| Jimmy Newtron |
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I will be going to Estes Park this summer in Colorado to work and train for xc at the YMCA of the Rockies. What is a good way to go about training in altitude for the first time without getting "mountain sick" but still running relatively high mileage. |
| hippy dippy do dippy |
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Stay hydrated. Your sweat evaporates rather quickly up there. If you have transportation, try to run up and down Devil's Gulch Road. I've created a map (www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=479053) that starts at the top and goes down four miles. We park off the side of the road at the end of this route and run up and down for tough 8 miler. |
| tennesseematt |
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As pointed out by the earlier poster, water... You may also find that it take longer to recover from your long runs and any tempos you do. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to adjust to the altitude and simply be willing to run embarrassingly slow at the beginning of the summer. From the Y you can get to some good areas in the park to run if you have a pass. My suggestion would be to come down to Lyons or Fort Collins for long runs at first. It should be a good time. Enjoy your time in the Rockies. |
| MountainManwithWiryBeard |
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The Longs Peak trail is a nice workout-if you go only to the boulderfield it's about 4.5 miles one way, with close to 3K vertical-and the trail is runnable, though crowded on the weekends. Not a bad trip in an evening after work. Beyond the boulderfield and keyhole, it's tough to run-as the footing is not good-though hiking at 12,500-14,000 elevation will give you all the aerobic you need. Another nice trail is the "Wild Basin" area a little further south. Not quite the climb, but less crowded. Watch out for thunderstorms in the mid afternoon, particularly as you move into July and August. As I recall, the trailhead is 8 or 10 miles from Estes Park. I second the rec. about driving to Lyons or Fort Collins to get some speed in-Loveland is another town nearby. A lot of the hotshots who train in Boulder sleep in Nederland or Eldora, at 10,000 feet, but do their faster runs at 5000 feet in Boulder. Don't underestimate the power of climbing 14ers for aerobic base. Even just hiking, they will make you tough like nothing else. |