How high?
It will definately make a difference, I can't exactly say how much. The only thing I would say is maybe be careful for the first few weeks. Build back up to the distances you were doing over a couple of weeks. I spent a summer at about 5,000ft and it took me about a month to fully acclimatise to it in my training.
Wish I could make it to Lake Tahoe every other weekend. Have fun.
Brian
I've heard that ideally you would train at lower altitude and sleep at higher. Sleeping means time spent there, and your body adjusts over time by having more red blood cells to carry the oxygen around, making your body more efficient at lower as well. I'm not sure on the training lower part -- I think it's so that your body gets the hard workout and can go harder since there is more oxygen for it to use.
So based on that, I would say that workouts at higher elevation aren't really needed.
Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV
Kyillee is exactly right. Going to 6,200 will make your workouts worse, not better.
5,000 is high enough to be a signficant benefit; this altitude seems to be the cutoff. 5,000 produces 90% of the maximal benefit, but 4,500 seems to do nothing. Good choice of where to live! You will be faster racing at any alitude.
You will swim, run and climb slightly slower on the bike. You may ride faster on flat ground because wind resistance is less. If you train by HR, don't change the numbers you use. If you train by wattage and running speed, retest and use the (lower) numbers for altitude. Avoid any high intensity workouts for several weeks after going to altitude.
Look for my article about using altitude in the November Inside Triathlon. Good luck, Ken
Ken Mierke Ken@Fitness-Concepts.com
Fitness Concepts Fitness-Concepts.com
Author, The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training
www.EvolutionRunning.com
senor todd: as luck would have it, I grew up in that area. 5000 feet is going to be your average lowest elevation (you can head over to Smith and Walker valleys for 4500ft), everywhere else you will be gaining elevation, there are some AWESOME rides out there. I miss that area!
check out Mr Toad's wildride and any of the Tahoe Basin rim trails. Luther pass is out there along with the course for the Death Ride. i grew up riding that area and I can say it helped me and helped my parents when they did Kona.
have fun training out there!


Hi, i have a question. We just moved to the Carson Valley and the altitude is almost 5000 feet. Yesterday I went for a bike and then an easy run and I could feel the altitude. What I want to know is if 5000 feet enough to make a difference in an olympic race around 4500 feet lower? Should I change my training because of the altitude? I know some people train higher but for someone who has lived next the the ocean their whole life it is pretty high. Also if I did a workout every other weekend up at Lake Tahoe (6,200ft) would that also make a difference?
Thanks, Todd