Wednesday 25 March 2009

VO2 testing

Hey,

Beautiful day in Vancouver today, unfortunately it's also the day of the week I have to spend the most hours in class so I've been couped up a bit. The end is in sight though with less than 2 weeks left of class then a mad panic before exams ... then it's summer.

To take some of the sting out of the impending exams I have started studying well in advance which is planned to aid in my passing...passing of exams that is...naturally no pun intended. So along with my Xnumber of hours a week training I'm trying to get in about 2/3 hours a day in of studying too, trying to think of the exams as a race and this as my pre race prep...makes it a bit easier to sit down and study hard after a long days training.

Yesterday though, to add to my lactate test I did last week, I got to head back into the lab to have my VO2 max measured. I find peace in numbers so having a current VO2 number in my brain helps me focus on areas I need to work on and keep pushing through these hard weeks.

As I'm pretty sure Simon Whitfield reads my blog and I don't want my main competition knowing my stats I'll keep my number locked away in my head for now, but all I can say is that it'll be higher tomorrow, a little bit higher the next day and a lot higher by June. I guess that's how you have to look at your training, there are no huge jumps, no massive gains. Even though it may look like people make terrific progress over night from time to time, it's not so simple. They've been working hard for many many days to make those jumps, it can get tough but it's meant to .... because you'll get tough in the process.

Quick note before I head off to study. Headed out for a spin yesterday afternoon with Denise and we stopped by Speed Theory on 4th Ave on the way back for a chat and a look around (as we do on the way home from most rides). Two bikes stood out from the back of the shop and we spent quite a bit of time chatting about and admiring them but I was jealous of their future owners. Got me thinking about my "one day" bike collection I'll invest in when I'm old and grey...no doubt the bikes will be completely different in the future but it they look half as nice as some of those kicking around the store I'll be a happy old man!

Mike

1 comment:

Patrick Waters said...

So is it cool for me to publish your numbers then?