Expected Pace Diff. At Elevation?

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Hey guys I'm just wondering what to expect in a pace difference going from 2500' to 5500'. I run 9 minute miles wether I'm running a half or full marathon ( ya I know, give me a break I'm in my late 40's ). My wife signed us up for a half marathon at Banff with an elevation of around 5500' I'm just wondering if you think I should back my pace off and by how much? I hate starting out too fast and then barely dragging my sorry butt over the Finnish line.

 

[Jason Snyder]

If you run with a HR monitor, just use that to pace off of. The elevation difference is only slighty noticeable to me, but that will all be relative to your conditioning and the type of training you do.

If it were me, I'd just run the race and not worry about it.

 

[dirtytough]

I go from about 700' to 7000' and have never noticed a difference. I wouldn't worry about it being only 5000'.

 

[Z Barebow]

Just like Jason stated, if you have an HRM, run by HR. If not, go by your breathing. Match what you do at lower elevations. You might notice the hills more than you normally do, but just go with the flow.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Thanks for the input guys. I don't have a HR monitor so I think I'll start out at a little slower pace for a few miles and then adjust my pace accordingly. If I can finish under 2 hours I'll consider it a win. :-D

 

[squeekieslayer]

I can barely run a 9 minute pace for 1 mile at a time haha.

I do know that when I wrestled in college in North Dakota at around 700 ft and then wrestled in Laramie at about 7200 feet.... There was a HUGE difference. Felt like someone was standing on my chest.

Couldn't give you any running advice though... maybe it is different for some reason.

If nothing else, at least my useless response will keep yours at the top longer for people that know to respond hahaha

Joe

 

[JWP58]

Going from 750ft to 6000k ft I lost about a full minute on my 1.5mile time.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I can barely run a 9 minute pace for 1 mile at a time haha.

I do know that when I wrestled in college in North Dakota at around 700 ft and then wrestled in Laramie at about 7200 feet.... There was a HUGE difference. Felt like someone was standing on my chest.

Couldn't give you any running advice though... maybe it is different for some reason.

If nothing else, at least my useless response will keep yours at the top longer for people that know to respond hahaha

Joe

The big difference is when you're wrestling, you're working either at your anaerobic threshold, or possibly above it.

Hopefully, Mad Mountain Mike will be at the middle of his anaerobic zone. Otherwise, the altitude will be a moot point as he'll blow up well before the race is done.

I moved from Pullman (2000') to Laramie when I was in college, and the difference was noticeable.

 

[Lukem]

The change in O2 from 2500' to 5500' is about 10% less. I wouldn't fret it a whole lot like Jason said, but your plan to back off a little isn't a bad one. I've always been a fan of negative splits.

EDIT: The % O2 in the air is the same, just roughly 10% less dense air = fewer O2 molecules, just to be clear.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Well the verdict is in and I noticed no difference at 5500 ft. I slowed my pace for the first 2 miles to 9:20 ish and felt good so picked it up to that 8:45ish area and finished the race with an 8:50 average. Going to train a little harder for next year and try and break that 8 minute mark.

 

[afteamroper]

Congrats Mike!!

 

[Lukem]

Way to go!

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Thanks guys but it really wasn't a big deal, it was just a half marathon. Work, family and hunting just isn't allowing me the time to train for a full marathon this year.