ctxguide Site Admin
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 Posts: 2422
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: |
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Go some place at least 3000 feet in elevation, but preferabley closer to 8000 feet.
Stay there for at least 1 week or preferabley 2-3 weeks while exercising and training.
The resulting boost in stamina and performance after returning to your home elevation will be dramatic for at least 1 week.
This was an enormous benefit that I had experienced myself after working an entire summer as a backpacking guide out west. My base was at 6000 feet and we averaged around 9000 feet with a max elevation of 13,000 feet. After returing to my home (at the time - North carolina), I entered a mountain biking race "The Showdown at Sugar Mountain." To my surprise, I could bike as hard and as fast as I could and didn't even feel the burning in my lungs. It made race output seem almost easy.
Unfortunately, since I had been backpacking for nearly the entire time, my technical riding skills had suffered. The result was a very fast pace that ended in a downhill crash. I had two months to think about what had happened while waiting for an injured knee and broken ribs to heal. I now realize that I should have spent more time honing my technical skills in addition to the elevation training |
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