Sea level adjustment?

I've heard that you need a week or two to adjust to sea level. When returning from altitude, I generally don't run my best for a while, but flying probably has a role in that as well.

A week or two?

wow..that's a lot.

Thanks..anyone else would like to share from his/her experience?

My coach always recommended doing the race in the 2-4 day window after arriving at sea level. I couldnt give you a scientific reason.

I think you would lose some of your altitude benefit if you were there 2 weeks prior.

I don't feel too hot until 2/3 days after coming down from altitude - 7000 ft - 0 ft.

So would you say a week is an optimal period?

more than that is too much?

Try to get jtupper to chime in on the topic - I believe he has studied it. The Sea level adjustment thread title is confusing/misleading. Maybe repost it with something like "Altitude trained - racing at sea level - what is best approach?"

Thank you Balmer.

I'll give jtupper time to response (or anyone else who might know) and if needed - repost.

I'd say the biggest thing is being prepared for the heat and humidity at sea-level. You should be training in layers NOW if you plan to race at sea-level in the next month. Also up your hydration (~water, gatorade, other drinks) when you start training in layers. Hydrate very well when you travel to the sea-level race. I carry two water bottles (including one w/ Gatorade powder mix) that I fill with water after going through security at the airport. Also, according to the book Altitude Training and Athletic Performance, it says you lose the ventilatory gains of high altitude training(~enhances oxygen delivery to the muscles) within a few days of going to sea-level. Even when you go back to high altitude, you may find that your breathing is initially more labored (due to the rapid loss at sea-level). Overall though, there is probably a lot of individual variation and you have to test it out for yourself.

The best time to race after coming down from altitude is usually around 8-12 days after coming down.

Heat should not be an issue as we are talking about the end of December.

Guess I'm more confused now..some say I need 8-12 days and some say 2-3...

Live High, train high coaches suggest that it takes 2-3 weeks for the altitude training to be effective.

Live high, Train low and Live low, Train low are the most effective.

Mathias wrote:

Heat should not be an issue as we are talking about the end of December.

Guess I'm more confused now..some say I need 8-12 days and some say 2-3...

The reason people say to go down earlier (~1-2 weeks before) is to acclimatize to the heat/humidity at sea level. If you're training in layers at high altitude, this really isn't necessary, no matter what the season. If you're racing somewhere much warm during the winter, wear as many layers as you need to to get a sweat going. So you shouldn't have a problem going to a Dec. race 2-3 days before (hydrate well while traveling), plus you'll retain the ventilatory benefits.

Everybody is different with this so there is no substitute for actually trying out the main scenarios and seeing which works best for you i.e. race after 2-3 days and race after 2 weeks or so and also a month. Have you ever raced at sea level before after training at altitude ?

Remember red blood cells have a life of about 120 days so to suggest that the altitude benefits start to disappear after a few days just isn't true.

My personal experience from many altitude trips is that racing after 2-3 days is not great for me. How much of that is down to fatigue from training/travel as opposed to the change in altitude I dont know and without doing a marathon taper at altitude I dont have a control to compare with ! That said the majority of european runners I discuss with have a similar experience when racing straight away.

I would suggest that the least risk option is to spend at least 10 days at sea level and preferably 2 weeks. The vast majority will race better in this time frame and you also have time to adjust to the relatively higher humidity for your marathon (I'm going down 16 days before my next marathon).

If you have no choice but to race after 2-3 days then the poster who suggested extra layers to get some heat acclimatisation is spot on. You can even wear a wet base layer to build some humidity :-)

Adrian

There was an article several years ago in New Studies in Athletics from a Russian coach/scientist who had altitude trained athletes. He had a graph for middle distance runners showing periods of good performance and bad performance following altitude blocks. It was an accumulation of many athletes and many trips up and down; so there certainly are individuals who would be "off" from the sine wave (it sorta looked like that).

Now the difference here is that these were middle distance runners where leg speed is a huge issue so some time at sea level helps to regain that leg speed and intensity.

For a marathon, it might not be as critical leaving aside the heat/humidity issue (which you can create artificially).

Then there are practical reasons. If the ideal was 2 weeks, could you afford to do that? I see no reason that a week or two would hurt you.

That's the first time I'll ever raced at sea level after training/living at altitude.

I guess what I'll do is the following – a sea level half marathon here in the state 3-4 weeks before the marathon (Dallas/Las Vegas). For that I’ll probably have no more than 1-2 days to acclimate to sea level.

For the actual marathon I’ll spend 10-14 days at sea level.

i have never had a problem with going to s.l. to race - with the exception of spring / summer races, where it is hot/warm/humid. sometimes people will go too early, and while trying to taper - feel "so good" that they run faster while at s.l. than they should ... and sometimes sabotage themselves.

showing up 2 - 3 days prior should be fine.

You'll probably be fine regardless of how long you stay at sea level before your race. Red blood cells live around 90 days (yes?), so you should be fine. I would give yourself at least 2 days though for your body to adjust to the new atmosphere. I've heard there are changes in your body such as loss of blood plasma when moving between altitudes, so you probably want a few days to adjust.