Michel Butter (27) is in full preparation for the Rotterdam Marathon. The marathon runner reports on his preparations in the Rotterdam marathon website altitude tent:
After two heights of a month in Kenya, I have in the Netherlands arranged my own 'altitude training. I sleep at home every day in a so-called height tent.
The sky is rarer at height. The result is that your body produces more red blood cells. And the more red blood cells, the more oxygen you can transport to the muscles and the better your endurance.
Swimmer Maarten van der Weijden was already sleeping in such a tent during his preparation for the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, where he won gold on the 10 kilometers of open water. Several runners also have experience with such a height tent.
I bought one for a few thousand euros, but you can also rent them. Such a height tent mimics the air conditions that you find at altitude via a generator. I stay the night in an altitude tent to hold the effect of my altitude internship in Kenya longer towards the marathon. My body thinks I'm still staying in Kenya. You can adjust the height yourself. A mountain climber has different requirements than a runner.
My height tent is smaller than the small room I had during my last training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya. It has a double bed and a camping table that serves as a desk.
In the evening at seven o'clock I step into my height tent and do some study work at the camping table. My girlfriend comes half an hour later. The next morning at half past seven I get up and descend from the 'height' at which I slept.
A sacrifice? Well, it's only for a certain period and you know: if you want to achieve something as a top athlete, you have to go for it. And, believe me, I sleep well in my height tent.
Greeting from 'height' by Michel Butter
Read all of Butter's experiences on the website of the Rotterdam Marathon - http://www.marathonrotterdam.nl
