Running and Climbing: A Proven Recipe for Mt Whitney Success - Part III - Use a Heart Rate Monitor

Heart rate monitors provide valuable feedback whether we're in our running or climbing phases.  Knowing our heart rate makes training time as efficient as possible.  Here's how:

 

There are two basic training modes; aerobic and anaerobic.  The former literally means "with air" while the latter is the opposite.  Training aerobically means the body's demand for oxygen does not outstrip its ability to supply it.  Aerobic training runs are longer and less intense.

Anaerobic training refers to a specific ability to do work in the absence of oxygen, commonly referred to as "oxygen debt."  Anaerobic training runs are shorter and far more intense.  Interval training on the track and repeats on hills are two examples.

For our high-altitude purposes, we're relying on the running to improve our oxygen-carrying capacity.  Running at certain intensities improves the whole system by strengthening the heart muscle and creating a larger network of capillaries probing deeper into muscle tissue.  We achieve this goal more efficiently by using the heart rate monitor and capping our maximum heart rate while remaining "in the zone" for longer periods.

Say Hello to Aerobic Max

Depending on our age and physiology, each of us has a maximum aerobic potential.  Generally, aerobic max lies around 75-80 percent of our maximum heart rate (you can find your rough maximum heart rate for training by subtracting your age from 220).  If you are overweight or sedentary or both, your aerobic max may be lower, at least for now.

A warning before we go further:  Consult your physician before embarking on any training regimen.  Also, trainees may require less intensive training to work up to their maximum aerobic potential.  Being more ambitious than your body's ability to adapt is a well-worn pathway to injury so ease into it.

For most of the population, the heart rate for maximum aerobic potential lies somewhere between 130-160 beats per minute.  Use the chart above as a guideline, at least to start. Training near maximum aerobic potential creates the maximum amount of blood volume and pressure, thereby forcing capillaries deeper and deeper into muscles.  The more we develop our capillary network, the easier it is to provide working muscles with oxygen and glycogen.  Having an underdeveloped circulatory system starves muscles for oxygen and glycogen just as sure as trying to eat by sucking a turkey through a straw.

Running at sustained levels above maximum aerobic potential creates two major problems.  First, the heart beats so rapidly, the valves slam shut before the chambers are full so the overall volume and pressure go down.  Second, lactic acid forms in the muscles in the absence of adequate oxygen supply.  Slowing down allows us so achieve our stated aims; improving cardiovascular efficiency and maximizing training time.

We use the heart rate monitor to ride herd on ourselves. For our purposes, even the simplest monitor will do.  I use a Polar FT1 retailing for $59.95.  The display shows heart rate while in training mode.  I can set maximum and minimum heart rate alarms.  Set them at least five beats above your aerobic max, otherwise you'll go crazy with the alarm beeping.  Afterwards, I can see my exercise time plus max and average heart rates.  That's it.  So don't break the bank needlessly.

Also, my heart rate monitor uses a chest strap transmitter.  In my opinion, non-chest-strap monitors are a waste of money.  Some require stopping for 20 seconds while placing a finger on a pad.  Save your money and take your pulse instead.  Others don't get the finger but they are still inaccurate.  A monitor with a chest strap is plus-or-minus one beat-per-minute accuracy no matter the price or manufacturer.  You'll get over the strap in about 30 seconds.

The Moving Threshold

Above 10,000 feet, my "aerobic threshold" drops about ten or 15 beats.  That's why I advocate using the monitor while climbing as well.  If I exceed my adjusted threshold, I get about 20 minutes before my legs are smoked.  No amount of rest stops will revive them for long.  Five or ten beats below my aerobic threshold and I can climb until next Tuesday.  Having said that, sometimes I induce oxygen debt on purpose during training climbs for short stretches to increase my anaerobic capacity.  More on that in the future.

We are all "prisoners" of modern life.  We are all busy and oversubscribed.  Get the most from your valuable training time.  There is no excuse for neglecting your training.  Others are counting on you.  Give yourself the best possible chance to summit.  Start now and adapt.  Climb.  Run.  Monitor.  Succeed.  Enjoy.

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Running and Climbing: A Proven Recipe for Mt Whitney Success - Part II - Mt Whitney for Runners

Part I presents my argument for running as one part of a three-pronged training program.  The other two elements are climbing and altitude acclimatization. Part II explains to habitual runners the necessity for climbing as high as possible as often as possible.

Robin and Natalie:  Runners. Climbers.  Mt Whitney summit-ers.

First of all, I've been running since The Beatles were still a band.  As I've outlined in many previous posts, I've both competed and coached.  I know firsthand the runner's mindset.

"I run, therefore I am invincible"

For instance, most runners believe running inoculates them from pretty much every malady short of AIDS.  They eat what they want and as much as they want.  They do get fewer illnesses and use less sick time.  For a large percentage of runners, this belief is justified.

Unfortunately, this belief crashes to the ground when climbing high.  First, altitude can affect a person psychologically and physiologically regardless of one's physical condition.  Second, distance running is nowhere near as muscular as climbing.  A good, stiff running hill climbs at maybe 300 feet per mile (57 meters per kilometer).  There are climbs on my Mt Whitney Dirty Dozen list with sections in excess of 1,250 feet per mile (237 m/k).  Mt Whitney itself averages 569 feet per mile (108 m/k).  So we're no longer gliding effortlessly over the ground using as little muscle as possible.  We're using our quads, hammies, glutes and core muscles to a much greater degree.  Plus, we're wearing a pack.

The Coffee Hikers from Pasadena, CA:  Runners.  Climbers.  Mt Whitney Summit-ers (Tamara Silver photo).

 So we have to practice at high altitudes to ready ourselves for even higher altitudes.  Climbing is more like circuit training with a gazillion reps than like running.  Our legs and core lift our body-and-pack-weight over and over again.

24 hours?  Really?

I heard one three-time marathoner brag about how she went up and down Whitney in "less than 24 hours"  having spent little or no time at altitude prior to the climb.  That's way too long.  I can't even sleep that long.  My wife Robin, whose lifetime longest run is 8 miles (12.9 k), who ran no longer than 6 miles (9.9 k) while training for Whitney, went up and down in 15 1/2 hours.  She did it in far less time because she spent a lot of training time climbing high.  After we were done, Robin told me next time she would spend even more time preparing up high.  Meanwhile, Marathon Woman may never do another 14-er again.

Charles Hirsch:  Runner.  Climber.  Cosmo Centerfold Eye Candy.  (Charles Hirsch photo)

 No matter our sporting background (or lack thereof), we all need the same basic preparation.  We must increase our cardiovascular efficiency, climb with a pack for muscle building, and climb high to acclimate.

But wait, there's more...

Having said that, we know running will improve our climbing.  However, my own "experiments" show climbing also improves the running!  When I reach the 5-digit altitudes with the Mt Whitney Dirty Dozen, my average running pace drops a minute per mile. Hills melt away under my feet.  Instead of plodding up three-mile inclines on distance runs, I start looking for ways to shave more time.

All that time climbing steeply up in the thin air improves everything.  Your running in a rut?  Bust out by busting up.  When life gets you down, climb up.  Altitude affects attitude too.

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"We Interrupt This Program...."

Unfortunately, Google has disappeared my really cool (at least I thought) blog background photo so we're all swimming in the middle if this green pool for the moment.  Both Google and I are working on it plus I'll have two more posts for you in short order.

Update:  The background photo doesn't show up with my Foxfire browser.  Seems to be fine in Internet Exploder.
Update update:  It works for Chrome users as well.  Perhaps it's just me.....

Running and Climbing: A Proven Recipe for Mt Whitney Success - Part I - Why Run?

In previous posts I alluded to the importance of running for a successful Mt Whitney trip.  Yes, I can hear the knives sharpening from here.  My background as a track & field athlete and coach led me to design a program for my first Whitney climb.  I followed it for each subsequent attempt and summited last year in 7 1/2 hours despite a sinus infection, fever, and being 56 years old.  My conditioning carried me through and allowed me to enjoy myself thoroughly despite my maladies slowing me down.

Many people have found success since I came up with the running program, the Mt Whitney Dirty Dozen, and the somewhat novel concept of actually respecting what one is doing enough to prepare properly.

Climbing long and hard builds muscle for propulsion, gravity resistance, and joint protection.  High altitude climbing prepares one for the physical and mental effects of reduced air pressure.  Running perfects the fuel pump keeping the whole system operating at top efficiency.  Skimping on any one lowers the effectiveness of the other two and edges the failure-to-summit rate back toward 70 percent.

The case for running.

Cardiovascular training on a daily basis forces small capillaries deeper into muscles, bringing glucose and oxygen along and enabling  them to operate for longer periods of time.  Cardiovascular training also facilitates acclimatization to high altitudes.  If one develops the cardiovascular "infrastructure" to  supply greater oxygen levels to muscles, then it stands to reason one benefits greatly when oxygen is in short supply due to altitude.

Okay, get those knives ready for this next statement:  Running as a cardiovascular exercise can create stronger joints, ligaments, and tendons as well, provided the trainee implements increases slowly enough.  Just as weight bearing exercise (like, say, hiking up a mountain and back down again with a pack) allows a post-menopausal woman to retain bone mass, the body will adapt itself to the extra stress.  We're not like machines wearing out; we regenerate.  Unless you're in a big hurry to improve and blow stuff up.

 Ouch.

Hey, I'm not immune.  I'm currently "on the shelf" with severe plantar fascitis due to too many miles in worn shoes. Injury due to poor/worn/incorrect equipment is number 2 on the Hurt Parade just behind too much too soon.  Yes, running shoes can be expensive, especially since I advocate buying them from a store with personnel trained to fit them properly.  Injury can be even more expensive.

What about biking or swimming?  Certainly they don't "pressure" connective tissue.  That's the problem.  A cyclist friend of mine took a rugged 20-mile hike recently.  Afterwards, his knees and ankles were killing him.  While he was in good cardiovascular shape, his knees and ankles could not cope with the demands placed on them by boots-on-the-ground exercise.  I'll advocate cycling as prep for Mt Whitney when they build a bike trail up there, which will be never.

Every year, people tell me they can't run due to knee/ankle/shin/eyeball/earlobe issues.  Most people's initial contact with running is school sports with rules-restricted seasons where coaches cram the available practice days with as much conditioning activity as possible.  Or, people attempt to train themselves without knowing whether their methodologies have any basis in fact. Your body adapts as fast as your body adapts and not a day sooner.  Take it easy and start early.  Your running program commences at least 6 months before your Whitney date.

How much running?

 Based on my experience, climbing Mt Whitney requires sufficient cardiovascular endurance necessary to run 5 miles (8 km) in one hour at least 5 days a week.  That's 12 minutes a mile (7:28 per km), a standard attainable by about 80 percent of the population.  Only the extremely old, extremely young, or the serially sedentary will find this standard impossible.  Persons over 65 should add a minute a mile due to loss of speed. Running at that level for the month before Whitney should do the job.  For many, achieving that level requires starting even more than 6 months prior.

So put the knives away.  Instead of creating excuses, implement a running plan that works for you.  Adapt gradually to stress.  Harden your body for the rigors ahead. Don't tear it down.  Maintaining a running program is easier when we have to be at our best on a given day rather than training for the nebulous ideal of looking better.  Get together and train with your trip partners at least once a week.  Remember, don't fit Mt Whitney into your busy schedule.  Fit your busy schedule into Mt Whitney.

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My Wife Robin is a "Meme Machime"

My wife Robin can churn these out like butta.  Sometimes I come up with the wording and she helps me with the formatting and the visual aspect.  However, this one is all hers.

In the meantime, I have a bunch of new posts lined up and ready to take off.  You'll be seeing them shortly.  Thanks for tuning in!

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Mt Whitney Government Shutdown Information

Okay, so it looks like the shutdown won't go away anytime soon.  I don't want to get into a political discussion about it and will not publish any overtly political comments.  I'm just trying to update everyone pertaining to Mt Whitney and act as a clearinghouse regarding what facilities are open or closed.  This post will be updated as new information comes in or conditions change.

• Whitney Portal Road is OPEN.  The road is part of Inyo County's jurisdiction so there is no impact thus far.
• Whitney Portal Store is OPEN.  Unless the Federales tell him to leave (which they won't),  Doug Thompson intends to keep the store open.
• The Whitney Portal Store Bathroom is CLOSED.  No flush toilet facilities until further notice.  However:
• The Whitney Portal pit toilet and drop-off station at the trailhead are both OPEN.
• Whitney Portal Campground is CLOSED.  As of October 3,  Whitney Portal Campground will not allow any campers regardless of reservations.  Don't even think about camping anyway.  Almost every site can be seen from the road so renegade campers will be easy pickin's for The Law. 
• Lone Pine Campground is CLOSED. See above.
• Horseshoe Meadow Road is CLOSED.  There is a gate across the road where it enters federal land.  While it may be possible for motorcycles to bypass the gate, the rangers still patrol and the potential for heavy fines (four figures) remains high.
• The Eastern Sierra Interagency Center is CLOSED.  Permitted climbers cannot pick up their permits.  For the time being, your reservation letter will act as a permit. There was a rumor Doug Thompson had all the paperwork at the Portal Store but I cannot get corroboration.  Hold onto your reservation letters.  Note:  The Agency website still says "open."  Reliable sources tell me it's not.
• Climbers are still allowed up Mt Whitney.  For the time being anyway.   Visitors to other national parks and forests are not so lucky as federal law enforcement patrols remove visitors from the parks.
• NEW UPDATE:  The day and overnight use parking lots are OPEN:  You won't have to cadge a drop-off at the trailhead.  You can park your car at the appropriate lot.
• NEW UPDATE:  Rescue operations are NOT curtailed.  Doug Thompson will be at the Portal Store generally between the hours of 6:00 am to 8:00 pm.  If someone needs rescue, Doug will relay the message to 911 and the authorities will still mount a rescue.  Be careful.  Rescue may still be a long time coming, especially if Doug is gone for the night. 

Here's what we don't know yet and hope to update:

• We don't know specifically about other areas to camp.  However, there are a few private campgrounds in the Lone Pine area with showers and everything.  The Mt Whitney Portal Hostel is operating.  All of these options are around 3,700 feet (1128 m) of altitude so they won't help your acclimatizing process.  Of course, you did your high altitude training, right?

Everything is fluid right now so this post might change dramatically as new info comes in.  Also, please don't hold me accountable if anything proves inaccurate.  I'm pulling from a number of sources so it's possible someone told me something in error or I misunderstood.  I'll fix any errors ASAP.

Good luck everybody.  I sincerely hope the shutdown doesn't last much longer.

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The Mt Whitney "Dirty Dozen"

Hike #1 (Natalie Moore photo)

In a previous life, I spent 15 years competing in track & field and 5 years as a high school track coach in Bedford, MA. All along the way, I was lucky to have great coaches who made sure I understood why we were doing what we were doing. I was also interested in exploring physiology on my own to improve athletic performance.

So when my friend Cory Walsh approached me about putting together a Mt Whitney trip, I assembled a two-pronged program (hiking /running) to train for the climb. Today I will talk about the hiking /climbing aspect of training and the list of hikes I created called The Mount Whitney Dirty Dozen. Here they are in order:

1. Malibu Creek – Backbone Trail loop 14.5 miles (23.5 km) 2,000 ft (610 m) vertical rise  2,500 ft (763 m) max elevation.  Use this hike to gauge your conditioning. You should finish this hike in under six hours including lunch break. If you cannot, and your Whitney date is less than seven months away, consider putting off Whitney until next year. Start getting yourself in shape to get in shape!
2. Mt Lukens via Stone Canyon  8 mi (12.8 km) 3,200 ft (976 m) vert 5,068 ft (1,546 m) max el. There are only two reasons to climb Mt Lukens; To stand on the highest point in the LA city limits or to train for something bigger. Not a really pretty hike except the first and last mile, the summit is anticlimactic, and the view may be hazed out.  800 ft/mile is a good stiff test. If the creek at the trailhead is too high to cross safely, come back another day.
3. Mt Wilson via Chantry Flat & Upper Winter Creek Trail 14 mi (22.5 km) 3,600 ft (1098 m) vert 5,710 ft (1742 m) max el. Scenery-wise, this hike is a big improvement over the last one.  Layout-wise, it’s very similar with a three mile warmup gaining only 300 feet followed by four miles of climbing at 800 ft/mile.
4. Mt Baden-Powell via Vincent Gap  8 mi (12.8 km) 2,800 ft (854 m) vert 9,399 ft (2867 m) max el. This one should tickle your altitude bone. The real purpose is to prepare you for the next hike. On a scale of one to ten, the summit view is a stone cold 12.  The Baldy massif is spectacular. The 40-plus switchbacks get you psychologically prepared for the 97 (98? 99?) switchbacks awaiting you in a few months.

   

   Hike #4 (Suzanne Szalay photo)

5. Mt San Jacinto via Tramway Trail 11.5 mi (18.5 km) 2,300 ft (702 m) vert 10,834 ft (3,302 m) max el. Our first foray into five-digit altitude. Every step is more gorgeous than the next. One friend of mine has hiked all over the world. This is her favorite.
6. Cucamonga Peak via Icehouse Canyon 12 mi (19.3 km) 3,800 ft (1,159 m) vert 8,859 ft (2,702 m) max el. Taking a step back in altitude, we move forward in vertical rise, completing almost two-thirds of a single-day Whitney trek. You can thank me later for the scree slope near the top.
7. Mt Baldy From Manker Flat via Baldy Notch & Devil’s Backbone 15 mi (24 km) 4,000 ft (1,220 m) vert 10,064 ft (3,070 m) max el.  This hike is fire road for the first four miles to the ski lodge at Baldy Notch (not to be confused with the Sierra Club Ski Hut).  Take it hard, then do the rest of the hike on Devil’s Backbone.  A lot harder than taking the chairlift. The descent is really long.  So is Mt Whitney.  Get used to it.
8. Mt Wilson Toll Road 18 mi (29 km) 4500 ft (1,373 m) vert 5,710 ft (1,742 m) max el.  This road was built originally to haul the first telescope up the mountain. Graded to accommodate the mule teams, it’s a very steady 500 ft/mile. Can you summit in three hours?  An even longer descent than the last one. Your legs will be Jello from nine miles of resisting gravity on descent. Imagine what they’ll be like after 10.8 miles of descent.
9. Mt Baldy from Baldy Village via Bear Flat 13 mi (21 km) 6,000 ft (1,830 m) vert 10,064 ft (3,070 m) max el. This is the make-or-break hike. Everything that came before is preparation for this hike. It’s not enough just to complete it. You should average two miles an hour for 6 ½ miles so summit in 3 ½ hours or so.  That’s why you can’t “cut the line” and prove to yourself you’re ready for Whitney merely by completing this hike. To average two miles an hour, you must be in pretty good shape. The hike averages almost 1000 ft/mile for 6 ½ miles. Actually, the first mile is easy!  So it’s far more precipitous than that. You’ll have the best views in the valley and I’ll almost guarantee seeing bighorn sheep. The summit ridge is a moonscape. The approach to the summit proper is much mellower than Devil’s Backbone. Good thing too. Be careful going down.

   

   Hike #9

10. Mt San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek 18.4 mi (29.6 km) 5,423 ft (1,654 m) vert 11,503 ft (3,508 m) max el. If you complete this one in eight hours (not counting summit time) and hit the performance goal for the last one, you are well on your way. Incredible 360-degree views. The descent will send you around the bend. Sorry about the first mile.

    

    Hike #10 (Mauricio Aviles photo)

11. San Bernardino Peak via Angelus Oaks 16 mi (25.8 km) 4,731 ft (1,443 m) vert 10,691 ft (3261 m) max el. This is your victory lap. Not as hard as the last two but freakishly beautiful. Probably my favorite climb in SoCal. Use it to pat yourself on the back, but beware. If you’re in the right condition, the summit will appear sooner than you think. It’s also on a spur trail so don’t go by it. Complete this hike 7 to 10 days before…
12. Mt Whitney via Whitney Portal 21.6 mi (34.8 km) 6,148 ft (1,874 m) vert 14,508 ft (4,422 m) max el. The Big Kahuna. Be careful and remember:  Summiting is optional. Descent is mandatory! 

The three most important elements of any Mt Whitney training hike are length, vertical gain, and maximum elevation. The first hikes deal with one element, the next few combine two, and the final hikes put all three together. As with any training program, we adapt gradually to an increasing workload to prevent injury and harden ourselves for the rigors ahead. Since there are 11 actual training hikes, do each one two weeks apart with your running in between. With at least a week before climbing Whitney after the last hike, 23 weeks is the minumum time to train specifically for a successful Mt Whitney climb.

In the future, I will feature each of the Dirty Dozen hikes with its own post containing trailhead info, parking and highlights.

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