Altitude

This week I did something I have never done before, and probably will never do again - altitude training.

We have arranged to have five sessions in an altitude chamber to get used to walking at altitude and preparing our bodies as much as we can for what is just ahead of us.  The five days run back to back (apart from the weekend) so we started on Wednesday and will have our last one one Tuesday, the day before we fly.

We are doing the training at St Mary's University in Twickenham.  St Mary's has some of the best fitness training facilities in the country and has been used by many sporting greats including Sir Mo Farrah and David Weir CBE.  The altitude chamber is also used by some F1 drivers as part of their training, unfortunately confidentiality means they can't tell me who - but its great to know I'm standing in the footsteps of some of the greats.  If altitude training is good enough for them, its good enough for me!

We are in the chamber on a treadmill each for an hour at a time.  Just walking, but adjusting our speed and incline every 15 minutes.  One of the treadmills is very high and very wide - its in there for David Weir so we really do feel athletic using his equipment.

Each day in the altitude chamber the altitude is increased and oxygen levels decreased so our bodies can get to used to functioning at altitude.  Day one we started low, reaching 2000m above sea level.  Day two we increased it to 3000m.  At 3000m the oxygen level in the room was 14.5% (normal level is 20.9%).  Day three we upped it again to 3530m and the oxygen again reduced to 13.5%.

The plan is to reach 4000m on day four and 4750m on day five.  It takes the body at least 24 hours to get back to normal oxygen levels - the reason we have left this so late in the day is that when we fly and arrive to start the climb our bodies still will not have reacclimatised to normal oxygen levels and therefore the altitude should not be too much of a shock for us.

This week has also seen the shipment of all the school goodies to Tanzania.  Eighteen boxes in total including books, toys, games and laptops as well as bags for each child at the school.  Thank goodness I don't need to unpack them all again at the other end!!  We are visiting the school at the end of our trip so I will no doubt share some photos of the day.