Is it the elevation or am i really this out of shape? (Denver: camper, living)

[res0113]

Hi there! Just moved from Maryland to Parker over the holidays. I'm a casual but routine runner, average 15 -20 miles per week. Slowed down toward the end of the year and am trying to get back into it but having a devil of a time acclimating to the elevation. 3 miles in and i feel like someone has laid a cinder block on my chest! Does anyone know how long it takes to really adjust to the elevation? I've been googling it but all the information is directed toward visitors (either for a race or vacationing). Any friendly advice welcome!

[denverian]

Originally Posted by res0113

Hi there! Just moved from Maryland to Parker over the holidays. I'm a casual but routine runner, average 15 -20 miles per week. Slowed down toward the end of the year and am trying to get back into it but having a devil of a time acclimating to the elevation. 3 miles in and i feel like someone has laid a cinder block on my chest! Does anyone know how long it takes to really adjust to the elevation? I've been googling it but all the information is directed toward visitors (either for a race or vacationing). Any friendly advice welcome!

Probably the elevation. I'm in good shape and was out of breath while running the first couple months I arrived in Denver. Once acclimated, you'll appreciate working out/running at sea level where you have extra energy!

[pikabike]

You might be coming down with a cold or have some stress-related change going on, but the altitude gain takes a lot more time to adapt than the tourism hype says. They say to take it easy for a day or two. That is fine if you are just toddling around like the the average out-of-shape American. Not nearly enough if you do physical activities at a higher level.

When I first visited CO, as a MA resident, I did fine while just walking around Denver and Estes Park. On a ranger-led walk near the top of Trail Ridge Rd. (about 12k feet elevation), I still felt fine, because the group walked so slowwwwwwly and stopped frequently. Then we had a little break at lunch to go explore on our own, individually. I scampered up a hill and some boulders at my normal pace, and BAM, that's when my body said Not So Fast!

Similarly, when I rented a mountain bike and tried to ride at my normal pace, forget it! I sucked wind like I never had before. On another day I somehow managed to hike up Long's Peak, head aching and nauseous and deadlegged most of the way. I have never had to stop and lean against a rock to catch my breath so many, many times. I was used to halving "book time" in New England mountains. For Long's Peak, it took me the full 12 hours round trip "book time", and I had to fight for every bit of it.

Next year I moved to CO. While the worst effects wore off within the first year, it took about two years to really regain the same performance I had had before moving there. Then I began consciously working on improving my ability to hike and bike at higher altitudes. I mean I had a schedule of mountain recreation that started in early spring at 8k ft and steadily increased through the next couple of months to where I could mountain bike up to 14k ft elevation without more than the expected slight lightheadedness.

Ten years after the death march on Long's Peak, I went back and ENJOYED the same hike, feeling strong and sharp. And it took less than 9 hrs that time.

Each person's body reacts differently, but I think it is safe to say you can't expect the same level of performance you had at sea level, only a month after moving.

[randomparent]

It's the altitude. Took about six months for me to stop feeling winded all the time.

[res0113]

Thanks so much for responding. This is all incredibly helpful information! I guess I should stop beating myself up and keep plugging away, mile by mile. Good thing i didn't commit to that spring marathon!

[emm74]

Different people have different reactions. When I used to visit from Boston, I felt horrible pretty much the entire time I was here, and going into the mountains just made it worse.

I'm still pretty sensitive and even after living here for 9 years, I still feel it when I go up to higher elevation, and notice a marked difference even just driving back down to Denver - I'll get back down to a certain elevation, somewhere in the mid 6000s, and it's a like a light switch, and I all of a sudden feel back to normal.

So definitely give yourself some time to adapt, and keep following the tips even for the visitors, like more water, more sun protection (all year round) etc because those will still come in handy for you.

[Robert5]

I live mostly in Boston now, but still spend a week a month in Denver. I really don't notice the difference at the gym or otherwise, in either direction when I travel. Maybe the body retains some residual capacity if you travel between two different elevations on a regular basis, I don't know.

My understanding is that it takes at most a week to make the additional red blood cells to fully adjust to the altitude, but I will let you google that. Maybe you are Iron anemic, as I was for almost a year. It would have helped to know what your baseline was before you moved, but in any event you could have a blood test for RBC/hemoglobin done. Being an active male runner living at 5000 ft. your RBC/hemoglobin should be at or above the high end of the range.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by res0113

Hi there! Just moved from Maryland to Parker over the holidays. I'm a casual but routine runner, average 15 -20 miles per week. Slowed down toward the end of the year and am trying to get back into it but having a devil of a time acclimating to the elevation. 3 miles in and i feel like someone has laid a cinder block on my chest! Does anyone know how long it takes to really adjust to the elevation? I've been googling it but all the information is directed toward visitors (either for a race or vacationing). Any friendly advice welcome!

If you are running 15-20 miles a week, you are far from being out of shape

It's the altitude. You'll get used to it soon. For me, it came and went. I had no issues in Denver, or up until about 8,000 ft, and that's when I started to notice it. We had a place in the mountains at around 9,700 elevation, and the first few times we went up there, I would get winded going up the stairs, but even that eventually went away.

[Gunluvver2]

I grew up in Eastern Colorado where the elevation was 3,700 feet give or take a few. I remember going to the State Wrestling tournament my Senior year which was held in Englewood, Colorado. I believe the elevation in Englewood is around 5,280 feet or so. Even though I was in fantastic shape the elevation difference of 1,500 feet was noticeable by the end of the third period.

[himain]

Elevation all the way