High ideals bring pain and joy

I was approached by my fitness trainer, Damon Leedale-Brown, last summer to see whether I would be interested in a training camp at altitude in Colorado in the US and I excitedly obliged, albeit with an air of trepidation.

I had played at altitude once before in Columbia and it was one of the most excruciating experiences I have had to endure on a squash court.

At altitude the density of oxygen particles in the air is less than that at sea level, making hard exercise even harder.

Many athletes train at altitude for long periods of time and because of the relative lack of oxygen, the concentration of red blood cells in the body will increase in order to take in more oxygen.

It is then presumed that on returning to sea level the athlete will have more red blood cells to take in oxygen, hopefully making hard exercise that bit easier.

As I write, I find myself in Colorado for the second time. What am I doing?

Upon arrival in Estes Park, I remembered why I was so drawn to the place last year.

It is the most spectacular environment you could imagine to train in. The camp, run by Terry and Jacqui, caters for groups of athletes (or non-athletes) wishing to come and spend a fortnight or so in hell/heaven.

I have been around for several weeks enjoying the off-season and over-eating and so the first few days were a shock as most of the time was spent trying to get over mild altitude sickness.

By the third day I was heading up the trails on the mountain bikes. The first half of the ride is all uphill and as it's the first hard session, the body doesn't have enough outlets to consume the amount of air needed.

The legs feel like they are tied in knots and it seems like the body possesses only one lung. But riding up the trails, glorious mountain views surround us.

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