Training for Life June: Teamwork, VO2 max, Functional Movement and the Discipline of Restraint

I was part of a couple of team challenges this past month. In a one-mile team challenge in Carlisle, PA, our top three milers totaled 15:29 with our three times combined. My 5:10.5 was good enough for second on our team and tenth overall. We placed third overall in the team challenge. In the Race Against Poverty (above), we placed first in the team challenge, where our top five finishers averaged 19:42.7. My 18:52.8 was seventh overall and best in the 40-49 age group. One of the beauties of team effort is that it can be applied even to individual sports. Although it is decidedly different in strategy and experience compared to a team of people coordinating movement on the same field at the same time, there is still the camaraderie of seeking a common goal. And just as opposing competitors can make each other better, teammates in individual sports can spur each other on to higher levels of achievement.

Quote of the month:

"The Fates have given mortals hearts that can endure."

Homer, Iliad Book 24

What I'm reading:

The Well Built Triathlete: Turning Potential into Performance by Matt Dixon. This tome is fairly comprehensive and thus a bit slow-going. It covers nutrition, recovery, functional strength in addition to the three triathlon disciplines. I like how he keeps the big picture in mind. The beginning sections of the book could be applied to any sport, not just triathlon. Although there are some specific workouts in here, it is not a prescription for how to train. Even in the areas where he lists specifics, he is quick to say that it is just an example. As a first-time triathlete, I'm most interested in the principles rather than the minutiae. I realized that I had already fallen into a typical trap of not respecting swimming. I was plodding along in the pool just accumulating laps rather than doing focused training and including intervals. With swimming being my weakest discipline, there is the most room for improvement. With a more dedicated focus, I hope to approach the starting line with more confidence in my swimming. As Dixon notes at the outset of the swim chapter, "The expression on the faces of competitors at the start line of a triathlon says it all: 'Get me on my bike.'"

What I'm measuring:

VO2 Max

VO2 Max is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during exercise. It is a measure of aerobic fitness, and is commonly discussed in endurance athletics. There is a genetic component to how much aerobic fitness achieve. There are elite athletes with freakishly high numbers, the highest ever recorded being 96.7 mL/kg/min by then 18-year-old Norwegian cyclist Oskar Svendsen. But training also affects VO2 Max. It isn't a number set in stone, like a fingerprint. Training, for example, can expand your red blood cell volume and stroke volume (how much blood your heart pumps with each beat). It's also a number that tends to decline with age. I had never tested it before, but was interested not only in a benchmark, but also to see how it would trend over time. It was a brutal protocol, gradually ramping up to a pace I would run in a one-mile race and then ramping up the treadmill incline from there. I came away with a lab-tested maximum heart rate, a VO2 max value (61.0 mL/kg/min) and a graph of where my metabolism switched from fat to carbohydrate dominant as speed and effort increased.??

How I'm training:

Last month I wrote about testing the nine fitness benchmarks outlined by Dr. Andy Galpin. I've all but completed the assessment, lacking only speed (40 yard dash) and a second VO2 max test. (I still want to check out the Cooper test, which requires running maximum distance in 12 minutes and requires no laboratory visit or analysis, just plugging into an online calculator.) I've identified red flag areas to work on, and I'm tackling the first -- mobility. Having gone to a sports physical therapist and had him do a Functional Movement Screen, I was able to obtain an automatically generated, custom home exercise program to work on my movement deficits. This program now forms the basis of my 'off day' movement.

What I'm listening to:

Lying From You, by Linkin Park

When I visited Atlanta last month, I caught up with my cousin and went with him to a strongman class at his gym where we pulled tires and swung maces in the parking lot behind the gym. The soundtrack was a steady diet of Prodigy, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and the like. On the way over, we had been talking about the significance of music listened to during adolescence. (I was 22 when this one came out, but as one who was a student until age 29, I enjoyed an extended adolescence.) At any rate, I think my younger brother introduced me to it. It's definitely good for hitting the gym, and is a classic of the hard rock/rap-rock/alternative of the early 2000s, at least for someone like me who favors the more mainstream tracks. It's also one of seven remixed with Jay-Z songs on their 2004 collaboration mash-up album, which is well worth a listen.?

On the blog:

The Discipline of Restraint

I have traditionally had only one strategy for running races: run as fast as I possibly can over the given distance. Kenyan style. Either you set a personal best or you crap out. While there’s something to be said for this, for just ‘going for it,’ there’s also wisdom in having some variety in your approach. Read the full post here.

Upcoming events:

July 18, 2023

Training for Life Book Club, Chambersburg, PA. This quarter we will be discussing Ben Bergeron's Chasing Excellence: A Story About Building the World's Fittest Athletes. Let me know by replying to this email if you want to join.

?

July 30, 2023

Fort Ritchie Triathlon. This will be my first foray into the triathlon world, and it's fast approaching!

?

August 5, 2023

Captain Bill Gallagher 10 Mile Island Run. This is a classic. 7 miles on the sand. In hot weather, it can be extremely challenging!

?

October 21, 2023

End of the Road Half Marathon. I've done this a few times now. It's a small, very unique race. Four of the miles are in pitch black abandoned turnpike tunnels, so headlamps are required!

?

November 4, 2023

Remedy Park 10 Miler. Come join us for the second annual 10-mile race through Chambersburg and Scotland, PA!