Welcome to Episode #188 of the Mile High Endurance podcast. You are listening to your weekly connection to coaches, experts and pro athletes to help you reach your endurance goals. We are your hosts coach Rich Soares and 303 Chief Bill Plock. Thanks for joining us for another week of endurance.
Thanks to last week's guest coach Will Murray joining us to talk about how we can develop Post Traumatic Stress to events in our lives that affect our ability to function and perform.
Today's guest is preparing for an extraordinary feat of endurance. Terence Steinberg is getting ready to participate in a rowing race across the Atlantic starting this December. We are going to hear more about the United World Challenge and the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in just a bit.
Announcements:
Sponsor - iKOR Labs:
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In Today's Show:
"What's New in the 303":
https://303cycling.com/mines-colorado-classic-trailblazing-women-panel-july-26th-dont-miss-this-one/ The Colorado Classic, a four-stage women’s pro road cycling race, and Colorado School of Mines, are joining forces to celebrate trailblazing women, athletes, and engineers as a part of the climb to this year’s Colorado Classic (August 22-25).
Ironman Boulder 70.3 coming up on August 4th
Dennis vanderhoven damien
Endurance News:
https://ragbrai.com/routemaps/2019-route-maps/
Sponsor - Riplaces:
Our interview is sponsored by Riplaces. Riplaces are an elastic lace system that integrates a bungee loop with a plastic core to connect the loop in each eyelet of your running shoe. The bungees come in 5 sizes to achieve custom tension for the perfect fit. The bungees and the cores come in a variety of colors and styles to help you personalize your set. Or, you can choose the MHE logo package. Pro triathlete proven and endorsed, use the code MHE25 to get that 25% discount. Go to www.riplaces.com for more information, or go to the MHE Sponsor Discounts page by going to www.milehighendurance.com, or directly to https://www.riplaces.com/collections/mile-high-endurance
Interview Introduction:
A little history: Sir Charles "Chay" Blyth CBE BEM (born 14 May 1940) is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail single-handed non-stop westwards around the world (1971), on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.
Blyth was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire. He joined the British Army Parachute Regiment when he was 18 and was promoted to Sergeant at the age of 21. In 1966, while in the army, Blyth, together with Captain John Ridgway, rowed across the North Atlantic in a 20 ft open dory called English Rose III. After successfully completing this in 92 days, Blyth was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM).
Rowing the Atlantic first became mainstream when the first Atlantic Rowing Race was launched by Sir Chay Blyth, after reflecting on his own ocean row that propelled him to international fame. This was the Port St. Charles, Barbados Atlantic Rowing Race. Thirty double-handed teams lined up at the start line in a "one design" rowing boat just outside Los Gigantes marina on Sunday 12 October 1997. The race was won by Kiwi Challenge, rowed by Rob Hamill and Phil Stubbs after 41 days at sea. Second place went to the French crew of Atlantik Challenge, Joseph Le Guen and his partner, a double convicted murderer, Pascal Blond.
Fast forward to today.
Terence Steinberg is preparing to compete in a 3,000 mile rowing race across the Atlantic. As you will hear he is doing this for the UWC (United World Colleges), which is a global movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.
The movement began in 1962 when Atlantic College in Wales, UK admitted its first students. The Cold War raged and UWC set out to bring together young people from different nations to act as champions of peace through an education based on shared learning, collaboration, and understanding. UWC has since gained global recognition a catalyst for international understanding, and today teaches 3,000 college students each year in 17 locations on 4 continents. Students come from more than 155 countries, each selected for their demonstrated promise and potential.
The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge: The World’s Toughest Row. The premier event in ocean rowing – A challenge that will take you more than 3000 Miles west from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands (28oN 18oW) to Nelson’s Dockyard English Harbour, Antigua & Barbuda (17oN 61oW). The annual race begins in early December, with up to 30 teams participating from around the world. The race structure brings together an environment where teams from across the globe gather in the race village San Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands.
Sponsor - Halo Neuroscience:
Our post interview discussion is sponsored by Halo Neuroscience. The Halo Sport from Halo Neuroscience will help you learn the technique and form to get faster. 20 minutes of neural priming with the Halo Headset gives you an hour of neural plasticity to work and lock in the muscle movement that leads to strength, power and endurance. Use the code "MHE" at checkout to save an additional $20.
Video of the Week:
Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2017 - Race Promo
Don't Fry Bacon Naked:
Last week we discussed how to not get burned by getting your altitude acclimatization right. The example we were discussing was Bill had been at sea level for a week, came back to Colorado to do the Triple Bypass and felt a lack of fitness. How much of that was due to a loss of altitude acclimatization?
How quickly to make an altitude acclimatization?
http://www.bodyresults.com/e2deacc.asp
According to Lawrence Armstrong, PhD, in his book, Performing in Extreme Environments (1), the rate of disappearance of the body’s adaptations to high altitude varies widely from person to person; just as it’s difficult to tell who exactly will experience signs of altitude illness, it’s hard to know how long your acclimatized state will last once you descend from high altitude. If you spend less than a day or two at altitude (say, on a moderate climb of a peak like Baker or Rainier, where most people return to sea level within 24 hours of reaching the summit), your body will not have had enough time to permanently adapt to the altitude. The composition of the blood changes after about 2 weeks of altitude exposure by producing more red blood cells and hemoglobin (the iron-protein compound that transports oxygen) (3) but most people climbing peaks in the Pacific Northwest are only exposed to elevation for about 3-4 days at a time.
Training acclimatization time needs to be longer as the altitude becomes higher. Training for 14 days at or above 6,500 feet (as at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs) and 28 days at or above 8,000 feet are currently the best recommendations for athletes wishing to compete at similar elevations, while complete adaptation to the extreme altitude of 13,000 feet is possible after a continuous stay for 14 months (3). Obviously, climbers have a tiny fraction of this time open to them.
One study cited by Armstrong indicates that the red blood cell volume of high-altitude natives (people who spend most of their lives above 7000 ft) decreases as quickly as ten days after spending time at sea level. Someone spending several hours to perhaps a day or two at altitude simply won’t have enough time for any long-lasting physiological changes. Those who choose to trek in Nepal, however, or participate in an expedition-type climb of a peak over 15,000 ft will have to spend a substantial amount of time adapting to the altitude in order to prevent altitude sickness. This is why climbers who gradually ascend their first peak in Alaska, Bolivia, Chile, or the Himalayas in order to get properly acclimatized can then speed up subsequent peaks, because the body’s ability to perform physical work at high altitude can persist for a few weeks (2). Through personal discussion with our African guide, cook, and porters on Mt. Kilimanjaro, and in talking with local Northwest guides and rangers who spend a lot of time on the mountains, we learned that they typically spend a week in the mountains above 10,000 ft and a week back home; their acclimatization and improved cardiovascular function may persist for several months after returning from altitude, and allows them to make subsequent trips quite easily without needing extra time to adapt.
https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/adapt/adapt_3.htm
How quickly to lose altitude advantage?
How does living at altitude affect how quickly you lose or gain altitude adaptations?
https://www.princeton.edu/~oa/safety/altitude.html
What is High Altitude?
Altitude is defined on the following scale High (8,000 - 12,000 feet [2,438 - 3,658 meters]), Very High (12,000 - 18,000 feet [3,658 - 5,487 meters]), and Extremely High (18,000+ feet [5,500+ meters]). Since few people have been to such altitudes, it is hard to know who may be affected. There are no specific factors such as age, sex, or physical condition that correlate with susceptibility to altitude sickness. Some people get it and some people don't, and some people are more susceptible than others. Most people can go up to 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) with minimal effect. If you haven't been to high altitude before, it's important to be cautious. If you have been at that altitude before with no problem, you can probably return to that altitude without problems as long as you are properly acclimatized.
What Causes Altitude Illnesses?
The concentration of oxygen at sea level is about 21% and the barometric pressure averages 760 mmHg. As altitude increases, the concentration remains the same but the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. At 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) the barometric pressure is only 483 mmHg, so there are roughly 40% fewer oxygen molecules per breath. In order to properly oxygenate the body, your breathing rate (even while at rest) has to increase. This extra ventilation increases the oxygen content in the blood, but not to sea level concentrations. Since the amount of oxygen required for activity is the same, the body must adjust to having less oxygen. In addition, for reasons not entirely understood, high altitude and lower air pressure causes fluid to leak from the capillaries which can cause fluid build-up in both the lungs and the brain. Continuing to higher altitudes without proper acclimatization can lead to potentially serious, even life-threatening illnesses.
Acclimatization
What is altitude illness?
The major cause of altitude illnesses is going too high too fast. Given time, your body can adapt to the decrease in oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 1-3 days at that altitude. For example, if you hike to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), and spend several days at that altitude, your body acclimatizes to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). If you climb to 12,000 feet (3,658 meters), your body has to acclimatize once again. A number of changes take place in the body to allow it to operate with decreased oxygen.
The depth of respiration increases.
Pressure in pulmonary arteries is increased, "forcing" blood into portions of the lung which are normally not used during sea level breathing.
The body produces more red blood cells to carry oxygen,
The body produces more of a particular enzyme that facilitates
the release of oxygen from hemoglobin to the body tissues.
Are there genetic dispositions to altitude?
There is considerable variability between individuals and between populations in their ability to adjust to the environmental stresses of high mountain regions. Usually, the populations that are most successful are those whose ancestors have lived at high altitudes for thousands of years. This is the case with some of the indigenous peoples living in the Andes Mountains of Peru and Bolivia as well as the Tibetans and Nepalese in the Himalaya Mountains. The ancestors of many people in each of these populations have lived above 13,000 feet (ca. 4000 meters) for at least 2,700 years.
More from The Sports Gene by David Epstein in Chapter 14.
Upcoming Interviews:
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