athletes continue to use high altitude training as a way to get an extra edge in competition.
Some people experience a gain of about 1-2 seconds per 500 for a 2k race. A common mistake people make is to train at their high altitude pace, and hope for an improvement at sea level. For example: at high altitude you can hit 1:45 splits for a 2k race. So you do your workouts as planned targeting a 1:45, expecting to hit 1:44 or 1:43 at a race at sea level. However, you are unlikely to hit lower splits at sea level if you haven't practiced that pacing. What you need to add into your training is some race pace pieces, at 1:43. Since you can't maintain that at high altitude, these will be shorter pacing pieces, such as 1000's or 750's with some rest between.
Some people experience a gain of about 1-2 seconds per 500 for a 2k race. A common mistake people make is to train at their high altitude pace, and hope for an improvement at sea level. For example: at high altitude you can hit 1:45 splits for a 2k race. So you do your workouts as planned targeting a 1:45, expecting to hit 1:44 or 1:43 at a race at sea level. However, you are unlikely to hit lower splits at sea level if you haven't practiced that pacing. What you need to add into your training is some race pace pieces, at 1:43. Since you can't maintain that at high altitude, these will be shorter pacing pieces, such as 1000's or 750's with some rest between.