Training at altitude?

The biggest tip I can give if you're heading to Colorado is to drink a *LOT* of water.  It's a lot less humid there than what you're used to.  If you get dehydrated, the effects of altitude will be a lot more pronounced ( headache, etc. ).  When I'm in Colorado, I keep a water bottle with all the time, and constantly sip from it.

Take it a bit slower, since you'll be at a higher altitude than you're used to as well.  Less oxygen up there, so your effort will be higher for everything.

As far as skiing 2 months before a race, I wouldn't worry about that.  Have fun, it's a beautiful area! 

-Chris

Be sure to drink LOTS of water. Hopefully as an athlete you already do this but at altitude and with the dryness of Colorado it becomes doubly important!

As to learning a new sport, I do not see why not. You will use new muscles and probably be sore but that IMHO is a good thing. You might try cross-country skiing while you are there. Vail has a course set all over the area. It is comprable to hiking or running.

Also, take lessons!! Do not have your husband teach you!! In ski resorts, the disaster of spouses teaching each other to ski is a local joke. The situation illustrates the saying, "Just because you can does not mean you can teach!!!" Maybe you haven't heard this saying since I made it up. Hang around a ski area long enough and you will see it is true.

Hope you have a wonderful time. Good luck!!

I will echo what everyone said about increasing hydration. When I first moved here I couldn't believe the difference. It is very dry and you get dehydrated much faster than you would think.

Secondly, be atuned to the effects of acute mountain sickness. Overexertion at altitude can cause this problem and any signs of headache, nausea or difficulties sleeping should be taken as signs of the disease and warrant a complete cessation of exercise until you have recovered.

Finally, allow for the fact that at altitude you will be able to exert much less than you would normally. Your HR will be higher and you will become short of breath rapidly. So expect to exercise at a lower level of intensity than you would at sea level for the same HR.

Unrelated; go for the ski lessons.! Skiing is loads of fun and a good cross training exercise.

I'll be up at Vail myself next weekend, I'll look for your BT ski jacket.

cheers.

Take it slow and wear a heart rate monitor.   The town of Vail is at 7,500 feet...if you have never trained at this altitude, you are gonna feel it.  You may want to try snow shoeing or x-country skiing while here...great cross-training, but it will slow you down just because it's a new sport!

Enjoy...Colorado is beautiful!