O2 trainers - thoughts?

[Jeff Boehlert]

Hi :

I am diligently working on my treadmill training for the PPA - I however am a flatlander and will not arrive but a couple/few days prior to race day. So what if anything to do to prepare for altitude running?
So I am curious whether I should look at something like this a preparatory training for altitude?
http://www.o2trainer.com/

"Engineered to increase inspiratory (inhalation) muscle endurance, the O2 Trainer is lightweight and designed to be used while performing nearly any exercise or activity. Whether you're running, weight lifting, or rock climbing, the O2 Trainer will train your lungs and body to perform at high levels with less oxygen, and teach them to maximize every breath."

Thanx
Jeff

[John Garner]

Short of a low pressure oxygen tent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_tent) or similar system from a company like Hypoxico, it may not really help that much since while it makes it harder to get a full breath, it does not change the pressure of the air in your lungs.

As a flatlander, the best you can do is spend a lot of time on a treadmill at 13-15%. Another thing you can do is spend a lot of time walking on that treadmill, not running. To simulate the hell that is 12,000+ ft, practice taking a breath with each stride; right foot down, breath in, left foot down, breath out. It will suck, you will sound like an old steam locomotive, and if you didn't blow it by going too fast to get to the trail down in manitou, you will walk right past a ton of folks. Even as a local who has access to the peak, shifting my training focus helped me cut almost 20 minutes off of my PR last year (from 3:36 to 3:18).

Edit: http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Comparison_of_Altitude_Training_Systems has a nice list comparing the various options on the market. They all have one thing in common: They are not cheap.

[Jeff Boehlert]

thanx John - good advice

treadmill is my friend
my ipod - profile reminder of the challenge
yes focusing on my pace and incline training now - 18 min miles


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205673335646398&l=40c0a52738

[hillclimber]

If you can't get to altitude for training, the next best thing (in addition to treadmill, hill work and strength training) is heat and humidity.  After training through the summer in the midwest I am very happy to trade some humidity for cool crisp thin mountain air!

[Jeff Boehlert]

thanx hillclimber....yes I will get plenty of heat/humidity here in the summer - North Carolina - so will plan my outside routines as well to take advantage  of the weather....

[Seth Jayson]

Restricting airflow isn't the same as restricting oxygen uptake, unfortunately. I see people running around my neighborhood with those silly masks, huffing and puffing, and I feel very sorry for them, as they've been duped.

Moreover, the research is all over the place on whether or not simulated altitude at normal pressures (such as that provided by a tent and a generator, which just strips out oxygen and replaces it with more nitrogen) helps with work capacity at real altitude. In my experience (I've got a generator/tent, and I'm sleeping in it now at about PP "altitude,") it doesn't help much with work capacity. It does, however, appear to help with acclimatization as it regards altitude sickness symptoms. Research seems to confirm this as well. I recently traveled to 12,000 ft and spent hours there without a bit of headache or other issue, and I live at sea level, but use the tent.

Whether or not this benefit is worth the cost is a good question. Any number of race day issues can more than overcome any advantage this might offer.

[Altitudemask]

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