Thursday, May 5, 2011

Three Things Thursday

  1. I had my VO2 max test last night. This is basically a test that measures how much oxygen your body processes while working out. It also tells you the heart rate zones you should be training in. I will get more in depth with details in a separate post. I did learn that I am a stronger cyclist than I thought!
    The way the test is conducted is by breathing into a very tight fitting mask and the tester increases the effort every minute until you can't go any more. Let's just say I left a nice puddle of sweat under my bike. Here is picture from the beginning of the test when it was "easy". I'll save the really gross pictures of me for the next post.
  2. I am really enjoying being on twitter! I am able to chit chat with other triathlete bloggers around the country as well as the usual blogger suspects that I have already met in person. I have made lots of Internet friends and even turned some of those friends into real life friends. Yay blogger friends!
  3. Katie wrote a fabulous #3 on her Three Things Thursday post- click her name to go and check it out. I want to echo what Katie said. While I have been active my whole life, I am totally new to triathlon and don't have too much going for me except my motivation and drive. I was not a competitive swimmer starting at age 3. Hell, I just learned how to swim this past November and I still find swimming more than 500 meters at a time difficult. I never ran more than a mile until I was in college and never did any sports that involved running. The fastest mile I ever ran was at the end of last weekends 10 miler and I threw up at the end. I am an average cyclist who almost falls over every single time I have to unclip my feet at a stop sign. This is my journey and I need to be proud of that...9 minute miles and all :)

8 comments:

  1. - I am kinda interested in the VO2 test post, never had it done

    - Bloggers are kinda like a second family

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  2. 1. I want to do a formal VO2 test. That sounds awesome.
    2. Hooray Twitter! I seriously would have way fewer friends if it weren't for that and blogging.
    3. I think I get jealous because I'm competitive. I need to learn to temper that feeling. Because hey, if you don't love what you're doing and aren't motivated, it doesn't matter if you're an elite -- why the hell bother?

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  3. That test sounds pretty cool!

    If I had a twitter account I don't think I would have any friends on it :(

    I love your number 3 and Kaites. I feel the same way as you guys and am always pushing myself to train and do better even if it's something simple/easy for someone else.

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  4. Ah! I have done that Test before with that mask. Frigging hurts, right? Especially that last 3 mins where you are not only spent but also pushing against the hardest resistance while required to maintain a high cadence? My legs and lungs hurt just from thinking about it....

    Hope you are recovering from the test! That test is SO valuable! Did they give you a sheet with wattage and zones and % of anaerobic threshold?

    If you really want to train on the bike properly and have some extra $$$ kicking around, consider training with power. Especially for a HIM where you can use the wattage to limit yourself so that you don't burn your legs before you hit the run, but yet know that you did expend as much wattage as necessary to finish the bike.

    Training and racing with power has set me up for a good run a number of times.

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  5. I fall over all the time too!

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  6. I am proud of you and your 9 minute miles and your bike badassery!

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  7. Great call on number 3.

    Look forward to hearing about your VO2max experience...

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  8. I love that you are on twitter! :)

    You're journey is so similar to mine... and I love watching it unfold. You are awesome!

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