Here are five tips to help you prepare for a high-altituderace and have the best experience possible.
- Do Hill Training.
- Run by Effort, Not Pace.
- Get to Your Race Destination Early.
- Or, Arrive Right Before the Race.
- Drink Plenty of Fluids.
After the human body reaches around 2,100 m (7,000 feet)above sea level, the saturation of oxyhemoglobin begins to decreaserapidly. However, the human body has both short-term and long-termadaptations to altitude that allow it to partiallycompensate for the lack of oxygen.
With time, the increase in BMR lowers, but does notreturn completely to baseline, so metabolism is slightly elevatedat higher altitudes. There is not a huge difference in theamount of calories utilized at a higher altitudeduring exercise even though it may feel as though a person isworking much harder.
They found that exposure to the very highaltitude of 5,400 meters was responsible for an increase of 14mmHg in systolic blood pressure and 10 mmHg in diastolicblood pressure, averaged over a 24-hour period ofmonitoring. This leads to the heart working harder and theperipheral blood vessels constricting," headded.
The reduced oxygen experienced at higher elevations cancause breathing troubles at night, which may disrupt sleep.The result is that people visiting high altitudes canexperience less sleep overall, trouble falling asleep, andfrequent awakenings throughout the night, leading to next-dayfatigue.
Altitude & the Heart. For most peoplethis causes few problems, but for those with lung or heartdisease, altitude can have a negative effect on health.Acute exposure to high altitude can affect thecardiovascular system by decreasing oxygen in the blood(acute hypoxia).
What's high altitude? It's considered tobe between 5,000 and 11,500 feet (1,524 and 3,505.2 m) above sealevel. Very high altitude is any altitude between11,500 and 18,000 feet (5,486.4 m), and extreme altitude isanything above 18,000 feet.
Steps
- Begin training well in advance.
- Train for your hike at higher altitudes.
- Use biking as a way to improve your cardiovascularendurance.
- Go swimming to improve cardiovascular endurance.
- Run to improve cardiovascular fitness.
- Climb stairs to strengthen leg muscles and lungs.
- Train with your pack on.
The reason it's actually colder is because, asyou go up in the atmosphere, the Earth's atmosphere feels lesspressure the higher up you go. So as the gas in theatmosphere rises it feels less pressure, which makes it expand.When the gas expands it does some work.
Top 7 Tips for Altitude Sickness Prevention
- Climb slowly. Your body needs about two to three days of slowlygoing higher in order to adjust to the changes.
- Eat carbs. It's not often we're told to eat extracarbohydrates.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Drink water.
- Take it easy.
- Sleep lower.
- Medication.
At higher elevations, the number of oxygenmolecules per breath decreases. Rising to a high altitudewithout acclimatizing can cause fluid to build up in the lungs andbrain. Symptoms of altitude sickness include weakness,sleepiness, and lack of appetite.
At 12,000 feet, every breath you take brings inonly 2/3 the amount of oxygen that you would suck inat sea level. Another important thing to keep in mind is that airtemperature drops about 3.5 degrees for every 1000 feet ofelevation gain.
The IAM recommends drinking an extra 1-1.5 litersof water daily at high-altitude, for a totalof 3-4 liters. Ideally, those 3-4 liters would contain 2-300 gramsof carbohydrates. Supplementing electrolytes is important for anyhigh-output activity, but it becomes crucial at higheraltitudes as well.
Resting heart rate tends to increase ataltitude. The increase is significantly larger athigher altitudes, however it should decrease as youacclimatize. Resting heart rate is, therefore, a goodindicator of your body's adaptation toaltitude.
The ultimate packing list for your high-altitudetrek
- Clothing. 2 pairs of trekking trousers (zip-offspreferred)
- Shoes. Hiking boots (it is ESSENTIAL that your boots are brokenin well before your trek)
- Medication. Diamox tablets (for altitude sickness)
- Gear.
- Toiletries.
- Other things.
They do this because the air is "thinner" at highaltitudes meaning there are fewer oxygen molecules pervolume of air. Every breath taken at a high altitudedelivers less of what working muscles require. By trainingat high altitudes, athletes aim to allow their bodies toproduce extra red blood cells.
As a result you lose more water through urine.The case is not same with defecation, you defecate less at highaltitudes due to many factors even though you fart more.The atmospheric pressure decreases as you travel up thealtitude.
Your rapid descent in lower altitude triggers achain of reactions from your body which causes several symptoms ofsickness in your body. In an earlier stage of thissickness, you will feel dizziness, mild headaches andnausea. As you further descend, you willexperience breathlessness, chest tightness, andfatigue.
It's also a healthy state, with lower rates ofheart disease, diabetes and some cancers. A study published thisyear in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Healthfound that living at higher altitude may have a protectiveeffect on ischaemic heart disease.
Advice on Coping with High Altitudes.
- Go up slowly.
- Plan light activities at the beginning, again, to give yourbody a chance to adjust.
- Humidify your hotel room.
- Eat light meals.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Get a can of oxygen (usually available in tourist places thatare at a high altitude) to give yourself a shot if necessary.
The more distance you put between yourself and the bulkof the mass of the earth, the less gravitational force it exerts onyour body. By one estimate, a person who weighs 150 pounds on thesurface of the earth would weigh approximately 149.92 poundsat 10,000 feet above sea level.
It takes your body about three to six weeks to fullyacclimate to high altitude.
Legal requirements for oxygen aren't applicableuntil you fly above 12,500 feet, but in some casesyou may want to start inhaling supplemental oxygen aslow as 5,000 feet. As you climb higher into the atmosphere,the partial pressure of oxygen decreases.
Actions to reduce headaches at highaltitude include good hydration and gradual ascent with daysof rest and sleep at lower altitude whenever possible. TakeASA, furosemide or acetazolamide several days before going to highaltitude to avoid headache.
