I am now in Boulder, training in preparation for the Pan American Championships in Oklahoma City on May 16th.
The transition to altitude is a crazy thing. Here I thought I was in excellent shape and only come to find out that I can't breathe at all! Wearing my Garmin 405 yesterday on my easy run, I thought it would be amusing to track my heart rate. At sea level I got it down to 132 on my easy runs, but now, it was very content to sit at about 178. By the end of the run I was dizzy and ready to lie down.
Last year, when I came to altitude, swimming was the most difficult sport for me to get used to. In fact I don't think I ever really got used to it. This year, though, swimming seems to be the easiest sport for me to adjust to. Although, I haven't tried to go hard at anything yet, so maybe that will change things.
Today, I am off on an easy long ride. I plan to take my Edge 705 and my HR monitor to make sure that I keep my effort as easy as possible. If you go too hard too soon at altitude you can end up burying yourself in a ditch that you can't climb out of. With a big race coming up it is really important to acclimate quickly and then get in a short block of really hard training to set myself up to race fast.
2009 Promo Photo
Courtesy of Stephen Zepeda
About Me
Photo courtesy of Stephen Zepeda
Mazatlan ITU Pan American Cup 2009
1st Place
New Plymouth swim start
2 comments:
Hey! i think my brother is going to do that race. our home state! :) best of luck!!!!
Hi Jenna, I don't get to race the race because I am not American, I am German and am not allowed to start at the Pan American Champs...you know what that means that swimming feels easiest now? You got more efficient. The sport that you feel the most out of breath is the one where you are least efficient. Have fun in Boulder. maybe next time come to Flagstaff, AZ, at 7000 ft so that I have someone to train with:-) Good luck at the race!!!
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