High Altitude Training, Zimbabwe

High Altitude Training
It's the time of the year when many people from the Northern Hemisphere go on their summer holidays. Especially with the schools closed and some good weather spots around the world.

Harare, Zimbabwe

I planned to go for my summer Holidays to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a southern African country which enjoys some good tropical weather. During the month of August the country will be transiting from Winter into Spring. During this time of the year the temperatures range from the mid to the late teens. (degrees Celsius) They begin to climb into the 20s toward the end of August.
Not only are these temperatures ideal for Northern Hemisphere based people for some perfect sun therapy but they are also ideal for marathon conditioning.

Mutare view from Christmas Pass, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a country whose geography can be classified as relatively high altitude.
It is blessed with some of the most beautiful mountains especially along the eastern highlands. Vumba and Nyanga are some of the notables with Nyanga taking the coveted owners of featuring the highest mountain in Zimbabwe; mount Inyangani.

Vumba Mountains, Zimbabwe

I did not get the opportunity to train at these places though I visited the towns. I managed to train in Gutu whose altitude is at least 1000 above what I normally train at in Ireland. In Ireland I train within the altitude range from 0m to 35 metres above sea level.

Mt Ziro, Gutu Zimbabwe

I do remember from school years back my teacher telling that people who leave and work in High altitude areas have a higher affinity for oxygen. This is because higher altitudes have less oxygen that lower altitudes. As a result of relative lower oxygen levels their bodies compensate by having their haemoglobin develop a higher oxygen affinity.
The assumption is that if a low altitude based athlete trains in the higher altitudes their haemoglobin will adapt and develop a higher oxygen affinity. When they go back to participate in competitions in their low altitude areas they will have metabolism which will utilise loads of oxygen to create energy which is necessary for performance.
Here is a comparison of a 10 km run which I did in Ireland as compared to higher altitude in Zimbabwe.
You can see that the range of elevation for the Zimbabwe Training is 1020m to 1080m above sea level. In contrast the range for Ireland training is between 10m and 60m above sea level. It was definitely tougher training in the high altitude
I must stress that I was only in Zimbabwe for a short period of time. I couldn't have possibly benefited from High altitude training
The thing to note though is the fact that it's harder to complete a 10km run at high altitude than it is at lower altitude due decreased maximal cardiac output.