I've been in Vail, CO since Sunday afternoon for a conference. I think the elevation here is ~ 7200 ft above sea level. Sunday I ran ~ 9 miles with 24 minutes at a strong aerobic effort (an effort that would produce ~ 6:15-20 at sea level - here I was probably running maybe 7 min pace? Mind you it waa uphill too).
Monday I ran 6 EZ + 5 EZ, then Tuesday I ran 6 EZ + ~ 9 with 4 x 4 minutes at a strong effort w/2 min jog. I was trying to approximate 4 x 1200 @ ~ 5k to 10k effort. Damned if I know what pace I was running (it was all uphill again for the work part), but it felt like the effort was about right.
I have to say being at this altitude makes me feel a little off - my heart pounds too loudly in my chest, and even climbing a flight of stairs makes me winded. But I actually feel better when I'm running.
Next race will be a low key 1500 next week, to be followed by short track races every week or two through the summer. Maybe this "altitude training" will make me that much faster, eh?