Some Representative Workouts

In getting ready for my meeting with Ben Popp to review my VO2 max data done at the U, I looked for some representative workouts.

Date	Activity	Distance	AHR	Notes
10/13	Regular run with 2.8 km tempo	13 km	170*	*During tempo split
10/09	My average quick jog	6.2 km	164	A little faster than usual
10/04	Distance	21 km	142	Not paying too much attention to HR
09/26	Interval 3x 1000 m track
09/12	Interval 5x 1600 m track
08/25	Distance	24 km	137	Paying a little closer attention to HR.

We discussed my regular training in light of the VO2 max testing.

Ben came up with the following HR zones:

... and suggested the following workouts:

• 5 x 5' in Zone 4, 3-4/month
• 2 x 20' in Zone 3, 2/month
• Max effort (like a race), 1/month
• Overdistance (3+hours), 30% Zone 1, 70% Zone 2, 2/month. 

Sisu Anaerobic Testing at the

Members of the new SISU D-Team and a couple of old guys from the masters' program (including myself) visited the University of Minnesota's Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene and Exercise Science for testing on Saturday to participate in Sisu's physiological testing session. We went through a set of evaluations, including VO2max, lactate, body composition, and Wingate.

I was actually a little nervous, not because I was afraid of the blood samples but because I had never run on a treadmill before. I had this vision of the machine going ever faster and finally ejecting me to the rear. After a quick tutorial I felt like I was ready to go.

VO2 max test (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake, peak oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity)
A grad student came by to test a device that measures the oxygen level in the muscle. We should get a little bonus test that way!

Lactate Testing. Ben was pricking fingers while we subjects were on the treadmill. After doing this four times with 17 test subjects, I am sure he was more sore than we were.

Ben's pricking my finger to collect blood for the 

Body Composition test by hydrostatic weighing. The tech who did my measurement said 14% of body fat, that's excellent for a 50-year old male.

Wingate anaerobic 30 second test. I almost skipped that one, they called me back. 3' of low-resistance spinning, 10" sprint and then 30" as fast as you can with x% of bodyweight resistance. This test was short, but probably the hardest during this morning's session.