VO2 Testing

Now that I have a running coach, Dale, the first thing he needed to get was a baseline of my fitness so that he knew how to construct a training plan.  To do this he used VO2 max testing.  VO2 max is the point where your body cannot consume or transport any more oxygen to your muscles.

To do this test I got on the treadmill and was hooked up to a VO2 testing machine with both a face mask and heart rate monitor.  It was a little awkward because not only do you look funny, but you don’t normally run with wires and hoses connected to you.  (Well, at least I don’t normally do that!)

In the end we found that my resting heart rate was 54 BPM and my max heart rate was 187 BPM.  From the data collected Dale was able to create 4 heart rate zones that he will use for my training.  They are:

• Zone 1: 115 to 123 BPM
• Zone 2: 123 to 134 BPM
• Zone 3: 134 to 144 BPM
• Zone 4: 144 to 157 BPM

This was an interesting experience to say the least.  The “good” news is that Dale says that we will do the testing again in a few weeks to see how things have improved on his training plan.