Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Coming Soon! Training in the Altitude AND the snow!







Well folks I've been doing a ton of traveling as of late and I'm heading back to Colorado again.  This time I hear there is some snow on the ground.  I plan on doing some serious conditioning work in the mountains at an altitude of 8,500ft! Hopefully in the snow providing it doesn't melt.  Doing work in the snow is much like doing it in sand or in a pit of small rocks, its MUCH tougher.  Putting the altitude in to the mix will make it that much harder!  I'm flying out tomorrow so stay tuned later this week for some intense training from the mountains of Colorado!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Training in higher altitudes






I live in a place where the elevation is only 150ft Above sea level.  I have trained in the low mountains of Iraq, with minimal effect on me as far as oxygen intake to my body.  I have trained in Afghanistan at an altitude of 6,000ft.  Where I noticed a real difference in my lungs when I would get on the elliptical and do some cardio my lungs and nose were on fire from the thin air.  Then I make it to Colorado Springs I heard of this place called the incline and was told you must train to even attempt to climb it for training.  People called me crazy when I told them I was just going to go climb it and maybe even run it.  I told them "I am already trained".  Well I went and climbed it one afternoon a couple weeks ago and I will say it was intimidating.  When I started climbing only about a quarter of the way up i was gassed in a bad way!  I was only climbing 1 1/2 miles up but the altitude change is something crazy like 2,800 ft!  I finally got to the top of this peak and the view was amazing!  Persistence and a mental focus got me there.  If you ever have the chance to train in higher elevations I highly recommend it.  It will not only make you feel less of a human but it will make you train harder then what you thought you was previously training.  If you can't get to higher elevations then hit the stairs at a local stadium or go find a big hill to run up.  It will build the strength and endurance in your legs and build your mental strength for pain.  So go find you a big hill or mountain to climb and don't stop until you get to the top!