| Courtesy of www.matttrailer.com |
Over the Memorial Day weekend, my younger step-sister got married in Albuquerque. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and seeing my family was great, as was our cross country road trip.
Going back home for a week was very cool but I was probably most interested in how the altitude would affect my running. Atlanta, my current hometown, has an elevation of approximately 1100ft and pales in comparison to Albuquerque which is nearly five times that. Would that difference really affect my running? I mean I have been training hard (30-50mi/wk) for the Chattanooga Stage Race later this month. Nothing can slow me down...right?
| Courtesy of wwp.greenwichmeantime.com |
Prior to heading out West, I did a bit of research. Many websites, blogs, and research papers mention that running at elevation is more difficult and it should affect your time. Obviously, there is less oxygen higher up which, if you are not used to, will affect your breathing. That all makes plenty of sense but does this hold true for longer distances?
During my trip I went for three different runs; dirt track, road, and sand trail. In all three cases, my pace was either better than or right at my average pace. Perhaps you want to play the rest card? But all 26 miles took place within a four day period. So it was not like I was spacing runs out all that much.
Overall, who really knows what impact the altitude plays in running but I do know that I can drink more at the lower altitude...which is a good thing.
| Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org |
On a side note, in my adventures around town I did manage to see a group of runners (each of who weighed less than my legs) chasing their coach who was riding a bike. I also ran shirtless in the sand but not Mitch Buchannon style, I ran along the mighty Rio Grande rather than on the beach.
See you out there,
TF
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