Re: [at-l] Speaking of altitude.......

[Sloetoe <sloetoe@yahoo.com>]

--- hopefl@juno.com wrote:
> The final word is not in yet but there is a chance I will be working in
> Boulder, CO for a few weeks in October and November. So, here's the
> question: is there a way to prepare for altitude other than spending time
> at the higher altitude?
### Not practically speaking. Some wayyyyyy serious runner types sleep in a
nifty little ["low" oxygen] tent that mimics high altitude air, but the
running community is pretty evenly divided over the low altitude
performance benefits of high altitude training/living.

> Next question. I read once that folks living at high altitudes have a
> higher red blood cell count than normal, whatever normal is. Does a
> higher cell count, if that is true, mean better "efficiency" for
> oxygen/CO2 exchange?
### Think more in terms of a fuel pump forcing more gas mixture through. It
doesn't make your engine more economical or efficient, but increases the
*chances* that the engine will be more *powerful* on demand. Your muscles'
aerobic demand (the "efficiency" part) is still something that takes weeks
(of effort at anaerobic threshold) to affect.

> Last question. If I manage to eat liver.........yuck........can I
> "fortify" my blood with iron and perhaps make more red cells?
### I forget the turnaround time for production of red blood cells, but
when dropping a quart for blood donations, they don't want to see you back
for 56 days or so. (I bet Noakes' Running Lore would have this...)
Anywho, if dietary iron content were to be the limiting factor on your red
blood cell production before/during your visit, then insuring you had an
over-sufficiency of it would at least assure that low iron would NOT be
cause for big breathing rates when you're out there "doing it."

Good Luck!

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