# Altitude



## timbuck (Oct 17, 2016)

If you ever have your kids play a tournament in Colorado, make sure to give a few days to adjust. 
I just played an adult indoor game at 5,800 feet above sea level and I though I was going to need to call the paramedics. It was 6v6 inc keeper.  22 minute halves with free subs. 
Wow.  2 minute shifts were all I could take. 
I can usually play a full game of 11v11 without needing to come off.  6v6 indoor is a much faster pace, but wow.  I'm fried right now.


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## espola (Oct 17, 2016)

timbuck said:


> If you ever have your kids play a tournament in Colorado, make sure to give a few days to adjust.
> I just played an adult indoor game at 5,800 feet above sea level and I though I was going to need to call the paramedics. It was 6v6 inc keeper.  22 minute halves with free subs.
> Wow.  2 minute shifts were all I could take.
> I can usually play a full game of 11v11 without needing to come off.  6v6 indoor is a much faster pace, but wow.  I'm fried right now.


On ski trips, I have noticed that staying in Mammoth Lakes is much more comfortable for me than staying up at Mammoth Mtn Inn or the chalets next to it.  I will get nosebleeds sleeping at the higher places, but no problem down in the village.

A similar point - there are running camps located in Mammoth Lakes to prepare athletes for high-altitude competition, or to give them an aerobic advantage when they compete lower down.


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## pewpew (Oct 17, 2016)

A buddy of mine always takes some aspirin 30mins or so before racing motorcross outdoors at any place with elevation..high desert, etc. It's a blood thinner and he says he definitely feels the difference. He's a paramedic so I don't doubt his thought process on this. Not sure how much he takes though.


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## espola (Oct 17, 2016)

pewpew said:


> A buddy of mine always takes some aspirin 30mins or so before racing motorcross outdoors at any place with elevation..high desert, etc. It's a blood thinner and he says he definitely feels the difference. He's a paramedic so I don't doubt his thought process on this. Not sure how much he takes though.


Not recommended if there is any chance of a bleeding cut or deep bruise.


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## espola (Oct 17, 2016)

espola said:


> On ski trips, I have noticed that staying in Mammoth Lakes is much more comfortable for me than staying up at Mammoth Mtn Inn or the chalets next to it.  I will get nosebleeds sleeping at the higher places, but no problem down in the village.
> 
> A similar point - there are running camps located in Mammoth Lakes to prepare athletes for high-altitude competition, or to give them an aerobic advantage when they compete lower down.


Too late to edit, but I meant to include that Mammoth Lakes village center is about 8000 feet, and Mammoth Mtn Inn about 9000.


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## pewpew (Oct 17, 2016)

espola said:


> Not recommended if there is any chance of a bleeding cut or deep bruise.


It's motocross...more chance of a bleeding cut or deep bruise than not...
And he's not on an aspirin regiment so I don't think his concern is that great. A rare occasion of 75mg of aspirin to thin the oil running in the engine is not likely to have huge consequences unless you have one of the symptoms in the contraindications of aspirin use.  But like I said earlier..he's a Paramedic with years of experience. He's not giving out medical advice (and neither am I)..I'm just passing on info. YMMV


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## full90 (Oct 18, 2016)

Studies show that it's actually best to arrive as close to competition time as possible. It takes the body 21 days to adjust to the altitude. There is no magic pill or anything but keys are hydration, good sleep and possibly beet juice right before competition. 

We dealt with altitude a ton and tried to learn all we could to prep. For the most part kids do a lot better than adults. Smart coaches will sub a lot as well and not over train going into it. We ended up shifting our arrival date as close to the first competition as possible. It helped with that first day.


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## Multi Sport (Oct 18, 2016)

Aspirin and arriving as close to play/competition date is solid advice. At higher elevations the body creates more red blood cells to carry more oxygen but that in turn thickens your blood. Taking aspirin helps to combat the thicker blood.

This is probably a reach but if you know your going to be playing at elevation make a couple of day trips up to the mountains to do some training about a week or two prior to your game/competition. It helped me out back in my MTB racing days.


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## espola (Oct 18, 2016)

full90 said:


> Studies show that it's actually best to arrive as close to competition time as possible. It takes the body 21 days to adjust to the altitude. There is no magic pill or anything but keys are hydration, good sleep and possibly beet juice right before competition.
> 
> We dealt with altitude a ton and tried to learn all we could to prep. For the most part kids do a lot better than adults. Smart coaches will sub a lot as well and not over train going into it. We ended up shifting our arrival date as close to the first competition as possible. It helped with that first day.


Beet juice gets its altitude power because it scores high in nitrates, along with whole beets and beet greens.  So does bacon.


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## timbuck (Oct 18, 2016)

I wish somebody had told me of these tips yesterday.  My 42 year old body wasn't ready!!!


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## Mystery Train (Oct 18, 2016)

I did a stint in Laramie Wyoming once.  7,000 feet above sea level.  I couldn't go up a flight of stairs without my heart pounding through my brain and lungs burning for air.  Visiting teams must bring oxygen tanks.


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## timbuck (Oct 18, 2016)

Not sure if the pre-game Red Bull was a good idea or not.


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## coachrefparent (Oct 19, 2016)

espola said:


> Beet juice gets its altitude power because it scores high in nitrates, along with whole beets and beet greens.  So does bacon.


But then you'll get gout.


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## Jairzinho (Oct 23, 2016)

Lol I can count on one hand the number of people in SoCal that know anything about playing at altitude. And this business of showing up right before competition instead of acclimatizing sounds like absolute nonsense. Please post these studies. We always showed up early in club and college. All World Cup teams do the same. I guess no one told them about these studies.

Thanks for the laugh.bgrin


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## Multi Sport (Oct 23, 2016)

Jairzinho said:


> Lol I can count on one hand the number of people in SoCal that know anything about playing at altitude. And this business of showing up right before competition instead of acclimatizing sounds like absolute nonsense. Please post these studies. We always showed up early in club and college. All World Cup teams do the same. I guess no one told them about these studies.
> 
> Thanks for the laugh.bgrin


http://www.outsideonline.com/1923971/how-prepare-high-altitude-race


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## Multi Sport (Oct 23, 2016)

Jairzinho said:


> Lol I can count on one hand the number of people in SoCal that know anything about playing at altitude. And this business of showing up right before competition instead of acclimatizing sounds like absolute nonsense. Please post these studies. We always showed up early in club and college. All World Cup teams do the same. I guess no one told them about these studies.
> 
> Thanks for the laugh.bgrin


Oh yea..the guy interviewed might also know a bit about the subject. He trained some guy from Texas who won a bunch of these bike races in France. But I probably don't know as much as you do..

http://gearpatrol.com/2014/08/21/how-to-race-at-high-altitude/


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