You ask a great question and one that has come up a lot with the popularity of races such as Lake Tahoe.  While Lake Tahoe isn’t really considered “altitude” from an endurance sport perspective as an endurance athlete you will lose an estimated 1 beat per 1000 feet of elevation. Stated another way, at 6000 feet you will lose 6 beats of performance when compared to sea level. Altitude is a consideration.

Since the primary new stress an endurance athlete will encounter at such elevations is the decreased availability of oxygen it makes sense to somehow stimulate one’s body to make the adaptive physiological changes that come with living and training in such an environment.

Since you’re stuck at sea level, finding a way to simulate altitude is the challenge.  Common methods such as moving to a new location to train or getting a hypoxic altitude tent to sleep in are generally reserved for the pro’s the best route is to simply put in the training and go race.  This is a hobby. Don’t get nuts with it.

Anecdotal experience tells us that if you’re going to race at altitude, try to get there way ahead of time (three to four weeks) or right before (two to three days).  The theory is that if you have the time to get there well ahead of time, you’ll be able to make most of the physiological adaptation.  If, on the other hand, you can’t afford the time, getting there right before the event keeps you from experiencing the low energy associated with the body’s struggle to make the initial changes that typically come within the first couple of weeks or so after going up.  One week puts you in the grey zone and does not get you much.

Regardless of what you’re able to do to specifically address the altitude issue, keep in mind the fact that it’s still an SUP race and the primary issues are still pacing, nutrition, and hydration.  Chances are that if you get that right, your competition wont. Lets them sleep in a tent. Chances are they also wont be sleeping much and the loss of sleep will offset the gains of “altitude” training.

Bottom line: We know you are serious but this type of stuff is best left for the pros.

Roch and Huddle