how much more will running 70 miles a week
at 7,000+ ft altitude benefit me as a runner/ miler
in comparison to 70 miles per week at sea level?
how much more will running 70 miles a week
at 7,000+ ft altitude benefit me as a runner/ miler
in comparison to 70 miles per week at sea level?
7000+ feet isn't referring to a specific area such as Flagstaff is it?
not neccessarily but what would the benefits be running 70 mpw in flag?
Less than you think. LIVING at altitude is the benefit, not necessarily training there.
Dang
I live at 7000ft. I think it's a benefit for me, but I wish I could train at sea level. I hate having to run slower at 7000 ft, and I think the altitude slows recovery. But living here definitely helps me to be faster at sea level. How much though depends on genetic variables.
Depends on where your 7000+ feet is. Flagstaff climate is comfortable compared to other similar altitudes in CO and WY. I think it's easier on the body, mentally and physically, in Flagstaff so there is probably a lesser change in MPW to sea level. Average wind speeds are not as high and more precip so not as dry either.
In contrast - I live @ 7200 ft high cold, semi-arid desert in Wyoming. Wind and dryness is a problem up here. The former makes it a challenge to stay hydrated. Humidity levels can drop to ~15% or lower.
Winds often go 20-30mph in the afternoons with higher gusts. There is also a lack of a strong running community like Flagstaff - so mentally it's very hard on the solo runner.
In this case I would say 70 mpw is more like 80-85 just because it's just a tough place to train or even live for that matter.
I lived in Mammoth Lakes, CA for 4 months. Closer to 8000ft. What I found and what I read:
There is a performance loss of 5-10%. Have a look at the NCAA altitude conversions to get a specific on a place. You can backward calculate the % adjustment. Probably this translates to an equivalent drop in mileage from sea level. You will run slower, and I tend to run by time, not miles. So a 60min run was still a 60min run, but probably up to 0.5mi shorter than at sea level. I didn't get too hung up on that. The physiological benefit is still there. You will need more recovery between hard workouts and they will be slower.
Mentally, running is more of a struggle because even easy paces are somewhat taxing. Personally I thought it was a good mental prep for tough race days.
As stated above, the benefit is really living there and training. Your body tries to adapt by building more capillaries and RBCs. The RBCs go away pretty quickly when you go to sea level (within 6 weeks). The capillaries last for years if you continue training.
It improved my running very slightly, but certainly did not make me a different runner.