Cooper 12min run test

Well Mike had me do my first run test in ages - what a session to start the week with! Last time I ran this was in Nov 09 - I thought I did it in early 10 but I cannot find any reference in my blog - and I managed 2110m when I did it.....


Well today's session consisted of:


15min warm up - 10mins easy then 3x30sec build/30sec easy followed by 2min easy
12min MAX effort
5min cool down followed by stretching


This is the Cooper 12 minute assessment it is a surrogate way of identifying VO2max - it is meant to be conducted on a flat running track - The roads around here are fairly flat and I managed 2560m in the 12mins, makes me above average as an athlete for my age :-) not bad for a 15hr18min IRONMAN plus my max HR was 187 

The following table rates performance for athletes:

Age	Excellent	Above Average	Average	Below Average	Poor
Male 20-29	>2800m	2400-2800m	2200-2399m	1600-2199m	<1600m
Females 20-29	>2700m	2200-2700m	1800-2199m	1500-1799m	<1500m
Males 30-39	>2700m	2300-2700m	1900-2299m	1500-1999m	<1500m
Females 30-39	>2500m	2000-2500m	1700-1999m	1400-1699m	<1400m
Males 40-49	>2500m	2100-2500m	1700-2099m	1400-1699m	<1400m
Females 40-49	>2300m	1900-2300m	1500-1899m	1200-1499m	<1200m
Males >50	>2400m	2000-2400m	1600-1999m	1300-1599m	<1300m
Females >50	>2200m	1700-2200m	1400-1699m	1100-1399m	<1100m

VO2 max

An estimate of your VO2 max can be calculated as follows:

• (Distance covered in metres - 504.9) ÷ 44.73

My VO2max was 45.94ml/kg/min (which puts me in the excellent bracket)


From Wiki:


Maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) is widely accepted as the single best measure of cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic power. Absolute values of VO₂max are typically 40-60% higher in men than in women.”^[1] Clearly, then, VO₂max varies considerably in the population, with sex being a primary determining factor in this variability.

The average young untrained male will have a VO₂ max of approximately 3.5 litres/minute and 45 ml/kg/min.^[2] The average young untrained female will score a VO₂ max of approximately 2.0 litres/minute and 38 ml/kg/min.^{[citation needed]} These scores can improve with training and decrease with age, though the degree of trainability also varies very widely: conditioning may double VO₂max in some individuals, and will never improve it at all in others.^[3][4]

In sports where endurance is an important component in performance, such as cycling, rowing, cross-country skiing, swimming and running, world class athletes typically have high VO₂ maximums. World class male athletes, cyclists and cross-country skiers typically exceed 75 ml/kg/min and a rare few may exceed 85 ml/kg/min for men and 70 ml/kg/min for women.^{[citation needed]} Five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain is reported to have had a VO₂ max of 88.0 at his peak [1], while cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie measured at an astounding 96 ml/kg/min.^[5] Dæhlie's result was achieved out of season, and physiologist Erlend Hem who was responsible for the testing stated that he would not discount the possibility of the skier passing 100 ml/kg/min at his absolute peak. By comparison a competitive club athlete might achieve a VO₂ max of around 70 ml/kg/min.^[2]World class rowers are physically very large endurance athletes and typically do not score as high on a per weight basis, but often score exceptionally high in absolute terms. Male rowers typically score VO₂ maximums over 6 litres/minute, and some exceptional individuals have exceeded 8 l/min.

To put this into perspective, thoroughbred horses have a VO₂ max of around 180 ml/kg/min. Siberian dogs running in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race sled race have VO₂ values as high as 240 ml/kg/min.^[6]

Where it all started....

I posted this on the BCTTT forum as a reply to a thread about how you got into triathlon....it is a great thread if you are thinking about starting out and are not sure if you can do it....

http://forum.bcttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2995

Have a read....

Anyway this is my entry..I just wrote it as I thought about it....it shows where you can come from and get to if you have the presence of mind to succeed :-)

Where did it begin....hmmm I swam from about 5 until I was 15 - five days a week usually two hours every morning and in the evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays...managed to win lots at Fly ....then everyone else shot up and I ended up being the kid with the big shoulders who was only 5' 7".....briefly dallied with competitive swimming again at Masters level but it didn't hold the same appeal....After I quit swimming I took up Karate in a major way making it to the week before my Black Belt grading before some muppet smashed my knee in training....end Karate career.....I had surgery (plus post op infection) and lost interest in sport for a while - did high adrenaline stuff for a while though....

In between I found smoking, drinking and a year at college which I simply do not remember....after that I gave up the illegal substances (not my greatest moment those says...sorry M&D) and joined the TA (as a gun bunny in the Artillery laterly as a Squadron Commander in the Signals) and continued the drinking/smoking/keep fit style of life the Army is so good at teaching....and took up rugby...I was rubbish at school but my significant weight increase...I was now 18 stone+ meant I was pretty good as a loose head prop.....spent a lot of time in the gym pushin weights and also an equal time in the bar (probably more actually) drinking.....played rubgy until I broke my neck (C4 fracture)...scary....and bummed around for a couple of years...weight hit somewhere over 18 stone...20+inch collar...discovered I had familial hypercholesterolaemia and a very poor 10 year MI risk.......the works...had enough and decided to get a bit fitter....

Started running agin...that really hurt...and kept getting a little faster and better at it until I developed anterior and lateral compartment syndrome (where the muscle develops quicker than the fascia sheath it is in.....v painful) in both legs....160mins of surgery to release the pressure and three months of relearning to walk/run later starting an hour after surgery (the muscles become very dysfunctional from this syndrome) I decided to really improve the fitness level....I decided to join a friend competing in a sprint triathlon in Westonbirt, Gloucs - having wisdom teeth out and major post op infoections three weeks before the race didn't help but I got through it and didn't come last and loved it! Hooked!

The following year in 2009 I decided that sprint was too easy and so decided to take it up a level - Wimbleball looked fun....after a lot of training and 8hrs 54mins of pain (cramp and huge GI probs) later I crossed the line, got my medal from Phil Graves (as I was the last across the line) and had to be held up as the legs failed.....it was slow and hard work but what a feeling....so obviousy 2010 meant I had to go one step further....IM Switzerland......a lot of training and pain later I crossed the line in 15hr 18mins.....an IRONMAN.....nuff said....

So why do I do it....not sure....it started to get fit...but triathlon is insiduous....it takes over your life, changing you subtly...I hope I am a role model of sorts for my kids...I hope I make it past 45 without having an MI ....I justify doing it to those who don't get the "I do it because it is there" aspect by raising money like many others...

Plus I suppose I am a bit of a nutter who likes to juggle a young(ish) family, three dogs, an 80+hour working week and long distance training....keeps me sane...but the Army had to go before IM - I just couldn't manage that job too...at least I am fitter now than I ever was serving Queen and country....

Later
I.

I'm Training for an Ironman

Soooo funny - Lizzie likes this :-)

Jet lag and the US of A

Well I'm finally back after a week out in the States - I really have no idea how the pros do it jetting around and still training - I managed to do some sets when I was out in Atlanta but this morning the alarm clock went off at 5:50 so I could get the pool and what did I do - turned it off and went back to sleep! My body feels like it is only just 6am and I cannot stop yawning!

Anyhow - what a week - I was at the biggest Rheumatology conference in the world - ACR - about 17,000 delegates and some fascinating research, however that did mean a week of getting up at 5.30am to do some training and working from 7am through to around 10pm - I am shattered! On the plus side, running around for a week like a maniac seems to be good for my weight - although my mass has gone up 88.9kg my % body fat has gone down 17.1%!!

Whilst I was out in the States I managed teo treadmill runs and a static bike session - no swimmimng as apparently the pool of the 5* hotel "....closes in October" :-O - and no out door running as the concierge's comments were along the lines of "...you can go running sir, but I would recommend in daylight and not around here"....great....

This weekend will be the end of my rest (!) period and the start of the next training block - what torture has Mike got planned for me next - not sure! :-)

Frustration!

So just as the training was starting to go well - running back down to 5:30-5:45/km times rather than 7min/km I have devleoped a chest infection. There are several nasty bugs going therough Anja and Julia's school at the moment and of course I have to pick one up....I wonder if it is because I am calorie restricting at the moment - in all of my training up until the IM I did not get a single bug even though there were loads knocking about...however as soon as I restrict calories to drop the weight...bang infection city - vey annoying, I'll just have to hope the Klaricid works quickly! Rather amusingly the GP suggested I take at least a week off.....hmmm can I see that happening...nope maybe a couple of days but a week.....

On the plus side however I have started to drop body fat :-) but for some reason not weight well not much....

The image above gives a snapshot of the last 28 days from Training Peaks (the software I use with my coach to manage my training - it is fantastic, works really well and does both nutrition as well as training - the image below shows my training pan for the month - on each day it is possible to look at what training I am doing and below this see what I have had to eat etc that day, that way I can manage colories in vs out.

Anyway for the next couple of days I will be trying to get over this bug and recover - hopefully I can get in a run and bike this weekend - in between sorting out a celebration as it will be eighteen years this Saturday that Lizzie and I have been together....OMG where has the time gone!

Later

I.



The new training year

I know it is only October but the new training year has begun already! I had the last two weeks of September off completely - I really needed it to recover both mentally (I was frazzled by the year's training and starting to feel fed up with early starts etc) and physically (I had a number of irritating niggles).

So into my second week of training and things are going okay so far - the swimming is picking up, focusing a lot on technique like today's session:

4 x 200 (swim, pull, swim , pull)

4 x 50 Single arm
4 x 50 Reverse catch-up
4 x 50 Kick board
4 x 50 Paddles
1 x 100 Swim - best stroke count
400, 200, 200, 100 (First half of each rep stead and relaxed, second half strong and fast) - Keep form
100 Easy - put stroke back together, finish with good form

A good set felt really smooth. In addition my running is coming back, although I am struggling with residual ankle pain a little - achilles and p brevis both hurt a bit..but the run efforts tend to be focusing on technique and pace rather than distance.....and as for the bike well anything seems a breeze around here compared to Wiltshire/Switzerland (it is a littl eflat in Cambridge!!)

My goals between now and Christmas - pick up the running pace and loose some weight (no booze in the week and NO snacking!)

Read this!

If you want to know why I did the Ironman this year - why I put myself through the 1000s of miles of training and the days of hard work read the introduction to this book - Tim Carlson has summed up superbly well exactly what drove me to do an Ironman - sure I am a little OCD and certainly a type A personality but it is more than that - read it and you will understand!

http://www.velopress.com/sample/sample_17HG.pdf

I.