Thursday, January 8, 2009

VO2 Test

Why do I do these kinds of things to myself. Is it because I like pain? Maybe so.

I went in to see Dr. Max Testa. We are so lucky have a guy like this lurking around the valley and in Park City too. Really cool. I say take advantage of having him around if you are able. He knows his stuff and can relate to a cycling mind more than any other doctor I have ever been to. He gets it, understands it and puts it all to use for you.

So yeah....about the test. Max wanted me to come in and have a V02 test done. I have never ever had one done. Nothing like doing that right off the bat after taking some time off the bike right!? Ouchy. No.....it hurt but it didn't hurt nearly as much as an actual race because it is very short lived.

Once I got on my bike that was attached to a computrainer and got my face mask weird thing on, they then hooked me up to all the tubes that measure everything I was ready to go. There was some discomfort in the device you put your mouth over because it doesn't allow for any swallowing or gulping but does allow for lots of drooling like dog. So I was obsessing over this small detail for most of the duration of the test 20 min test because I couldn't "gulp". It was hard to put that out of my mind which of course finally happened when pain set in. Once that set in I didn't think about much else - funny how that works.

For those of you that don't know what the test looks like, check out someone else getting it done with Max here. They start you out easy with a low amount of watts and increase the wattage every 2 minutes until you are brought essentially to a race pace effort and max heart rate. It is truly a bundle of joy I tell you. Hammering in a lab with no music attached to tubes rules! Ha!

After it was all said and done, Max was very pleased with the end result number (my Vo2) along with how many watts I was able to get to before having to shut down the test. That certainly bodes well for my mid off season confidence level! I needed that. You just never know where you are fitness level wise until you get some solid numbers to ponder and luckily its looking like I am right on track.

Ah yes, then it was off to the heavenly land of Costco and the views behind it were amazing.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i always feel like a lab rat when i do those test.

i remember at the training center we did them once every 4 months just cause the coach like to use the equiptment. we all hated it, especially that mouthpiece.


btw i always scored in the high 80's and once a 92.