So I'll be moving to Los Alamos, NM in a month, just for the summer, doing some work over there... and I just read that it is at 7500 feet above sea level.
I was wondering what to watch out for while running and lifting. will it basicall be that while running, I will expend the same effort, and be just as tired as i am at sea level, but will have a slower time at a mile above?

I'm not completly sure but from what I understand, the higher the altitude the less oxygen there is in the air. So if you are running 8 miles an hour you would be breathing harder and hurting more because your body has to work harder to get the same amount of oxygen to your muscles as it would at sea level. Thats why athletes train at high altitude these days because their bodies adapt to the smaller abundance of oxygen and they become more efficient at utilising it. Therefore when they get back to sea level they can perform better because they are more efficient and dont have to work as hard to get the required amount of oxygen.

Marcus :tucool:

you are correct by saying that there is less O2 up there.. I just thought it would be a hindrance to training (since i have to be able to perform at sea level when i get back), maybe making it very easy to overtrain..... but if its the better way to do things, then great, i lucked out.

Ease into your workout routine over a week or two. The partial pressure of oxygen is lower at higher altitudes. This can result in pulmonary edema (also known as mountain sickness) if you are not careful. If you want to know the physiology behind this, let me know :)

Yeah it would be easy to overtain so like Sandman said ease into it. However once you get used to it you will have excellent Cardiovascular Fitness. When you get back to sea level you will have an edge over everybody else (only for a little while though).

Marcus

Another interesting fact:
When you go to high elevation, your respiratory rate will increase to compensate for the decreased oxygen. After about a day, your body will adapt to these changes, and your respiratory rate should return to normal (you develop a hypoxic drive to breathe). Now, when you return to sea level, you lose this hypoxic state and your respirations return to normal...until your CO2 levels begin to climb (specifically in your Cerebrospinal fluid). Now, you are hyperventilating again, until your body once again adjusts to the oxygen at sea level.

Sorry, sometimes I get carried away
Basically, you will be breathing faster for the first couple days when you get to your summer destination, and you will be breathing faster for the first couple days when you return home.

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/altitude.html

http://www.medicdirectsport.com/athletictraining/default.asp?step=4&pid=439

http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/hat.HTM :db:

ah dont worry about using big words, im going to los alamos i can handle them

thanks for all the information though, it will come in handy, and ill be sure to find a 5k race within the first few days of my being back at sea level ;-)

Just enjoy the extra pint of blood your body will maintain at the higher altitude. :nod:

fourteener

I moved from sea level to 7500' and for the first week I would have to catch my breath after walking up a few flights of stairs.

It took me a few weeks before I started to feel like I was getting use to it and probably about 6 weeks before I felt everything was back to normal.

Yo bro I live in Albuquerque NM (about 6k elevation) You going to intern at Los Alamos?

yep

doing some homeland security, should be a good summer, i've never been west of new orleans (im from upstate NY)

Make sure you drink more water when you are there. High altitude and low humidity will dehydrate you pretty quickly.