I've Got Some Work To Do

As I registered for Ironman Arizona in November my hands were shaking and my stomach was doing flips.  I was beginning a year long journey that I'm sure will test me in ways I cannot even begin to imagine.  After the sting of the registration fee wore off, I settled into a comfortable groove of enjoying my off season while dreaming of crossing the finish line and hearing Mike Reilly call out, "Amy Manuel, you are an Ironman!"  Sometimes the thought of those few simple words are enough to put a lump in my throat.  Am I really going to do this?

Now that I'm about to begin my "official" Ironman training, my focus is on the process rather than the end result.  Race day may be 140.6 miles, but the finish line far exceeds that. To begin my training, I met with my coach  this weekend for my VO2 testing. During the test I get to wear a mask that is hooked up to a machine that measures all kinds of stuff as I run on a treadmill and ride my bike on the trainer. It's a very sexy test, as you can tell from the pictures.  I did this test in June as I was beginning my half Ironman training, so we were able to compare my current results with my June results.

My bike test was the first test.  I was supposed to try to maintain a certain cadence (how fast you pedal), but it was hard to see my bike computer due to the mask and tube on my face.  Luckily my coach was able to monitor this for me.  The end result was that I had lost a minimal amount of fitness on the bike, but I did gain power.  My VO2 was still in the superior category.  It was nice to see that I didn't loose all my bike fitness despite not spending a whole lot of time in the saddle in the off season.

In June I was pushing 160 watts of power on the bike and yesterday I was pushing 190 watts.  I really don't know what that means, but I do know that more power is better so I'm happy. My coach says that I'll be training in lower heart rate zone than before on the bike. This is going to take some getting used to.  I was joking that I may not be able to go fast enough to keep my bike upright with a lower heart rate.

After the bike test came the run test.  I knew my VO2 numbers would fall a bit from June.  I went from the "superior" category down to "excellent."  I know there should be no shame in being in the "excellent" category, but it does kind of suck.  This just means I have some work to do.  I find it kind of ironic that my run suffered more that the bike considering the fact that I'm training for a half marathon right now.  There have been some set backs in my training over the last couple of months, but I don't think that's the only reason for the drop.  Running is my weakness and it's going to take a lot of work on my part to improve.  Originally I signed up for the half marathon so I could focus on my run and build strength, but it doesn't seem to have worked too well.  I guess I'll let my coach figure this one out.

"Ask  yourself: 'Can I give more?' The answer is usually 'Yes'." ~ Paul Tergat, Kenyan professional marathon runner