Getting High

This weekends Leadville Trail 100 Mile Ultramarathon is known first and foremost because of it's elevation. Of all the races in the Grand Slam of ultra-running, this one reaches the highest elevation of 12,620' above sea level. This spot is known as Hope Pass, and runners don't just go there once.. they go there twice.

Leadville starts in the old mining town of Leadville, CO at an elevation of 10,152' and it's lowest point is 9,200'. It sounds pretty high for a guy from the east coast who lives at 197' above sea level. Truth is, it is pretty damn high even if you live in the Front Range around Denver or Boulder, CO. My training brought me to the local 4000-6000' peaks of New Hampshire's rugged White Mountains. I spent a few days running long runs up and down the various peaks of the range. It's all I have time for, all that I can afford. And while the twitter feeds come streaming in from my fellow runners all ready in town trying to acclimate... it's getting harder to ignore the questions people ask me about my worry for the altitude.

Truth be told, I'm not at all worried about the altitude. Mainly because it is what it is. I don't have a full time job, hell these days I don't even have a part time job after quitting Eastern Mountain Sports. I'm puttering along in this grand slam of ultra-running like gramma at Walmart sitting in one of the store electric carts, trying to get something off the top shelf. At least this is how I feel. In 2006 I flew to Wyoming and ran the Grand Teton 100, a race that runs mostly at 8000+ feet elevation with 10,000' being the highest mark. I know what the elevation did to me there... what's another 2000'? (Mark these words now folks..)

So what is the big deal about elevation anyway?

The Facts:
Temperature drops 3 degrees per every 1000' of elevation gain.
As the air gets colder it gets drier, there is less oxygen and more UV light which causes the following:
Dehydration, Hypothermia, Severe Sunburn, Acute Mountain Sickness, High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) or wet lungs, High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) or wet Brain.

Now.. Oxygen... essential for life. Gets to your bodies cells via Lungs --> Alveoli --> Hemoglobin (Blood). Hemoglobin molecules are in red blood cells. When people talking about "blood doping," this refers to some maniacal a-holes pumping more red blood cells into their body to help carry more oxygen to the cells... = better performance especially at elevation.

How does altitude affect O2 concentration?
The surrounding atmosphere is about 20% oxygen, 79% nitrogen and 1% everything else.
Partial pressure of O2 at sea level is 20% of 760mgHg = 152mmHg. (millimeters of mercury)
Oxygen saturation at sea level should be close to 100% saturation of O2 in the blood.
As you increase elevation... partial pressure does not change... but available oxygen does.

Example:
0' =             1 atm   760mmHg  pO2=152  ApO2 = 100 sea level
9000' =    3/4 atm   570mmHg  pO2=114  ApO2 = 100
18,000' = 1/2 atm   380mmHg  pO2=76    ApO2 = 75 Mt. Saint Elias

OK...lets put this together in english. You get higher... the pressure stays the same but the amount of oxygen in the air available for human consumption decreases. To top it all off... it's colder.. and drier up there because therese less water in the air.

Ok... here are what I have to look out for while at Leadville:
Hyperventilation
Shortness of breathe during exercise
Sleeping in short naps with frequent awakening
Increase urination
Thirst mechanism gone haywire.

Compared to what normally occurs during a 100 mile race... well... it sounds like a pretty normal 100 mile race actually.

Treatment for Acute Mountain Sickness: (from the SOLO Wilderness First Responder Booklet)
"If symptoms do not improve in 12-24 hours... descend." Ok.. so by the time I notice a problem... and with the time I need to see if there is any improvement... I'll be heading home.
"Descending 500-1000 meters is sufficient for improvement" Not sure how many feet this is but I think from Hope Pass to Leadville falls within this range and then from Leadville to Denver..

HAPE and HACE are both treated much the same ways. Give oxygen.. go down mountain.. the end.

OK... so now... I come to the fun part.. for me. Look all you oxygen-tards out there.  There are a few trains of thought on all of this out there in the running world. One is, you show up a week or two before a race and acclimate to the thinner air. Staying at altitude allows your body to adjust by creating more red blood cells given the elevation and need to transfer more oxygen to cells via amount of red blood cells available.

Two... you show up before the race and just run the damn thing. You don't give your body a chance to realize it's even at elevation. You blow short fierce breaths through tight lips which helps aid in opening your alveoli in your lungs which assists in oxygen saturation.

I've heard it all in the weeks leading up to this race. Am I going out early? How am I training for the altitude? Look.. I'm not climbing Everest here. I've run at 10,000' before with no acclimatization and without any issues aside from being sleepy. All of the symptoms of these illnesses are common symptoms I'm all ready going to experience during this 100 mile race.. even if the race was at sea level. Yes.. the effects might be elevated.. so be it. I'll buckle down, get that stubborn shit going that I'm know for and cross the finish line in 29:59:59 if I have to.

I am not worried about the elevation. I've been taking iron pills for the last week and will continue through this week to aid in blood cell production. I'll show up in Denver on Thursday. Sleep in Leadville Thursday night into Friday... Start running at 4am Saturday morning.. and by the time any issues arise during this race... I'll be done, heading back to Denver and boarding the plane home for Boston.

NO EXCUSES. JUST RUNNING. LEFT RIGHT REPEAT.

LETS GO!