PhD, Associate Professor A.V. Kabachkova¹
S.N. Kapitanov^2
1National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk
²National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk

Keywords: skyrunning, adaptation, heart rate monitoring, pulse oximetry, lactate tests, middle-altitude training, training system.

Background. Modern mountaineering sports, tourism and trekking tours are increasingly popular in every population group, particularly in the urban communities [8], with the range of mountain sports and physical activities growing with time [8, 11]. A special progress and popularity the world over and in Russia has recently been won by skyrunning, a 2000m-plus mountain running discipline that emerged in 2012 [6]. Modern skyrunning events may be described as the high-altitude races including Vertical Kilometer, SkyRace and SkyMarathon. It should be mentioned that the amateur sports community grows and includes more and more mature people with time [9]. Sport veterans are known to appreciate the active leisure time options, peer communication and teamwork opportunities of the new sport discipline, whilst the purely competitive aspects are ranked second on their list of priorities. Since the veteran sports are known to be highly sensitive to many negative age-specific factors [1], and this holds particularly true for the amateur sports and self-reliant uncontrolled trainings often run with violations for the key training system safety standards [4, 10], a special priority shall be given to the 35+ year-olds health/ functionality tests and analyses – particularly in the high-difficulty situations and challenging environments including the middle- and high-altitude trainings and competitions.

Objective of the study was to run the 35-48 year-old sport veterans’ health/ functionality tests in the middle-altitude trainings.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the gender-equal Experimental Group the 35-48 year-old (40 years old on average) amateur Class III skyrunners of about the same physical and competitive fitness having no health limitations for trainings and competitions. The group heart rates and peripheral oxygen (SpO2) levels in blood were tested by Choicemmed MD300C318 portable pulse oximeters; and the lactic acid/ lactate levels were tested by AccutrendPlus portable biochemistry analyzers, with the tests run every morning on an empty stomach in a quiescent state for 13 days of the training period. The test data were processed by the standard statistical data processing Statistica 8.0 software toolkit and followed by descriptive, comparative and correlation analyzes. Differences of the data arrays were rated significant at p≤0.05. It should be emphasized that the test data were found gender-unspecific (p> 0.05) and, hence, there was no need for gender grouping of the sample.

Results and discussion. The middle-altitude group training course was run in May 28 through June 9, 2019 in the Altai Republic at Altai-Aktru Highland Center in a trough valley of the Aktru River – downhill from the Severo-Chuisky ridge glacier 2150 m above the sea level [3]. The training cycle was designed to acclimatize the group for the Vertical Kilometer race at the Tomsk Region Skyrunning Championship on June 12, 2019. The 3000m race was run on the Teacher Hill starting from 1000 m altitude. The precompetitive trainings were dominated by active moderate-intensity runs (3 hours at most) every morning on 1000-3000m high tracks, with the heart rate kept at most 70% of the maximum; plus outdoor team sports in the afternoon including volleyball, futsal, badminton, etc.

Middle-altitude training course overview: it was run in the 1400 m to 2500 m altitudes with a relatively lower atmospheric pressure, air temperature and humidity levels and higher radiation (light, ultraviolet, etc.). Most influential of these factors is the atmospheric pressure under 596 mm Hg since it is known to force the partial oxygen pressure (pO2) drop by 23% to 115 mm Hg (from 149 mm Hg on the sea level) [2]. Such pO2 drops are associated with adaptive physiological changes that are normally moderate and transient in healthy individuals [5] although the 35-plus year-olds may face some altitude-specific hypoxic issues.

Given on Figure 1 are the SpO₂ test data. As provided in the 2009 WHO guidelines on pulse oximetry, the SpO₂ levels of 95%-minus are indicative of hypoxia, while the 90%-minus level are critical and emergency medical care is needed [7]. As demonstrated by Figure 1, hypoxia was diagnosed in every trainee, with one 48 years-old woman even tested with SpO₂ of only 91%. A correlation analysis found a strong inverse age-to-SpO₂ correlation on day 1(-0.85 points), with further SpO₂ fall by day 5 to 93.2±1.7% on average. On the whole, the sample was tested with a wide SpO2 variation in the first week – mostly in the hypoxic zone. Later on the test rate was found to grow and normalize at 98-99%.

Given on Figure 2 is the heart rate monitoring data. Random pre-training heart rate were found to vary at 49 ± 2 beats/ min on average, grow by 10-plus beats in week 1 of the middle-altitude trainings still staying within the normal range of 60-90 beats/ min, with maximums reached on days 5-6 to come back to norm on week 2 and later on.

Given on Figure 3 is the lactate monitoring data. Note that even in the moderate-intensity trainings with the heart rate kept under 70% of the maximum, lactate was tested to grow at first above 1 mmol/l (due to the natural fall of the tissue oxygenation in mid-altitude conditions) and fall down on week 2 to normalize thereafter at 0.8-0.9 mmol/l, with one individual tested with lactate of 0.8±0.1 mmol/l on day 13.

Figure 1. Peripheral blood oxygen:  variation for the training period, %

Figure 2. Heart rate variation for the training period, bpm

Figure 3. Capillary blood lactate: variation for the training period, mmol/l

Conclusion. Middle-altitude trainings were tested to change the 35-48 year-olds functionality and trigger adaptation processes in response to a relative drop in pO2, with every individual tested with age-specific hypoxic responses on day 1. The study found the oxygen saturation rate monitoring being more informative than the heart rate tests only for the acclimatization process tests and self-controls – due to the heart rate in trained samples normally staying within a healthy range and being sensitive at the same time to many factors. The study data and analyses showed the middle-altitude adaptation going in a phased manner, with some functionality falls in week 1 (blood oxygen drops, heart rate growths and lactate growths) and crisis occurring on day 5, with the health situation coming back to normality and stability on week 2 and thereafter. Therefore, the 35-48 year-old skyrunners are recommended scheduling at least a week for adaptation and acclimatization period, with the low-intensity trainings reasonably controlled and limited by a safe heart rate range.

References

1. Bezzubik K.V., Timonov M.A. Objective and subjective factors of leading active lifestyle in old age. Servis v Rossii i za rubezhom. 2012. No. 1. pp. 12-19.
2. Gora E.P. Human ecology. Moscow: Drofa publ., 2007. 540 p.
3. Mountain center "Altai-Aktru" (2020). official website. (https://altay-aktru.ru/).
4. Kapitanov S.N., Kabachkova A.V., Shilko V.G. Independent physical training practices among men aged from 36 to 44 years. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. 2012. No.360. pp. 148-151.
5. Naumenko S.E. Mountain sickness. Novosibirsk: IPC NSU publ.,  2018. 72 p.
6. Ravtsova S.E., Kapitanov S.N., Kabachkova A.V. Individual dynamics of sports results in skyrunning (case study). Voprosy funktsionalnoy podgotovki v sporte vysshikh dostizheniy. 2017. No.1. pp. 92-98.
7. WHO Pulse Oximetry Manual. WHO Press publ.,  2009. 23 p.
8. Safaryan A.A. Features of tourism research in mountain regions of the world. Geograficheskiy vestnik. 2015. No. 2 (33). pp. 71-77.
9. Skyrunning (2020). Russian Mountaineering Federation (https://alpfederation.ru/discipline/skyrunning/).
10. Stankevich R.A. Health running at any age. St. Petersburg: Piter publ., 2016. 224 p.

Corresponding author: avkabachkova@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective of the study was to run the 35-48 year-old sport veterans’ health/ functionality tests in the middle-altitude trainings.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the gender-equal Experimental Group the 35-48 year-old (40 years old on average) amateur Class III skyrunners of about the same physical and competitive fitness having no health limitations for trainings and competitions. The group heart rates and peripheral oxygen (SpO2) levels in blood were tested by Choicemmed MD300C318 portable pulse oximeters; and the lactic acid/ lactate levels were tested by AccutrendPlus portable biochemistry analyzers, with the tests run every morning on an empty stomach in a quiescent state for 13 days of the training period.

Results and conclusions. It is shown that the oxygen saturation rate monitoring being more informative than the heart rate tests only for the acclimatization process tests and self-controls – due to the heart rate in trained samples normally staying within a healthy range and being sensitive at the same time to many factors. The study data and analyses showed the middle-altitude adaptation going in a phased manner, with some functionality falls in week 1 (blood oxygen drops, heart rate growths and lactate growths) and crisis occurring on day 5, with the health situation coming back to normality and stability on week 2 and thereafter. Therefore, the 35-48 year-old skyrunners are recommended scheduling at least a week for adaptation and acclimatization period, with the low-intensity trainings reasonably controlled and limited by a safe heart rate range.