this flatlander is heading back to the pikes peak marathon this august following a good-enough experience last year (age group win, after they remove the top 10 and top 5 masters -- and mostly due to a relatively fast descent) and no overt problems (i.e., illness) from the altitude. last year i borrowed a friend's hypoxia machine for five weeks leading into the race, but this year it would cost me a bundle to again have access to such equipment.
in the hope of doing better during the ascent portion (6300' -> 14,115'), i'll be concentrating on things like long hill reps, but i'm also wondering if anyone has suggestions for improving oxygen uptake short of taking several weeks out of my life to go train in, say, leadville (which sounds wonderful but impractical).
one goofy thought i had was practicing breathing through my nose while running, since it sure feels as though it puts me into some degree of oxygen debt. might this help improve my oxygen utilization even though it surely does nothing for my red blood count?