Numbers

If you want to get serious with your training, you have to know your numbers. What numbers? I'm glad you asked :) There are various tests that can prove to be very helpful with achieving your goals and I was fortunate enough to have a few of them done last week.

First on the list was a Personal Profile. This included measurements of height, weight, calculated BMI from those two, estimated cardiovascular max VO2 (based on heart rate reading from a treadmill run and recovery), bicep strength, stretch and reach flexibility, and body fat (via calipers). A computer program then took all of the data and gave me a rating of my overall fitness and "body age". In short, the tests showed that I'm in the "normal" category for BMI, have an estimated "moderate" VO2 Peak (how that's possible with all my workouts I don't know!), average bicep strength, average hamstring flexibility (not surprising since I'm a runner... it makes legs pretty tight), "optimal" body fat composition, "good" overall fitness, and have a body age a few years younger than my actual age. I'd have to say that while this data was interesting, it was pretty generic and didn't give me much guidance. It pointed out things that needed improving but not really any information on how to best proceed in order to see the results I wanted. I knew I needed more scientific data. On to test two...

Test two was called CaloriePoint, and was a metabolic test that calculated how many calories my body burns at rest. I had to fast for 12 hours (brutal for me not to eat first thing in the morning!) and avoid caffeine for 24 hours prior to the test (no problem). Basically I was strapped in to a heart rate monitor and placed in a dark quiet room for 15 minutes while I breathed in to a tube. That tube was connected to a computer which then analyzed the air I exhaled. While this was about as simple a test as one could hope for, the results were very detailed. It showed that if I were to sit on my rear and do nothing all day, I would still need to take in 1324 calories to sustain my basic physical needs (heart beating, blood pumping, food digesting, etc.). If I were to factor in my average daily activity (the amount I walk around, etc.) then I now need 1854 calories. And then, on top of that, if I workout then I also have those calories to eat too. Eating too few calories can be as detrimental as eating too many, so THIS information was very helpful to me and could definitely be used to reach one of my goals (lean out a little bit by dropping 6-8% body fat). Although I'm already in the "optimal" range of body composition, I'm at the higher end of the range and would like to lower it down; being in this range also means that I don't have a ton of calories that can be eliminated every day so I'm looking at losing only 1/2-1 pound a week, if I'm lucky. So for now I'm shooting for around 1500 calories a day, not including exercise calories (I happily eat those calories guilt-free!).

Test number three was called CardioPoint, which I also call the Hannibal Lecter test. I was strapped in to a breathing mask that was entirely uncomfortable and slightly unnerving.

Not me running (obviously), but this was the getup I was in.

They started me at a pace that I felt I could sustain without problem for 30 minutes and then, after a 3 minute warm-up at that pace, things started to get interesting. Every 30-60 seconds the incline would be raised a couple percentages in order to make it more difficult. I was told that I had to last at least 8 minutes for the test to be valid and that once I hit a 100% (of what measurement I can't remember) then I'd be allowed to stop. Let's just say that by the seventh minute I was really working hard and I was just hoping that the 100% would hold off 60 seconds longer! Thankfully I crossed the 8-minute mark and then a minute or so later I was given the okay to stop. It's a good thing because I had reached the point of effort where the desire to puke was very strong and I don't think I could have gone on even 30 seconds longer without losing it. I know that's a normal bodily response at that level of effort but hey, it's still not pleasant to go through! However, once again, the effort was worth it. I now have heart rate zones that are specific to me, know how many calories I burn in each zone per minute, and what percentage of those calories are from fat vs. glucose. No more generic "220 - age" numbers or hoping that I'm working my body at the right level to achieve my goal for that workout. In fact, a comparison will show what a difference there is:

Generic Zone
1: 92-110
2: 111-128
3: 129-146
4: 147-165
5: 166-183

Personalized Zone
1: 128-137
2: 138-144
3: 145-151
4: 152-161
5: 162-172

So, as you can see, there is quite a difference. The generic vs. exact has enough discrepancies so that it could successfully derail my training; I might think that I was training my AT (aerobic threshold) when really I was still in base building, and I might think I was doing base building when in essence I wouldn't be working hard enough to have any real benefit at all! Throw in there that I need to spend most of my time in zone 1-2 in order to best achieve my other goal (dropping body fat) and I might have REALLY been frustrated.

Finally, going back to my Estimated VO2 Peak from the first test (the one that had me at a "moderate" rating with 35.4 ml/kg/min)... My actual, scientifically tested VO2 Peak is 47.1 ml/kg/min, which falls in to the elite (best) category. Right on :)

Wah :(

I'm officially on two weeks of workout restriction. After last weekend at Laura's lake house my leg flared up worse than ever before (we're guessing it was pelvic stabilizing demands of the jetski and/or waterskiing) so this is a last-ditch effort to see if it will heal itself before undergoing diagnostic testing. Those who workout consistently understand how unnerving this news is. It's like a part of me is dead. I haven't felt this off-kilter in a long time and it's hard to adjust to not feeling whole.

I'm trying to make the best of it by finding anything I can do that doesn't involve the hip flexor being stressed. Surprisingly, as much as I miss running/cycling, I've been having quite a fun time with my alternatives. I've become more consistent with my strength workouts (focusing on core and arm work) and have had some great swims too. Case in point was this weekend. On Saturday, after bidding my training group good luck on their runs, I walked over to a nearby fence that surrounded a baseball field and hooked up my TRX. I convinced Ed, a long-time member of our group who is currently battling a sore shin, to join me in my workout and we had a great time switching off and on every 60 seconds. At first he laughed when I showed him the two straps and said, "That's what we're going to use? You can't get much of a workout with that!". However, within 15 minutes he was sweating and shaking and eating his words :) It was fun for me to have company on my workout, and I got to do some coaching too as I walked Ed through each exercise and what to pay attention to. I woke up on Sunday with a pleasantly sore core and Ed reports that he is VERY sore. Fantastic :) :D :P


I also had the chance to go to a different lake house on Saturday afternoon/evening and hang out with some of my favorite people. There were about a dozen friends from my triathlon circle and, as usual, it was a time full of laughter, love, and fun. We even had an impromptu open-water swim! (Yes, being workout geeks, most of us had spare goggles and swim caps tossed here or there in our cars. Actually, if I'm being completely honest, I have to admit that I always keep my entire pool bag in my truck!) Six of us swam from Pete's house (at the base of a cove) to the "no wake" buoy and then back to his house (I'd guess it was around 500m round-trip); when we finished I felt like I'd barely gotten started so I asked if anyone was up for round two. Dave and Jenn said yes so the three of us did it again :) As I promised my doctor I stayed away from jetskis and waterskiing, but I did go tubing. It was my first time on a three-person tube and it was an absolute laugh-fest.

The silence is deafening

I'm currently an empty nester. Grant is gone for four weeks, almost non-stop, and the house is so quiet without him (and the constant parade of neighborhood friends that invade my house on a daily basis). The first week he's gone is for an overnight basketball camp that has been around so long that my brother went to it growing up, and the last three weeks are attending a day camp that is done through Johns Hopkins University. He's attended the latter for the past two years and I've settled in to accepting being away from him for five days at a time because I've known I could talk to him if I wanted to (he stays with my parents for those weeks). The basketball camp is a new thing for us though, and it's put me a bit out of my dots. I know kids need to grow up, and I'm happy he is able to have this experience, but still... I remember what overnight camps were like at that age and the things kids did and talked about, so I feel his innocence slipping away even more with every tick of the clock! I also hope he's fitting in okay. He's going through an awful *rolling eyes* *sighing* *know it all* *give me my freedom!* stage that can really push my buttons sometimes and I worry about how his peers might react. Then again, his peers are probably going through the exact same phase so maybe he'll be in good company! I get him back tomorrow night and can't wait to hear how it went.

In his absence, I've actually been getting quite a bit done. Some has been work and some has been play. One of the fun things was an end-of-season cookout for our Spring Training Group to celebrate all of the hard work that was done over the past three months. About half of the group was able to make it, and here's a photo from the day:


It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy each others company without sweat being a requirement :)

I've also spent quite a bit of time getting ready to start my new job. I've done some shadowing of co-workers, participating in functional assessments that are offered to clients, and of course the standard paperwork that is necessary for minor things like paychecks and health insurance. My "official" training starts in less than two weeks and I can't wait! When I was there today one of the things we did was get my uniform ordered. I feel so official now :)

Before starting my job I was really hoping to have one more trip with Grant to my friend Laura's lake house. As luck would have it, she had a trip planned beginning a few days before Grant had to leave for camp so he and I packed up and joined her for a bit. There ended up being over a dozen of us there at various points during the weekend and we all got along famously. It was a great mix of adults and kids, and laughter and fun followed wherever we went.

There was kayaking...


and fishing...


and tower jumping...


and boat rides...


followed by bike rides, where our turnaround points had incredible views like this...


and late night fun...


and waterskiing, tubing, dancing, and so much more that I don't have photos of. Suffice to say, it was a whole lot of everything rolled in to 60 hours, and I think I'll need another 60 hours to fully recuperate! :)