Oh no! That sounds awful. Hoping I won’t have any issues for my event… 
You’ll be fine! Just be mindful and like I said, hydrate well!
1 Like
Be glad you aren’t me. I live at sea level.
gosh this is a stunning location! I spent 3 months in Reno in 2014 looking at working from there and we visited mount rose and Tahoe (see my birds from the forest there ; ultimate gift on my birthday!)
.
I did find the altitude somewhat challenging. we talk about strategies in the coaches corner today. I would HIGHLY recommend having your B12 and Ferritin and iron and haematocrit checked to ensure optimal iron stores to ensure O2 delivery is efficient. if they are low then you can take iron or B12 in advance to get stores to optimal. ferritin goal is 80 ng/ml approx
Also your fuelling will change, more carbs will be expended and shift the balance on the plate in meals also to more carbs, some protein, some fats and ample colourful veggies for antioxidants.
eating a diet rich in healthy fats as you prepare will support cell membrane function.
tweaking your training to really have acute preception of effort will help you feel the heart rates what do you feel @Coach_Theia so that perception will notice the slight rise in effort due to less O2. most importantly dont over think it!
there is a triathlon in tahoe, i often think wow that would be amazing and then realise how much of a battle the sucking air with low O2 is!! Ive done track intervals at altitude and i think i struggled so badly it led to my most childish meltdown ever with my boyfriend!! At the time i didnt figure i was at such altitude but i made sense of it eventually!! it pays to know where you train in foreign countries!!
Best of luck!
1 Like
I would say without a doubt growing up in altitude gives you an edge. i dont know how but i see it in my boyfriend. every time we go back to johannesburg he never has an issue it is like the body remembers; and i die! and i also have a naturally high ferritin from haemochroatosis gene but sadly its not enough for me to outrun him 
1 Like
I think altitude will exacerbate any tiny weakness in health also eg adrenals when under pressure make us prone to dizziness so fatigue will make things worse. were you vegetarian back then Theia? that could impact you also re b12 and Iron and blood O2 carrying capacity.
Thanks for all the tips Andrea! I had my annual blood work done recently but only found iron and hematocrit in the results. Both within normal range.
I have been to Tahoe a few times but always during winter. I love the area and have been wanting to go in summer so signing up for the event was just an excuse to plan a trip there. Obviously the altitude issue never crossed my mind until now.
I will definitely be very mindful of the food and the hydration so hopefully I will do well in the event.
1 Like
So… am I interpreting things right in that I will always be at a disadvantage with e-racing because I live at altitude and therefore, will have an adjusted FTP/power output, compared to those at sea level?
-Angie
Angie, why do you believe you have not yet acclimated to the altitude?
I mostly see it with my running. I cannot seem to get my Pace below a 9-minute mile but when we travel to sea level, I have no problem with the first run out at 8:30s.
I checked off one of my bucket list climbs on Sunday. That was a ride up Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. I was stressing out over 18 miles of non-stop climbing. Karma was on my side. A friend and his family stayed at the same hotel and reassured me the grade wasn’t steep and he didn’t ride the breaks going down.
I estimated my HR would be in the 150-160s climbing. It was an average of 148. I put the bike in the granny gear and felt great beating my estimated time with stops by 45 minutes. I think I have improved my aerobic capacity.
Going down I was on the breaks. In retrospect, I could have gone faster. I didn’t like the curves and exposure. Guys were bombing down and at times pedaling to go faster as I was breaking.
Here is the relive. After that ride, I have a couple more events in September.
2 Likes
Beautiful place! Beating your estimated time by 45 minutes is impressive- congrats!
1 Like
Wow @goldendogy! Well done! Clearly you underestimated yourself if you beat your target time by 45 minutes! All your hard work paying off. Congratulations!
1 Like
Wow! Great job! I find that downhills can be more intimidating. It takes practice to bomb down hills and trust your wheels and handling skills.
1 Like
Congrats @goldendogy! 45 min faster than expected is amazing!!!
1 Like
All events for this season done, so here is my short season recap:
Rhön Radmarathon
432 TSS
Glocknerkönig
41. out of 450 starters in my age group, 290W average.
Engadiner
- out of 175 in my age group, 377 TSS
Arber
414 TSS. Averaged 33,2 kph on this ride and finished not far behind the lead group among the first 20 riders out of over 1000. My peak performance for 2018!
And finally Ötzi 2018 with epic (bad!) conditions
411 TSS, it was actually only about 5000 meters of climbing. Due to the bad weather conditions this was one of the hardest bike rides in my life. Average temperature on my garmin for this ride was 7C and it was wet almost the whole ride. The downhills were so cold. Just finishing under these conditions was a real mental challenge. In the end i was really suprised about the time. Now i know what i am capable of in normal or good weather conditions. Next year i will aim for a time below 8:30h. 267. out of 1700 in my age group.
Overall i had a great season. Now i will enjoy my off season…Ride on everyone!
7 Likes
Fantastic season @methfessel! Congratulations on all the really great rides!
2 Likes
Yes, great season indeed! Thanks for sharing the stories and the awesome pictures. Riding in the cold when it’s wet is THE hardest weather; impossible to keep warm. Congrats on overcoming it!
1 Like
And fortunately i stayed healthy 
At some point in the season i switched my preparation for the long rides with lots of climbing to a rather old school plan. So, if the ride contains 3-4 long climbs with 1000-1500m of climbing each, you have to ride 3-4 times @70-80% of ftp for 60-90 Min 3-4 times. And that’s what i did most of the times in my training rides, a lot of 60-90min tempo intervals with low cadence, 60min SSt Intervals or even 3x30FTP intervals on a 4-5 hour ride. But to be honest, if you have to climb passo rombo (27K with 1700m of climbing) with 170k and 3300m of climbing already in the legs, you just turn the pedal over without thinking about the Watts anymore 
Actually i did passo rombo, which is the last climb of the ötzi, at only 67% of ftp, and that was all i had in the legs. So the goal for 2019 will be to increase strength Endurance for sure…
1 Like
Who is racing Cyclocross? Here is the list of events in the Chicago area - I will do a few of these this year:
3 Likes