Featured Country of the Month: USA

The United States has been our featured country for April and May (it got two months because there is so much on offer there), and over the last 8 weeks or so we've shared photos, facts and information about some of America's top altitude training venues.  This blog post aims to bring some of that information together, and to provide further insight into my experiences training at altitude there.

Trails

For me, one of the great advantages to training in the US, is the trails.  The country is covered with national and state parks, national and state forests, wilderness areas, and other federal lands. This means that there are large areas of lands which have free access to the public which are crossed by well marked multi-use trails, fire-roads and unpaved roads.  Towns such as Flagstaff and Boulder have a network of well-groomed trails, while towns such as Mammoth Lakes have access to a range of more rural tracks and trails. Whether your a trail runner looking for challenging single-track routes, or a speedy track runner looking for fast, flat, traffic-free roads for your sessions, there are usually plenty of options no matter where you are in the States.

Local trail maps can be purchased in most running shops and outdoor stores, or downloaded from the National Park Service website. Details of good trails for running can be found on the localeikki website, or through the websites of local trail providers (e.g. Flagstaff Urban Trail System, or City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks).

Racing

Many British athletes combine a stint of altitude training in the US, with early season track races on the US circuit.  The invitational and open meets in California (e.g. Stanford Invitational, Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational, Mt Sac Relays, Oxy High Performance Meet) are particularly popular, and easily accessed from any of America's top altitude training destinations.  If you want an extra special racing experience, why not spend some time acclimatising before racing at altitude.  Good options include BolderBOULDER 10km and the Leadville 100 Trail in Colorado, the Sedona Marathon and Flagstaff Summer Series in Arizona, or the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque.

Variety

There are a large number of towns and cities at altitude in the West and South Western states, and you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding somewhere at altitude to suit your needs.  If living in a large city is important to you, Albuquerque (NM) should be to your liking, while on the other end of the scale, Mt Laguna (CA), with a population of less than 100, is the perfect retreat for those looking for isolation.

Colorado, as the highest state, has a particularly large number of venues suitable for altitude training, including Boulder (1,655 m), which is probably the most popular, Colorado Springs (1,823 m), which is home to the USOC Altitude Training Centre, Mancos (2,137 m) and Estes Park (2,293 m).  California, too has good variety with the ski resorts of Mammoth Lakes (2,400 m), Lake Tahoe (1,897 m) and Big Bear Lake (2,058 m) offering good facilities and a choice of accommodation in the summer months, and Mt Laguna (1,749 m), a mostly snow-free getaway.  Flagstaff (2,100 m) is Arizona's premier altitude training spot; Park City (2,100 m) in Utah is growing in popularity; and New Mexico's offer includes Albuquerque (1,619 m), Santa Fe (2,134 m), Los Alamos (2,231 m) and Taos (2,124 m).

Outsider magazine recently reviewed their top 10 US altitude training sites.  Their feature can be found here.

I have visited Mammoth Lakes, Flagstaff, Boulder and Albuquerque, and while each has its merits, Flagstaff shone brightest for me.  The town is small enough that you can get by without a car, and you are never more than 50 metres from a trail.  The running community are very friendly, and there are many opportunities to run with the local athletes.  Albuquerque was, for me, the most over-rated, but I'm sure it would have been more appealing if I had stayed in the foothills and had had access to a car.

Mount Laguna is such a top secret training venue that it didn't even get a mention in Notes from Higher Grounds.  However, British steeplechase international Luke Gunn, gave us the low-down during his recent training stint there.

Drawbacks

Cost of living, particularly in ski resorts like Mammoth Lakes, or trendy towns like Boulder, can be high. Accommodation is of a high standard, but can be expensive.  Groceries are a lot more expensive than in Europe, and though eating out is cheap, finding restaurants selling good, healthy food can sometimes be difficult.  Sports massage and gum access can also work out more expensive than back home.

It's very difficult to survive in the US without a car.  Even if there are public transport links, few people know about them, so getting directions by bus or train can be difficult.  The cost of car hire should be factored into your budget.

Athletes planning to race after returning to Europe from the US will have jet lag to overcome.  Travelling east results in more greater jet lag in most people than travelling west, so care should be taken when putting together your race plan.

If you would like to hear more about travelling to and training in Boulder, Albuquerque, Flagstaff or Mammoth Lakes, get yourself a copy of my book, Notes from Higher Grounds: an altitude training guide for endurance athletes here:

Mommoth Lakes Update

I've spend just over a week in Mammoth Lakes now, and thought it was about time to update you all on what I've been up to. Spotting a bear in my first hour here is always going to be difficult to top, but I've seen some nice sites, ran on some amazing trails and incurred a couple of 'sports' injuries since then.

Being Irish, I'm obsessed with the weather (one of the many traits that I inherited from my mother), so I feel that any update should start with a weather report. Where to begin though? Well today it's very sunny. The sky is completely cloudless, and it is close to 15 degrees.

Yesterday was a whole different story though! Two days of heavy snowfall turned to sleet, and it really wasn't pleasant at all. It was quite cold on Tuesday night, and temperatures went below -6 degrees. Luckily, the nature of the terrain and the climate here means that if you get in a car and drive towards the valley, you usually can find some fine, snow-free weather to train in within 40 minutes or so. There are strong winds, rain, and more snow forecast for Tuesday. And there I was thinking that winter (whichever way you define it) was over for 2010.

On Monday, before the snow started, we took the opportunity of the clear skies to take a gondola to the top of Mammoth Mountain so that we could view the surrounding area. The mountain is a dormant volcano (a swear word in Europe these days I believe!), and apparently there are daily earthquakes in the area - though these can't be felt. The mountain itself is California's 'premier ski resort' and receives up to 15 meters of snow per year. Such is the climate and the altitude that July 4 skiing is possible on the mountain, despite California's reputation for beaches and sunshine. The mountain receives an unusually large amount of snowfall compared to other Eastern Sierra peaks due to its location in a low gap in the Sierra crest.

The summit of the mountain is 3,370.8 meters, and the views from the top are amazing.

We stopped off for some food half way down, and the temptation to give skiing a shot was great. But common sense did prevail. Maybe before the year is out I'll give Nordic skiing a try, but clumsy reputation (and my distain for adrenalin inducing activities like roller coasters) suggest that downhill is not for me. It does look cool though!

Another of the local sites that we visited was Mono Lake (after an attempted trip to Lake Mary was aborted due to snow walking fatigue). Formed by tectonic activity, Mono lake is almost 3 times as salty as the ocean and too alkaline for fish to survive in it. Despite this, with over 1,000 plant species, and roughly 400 recorded vertebrate species within its watershed, Mono Lake and its surrounding basin encompass one of California's richest natural areas. The pictures below show some of Mono's salt deposits.

Right, that's enough of the geology lesson for now.

Apart from the snow, this place is amazing for running. Within a 40km radius of the town there are an endless variety of trails to run on. In over a week, I haven't done the same route twice. It's not surprising the America's best marathon runners choose to train here. From desertscapes to forest trails, it's difficult to find an excuse not to run.

Even 2 training related injuries haven't stopped me! A slight exaggeration I know, but they demonstrate just how clumsy I am. The first, a grazed shin, was incurred on my first run here. We were running on a rocky trail, when I, just for one second, took my mind off the task, hit a stone and came crashing to the ground. The fall itself wasn't witnessed by anyone but myself, but the subsequent belly-slide across the gravel was. Despite the scabbing, which is affecting my tanning, all that was really hurt was my pride.

The second was even more stupid, and a lot more painful. On Wednesday, while doing a weights session, my mind was full of lb/kg conversions, when I let a 15.8kg plate slip while taking from the rack and pin my finger between it and another plate. It was a real 'jump around and scream in pain' moment but the resultant blackened fingernail is slowly healing, and with any luck I won't loose it this time.And so, in a few days time, hopefully with all fingers in tact, I'll leave the snow of Mammoth Lakes behind, and go in search of some serious sunshine. Check back in a few days to see whether or not my quest is successful.