I have an intense dislike for running as fast as I can.  At my last 5k I felt I was going to vomit crossing the finish line.   Add to this, another intense dislike: testing.  I just don’t test well.  I failed my first drivers’ license test (no comments allowed), and my SATs were lackluster.  In fact, this is one of the reasons I studied philosophy – nothing has a right answer!

So when Andreas at Ultrabikex Studio told me to do the Vo2Max test he offers, I had a minor heart attack.  He told me the test would be done at the Studio, on a treadmill, it would take about forty minutes including warm-up and cool down and that I would be pushed beyond what I thought my limits were.In no way, shape, or form did this sound like an attractive proposition.  This is how I usually look after a speed work session:

The only exciting part was that I would finally be able to accurately determine my training zones.  I found this article to be quite helpful in describing what each zone means and what workouts correspond to each. Until then my fitness tests were general formulas applied to standard results. Vo2Max is different.  Many agree that it is a more precise and scientific method of determining your fitness level and training zones.  Vo2Max basically “represents the maximum amount of oxygen that can be used by the muscles during a specified period” says Ken Johnson a USAT coach.  It’s that oxygen that your body uses in order to create energy, and energy is what you use to go fast and far.

Therefore, by reaching your Vo2Max in a controlled environment, the data from which you are calculating your training zones are exact and personal to you.

The higher your Vo2Max number, the more fit you are, at least as far as cardio-pulmonary capacity is concerned.  This doesn’t mean that the highest Vo2Max will win a race.  Your speed will depend on your training, your body mechanics AND your capacity to use oxygen.  However, higher Vo2Max numbers translate into higher endurance potential.

So far so good.  The only problem I saw with the whole thing, is that to find my Vo2Max I would need to “push beyond my limits”, in that test, on that treadmill, with Ultrabikex my new sponsor there.  Remember I intensely dislike BOTH all out efforts AND tests; this was the recipe for my worst nightmare.

I was told not to exercise for at least 24 hours before the test and to be rested.  I had obeyed the exercise part, but I did wake up a couple of times at night thinking about this.  When I finally made it to the Ultrabikex Studio the first thing out of my mouth was “don’t laugh.”  If you don’t know Ultrabikex Studio or what they are like, you can read about them here.  In a jist it is a top-notch-serious-biking-by-appointment-only studio.  So I thought they would find my results, well, comedic.

A computer was attached to a treadmill through an array of cables and techie paraphernalia.  I strapped on a heart rate monitor and was given a mask to wear.  This alien looking contraption had a metal bar that covers your nose while a blue wetsuit like cloth covers most of your face.  Unfortunately the picture I have of myself with it on is a little blurry so I found this one on the Internet to give you an idea.

Once the mask was on, I was told not to talk.  They were going to slowly increase the speed of the treadmill and I was to signal with my hands, from one to ten, my effort level.

And off we were.  I warmed up for about 10 minutes.  It took a little bit to get used to running with that mask, as well as finding my stride on a treadmill since I am rarely on one. Then the test began.  My heart skipped a beat here and there.  I know because every time it did, I would immediately be reassured with a low calm voice that I was doing great. They saw my heart rate had just spiked.

In truth I felt like a caged animal.  Here were two super fit, super smart, super “triathlonly” guys looking at me, my running, and the computer screen.  They would talk to each other and point at things but I couldn’t look.  I was too focused on running, breathing and not blowing-out. I looked intently forward.  The treadmill faced the studio’s glass doors and I could see through them.  I found a poster and was fixed on it the entire time.

Every five minutes or so I was told how much time I had left on the test and was assured I was doing well.  I stared at that poster and tried to maintain a calm steady pace.  Eventually I thought: “hey, I am not out of breath yet” and would boldly hold up a seven or eight as an effort level.  This went on for exactly twenty minutes.  Towards the end I was given visuals “imagine you are 400 meters from the finish line and right in front of you is someone in your age group that is going to take a spot on the podium.  Go get her.” I would dutifully step it up and before I knew it the test was over.

Although I got to the point where I was no longer producing aerobic oxygen, I never felt I got to that level ten effort. I kept telling them to increase the speed but my heart rate had peaked at 181 beats per minute, and the level of oxygen I was using began going down.  I could’ve pushed more and gotten to the level ten but instead of training my muscles I would be fatiguing them.  I couldn’t keep up the oxygen “production.”  That is what makes this test different and more precise.

On a run test, I would’ve gone to that level ten and then base all my training zones on a number that was not going reflect my real training zones.  My numbers would be skewed to higher rates because I wouldn’t have known I had passed the point of oxygenation and entering fatigue.

I did a ten minute cool down, and stepped off the treadmill feeling better than expected.  I got my results immediately.  Ta…dah ….

I have a Vo2Max level of 40 which for a forty year old woman translates into a “well trained athlete.” Me? A well trained athlete?

I learned my accurate training zones, including the heart rate which would produce the most fat loss.  I also learned my fifteen year pack-a-day smoking habit did not leave a mark on my lungs.  I learned that I was more fit than I give myself credit for and that I have the physical capacity to be a faster athlete, though now I have to become one.

I left Ultrabikex Studios with a renewed sense of confidence, “a well trained athlete”… me? I still couldn’t believe it.  I want to train harder and now I know I can.

I will retest in three or four months, and though my dislike for testing will be there and my anxiety over it might rear its head, I hope the dislike for speed will have all but vanished.