Help me prepare for altitude training in 5 days

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take deep breaths you'll need all the o2 you could get.

My question is legit. I guess I should not call it altitude "training" since I will only be there for 8 days, but I will be altitude "running" by this Saturday.

I have five days to condition my body to combat the fatigue I expect to experience. Should I do the best I can to increase my strength and endurance in five days (which could also leave my legs feeling heavy on day one), or do I not change anything and go in with fresh legs and just deal with it?

I would make sure that you run during your 5 days of preparation but dont kill yourself. Run everyday while your there.

Iron, water, Gatorade.

Hydrate!

Just run like you have been. LSD. Your pace will adjust to your breathing. When you start feeling cocky after a few days and try to push the pace, you will get smacked down.

Hydrate!

I have gone from east coast to Leadville(10,150') and just ran like it was a long Sunday run, got into a comfortable rhythm maintained it. I did wear a watch but had no mile markers so just estimated the distance.

HYDRATE!

Just run normally for these next five days--not harder or easier.

When you get to altitude, hydrate (as previously recommended!), but don't go overboard. Best bet is taking little sips/drinks frequently through the day. And as usual, take your waking pulse for a full minute each day; if the pulse is up on a given day, be ready to back off.

Re the above advice about pulse: The height of the "altitude" in Colorado varies greatly. If you're ~1mi up (e.g. Denver), you may not notice it much; if you're at ~1.5mi+, you *will* notice it (and your pulse will, too).

It's anathema on this board, but taking walking breaks is a good way to keep your volume up (at high altitude) without overexerting. I'd suggest 5-10mins of running alternated with maybe 1min of moderate walking. Don't "earn" the walk--the idea is to use the walks to postpone fatigue, not to repay an oxygen debt. (You know, kind of a Zen thing: "Take the walk *before* you need to, Grasshopper.") This way, you're more likely to maintain a normal running style/pace; if you eschew breaks, your run will likely turn into a super-slow slog'n'jog that gives little training benefit.

I don't think you can prepare for it in 5 days with training and I don't think it will be as big of a deal as you think. Although I live in CO and have for the past 7 years... But one poster got it right...hydrate. Altitude sickness is not fun--headaches, nausea, fatigue... Drinking a lot of water and other liquids will really help with that.

Where I am going is roughly 5500 feet so just over a mile up.

So people are saying that there's really nothing I can do to prepare for altitude. I thought it made sense to force myself into oxygen debt with some quick track workouts since all I usually do is slow distance and never elevate my heart rate beyond a certain comfort zone (not lately).

I feel like I woouldn't have any trouble at 9,000 feet. And I've never been higher than 1,500. I've lived my whole life at 300 feet altitude.