So I had my VO2 test today, and the results are either going to be really helpful (if they're correct, and I appropriately adjust my training based on them) or will effectively tank my performance. I'm banking on the former …
I had an LT test done 5 or 6 years ago and had some HR zone numbers in my head based on that. But the test was done before I started triathlon, before I started working out more than I ever in my wildest dreams thought I would. So I figured clearly, clearly, my LT would've gone up - improved, in my mind - since then. Right?
Apparently not. Maybe it's because I'm old (well, older). Maybe it's because the numbers (extrapolated for the bike from the treadmill-based LT test, done without a warmup and with a not-so-gradual build) were simply off to begin with. No matter the reason, my LT didn't go up. They didn't even stay the same. They went down.
At least, my LT went down. But the ranges of the different zones were baffling. My lower zones, which I would think would have bigger ranges, were the same size as Zones 3 and 4, even 5a. The overall spread of my Zone 5 was just crazy big, especially given that I have little to no natural fast-twitch muscle fiber. Zone 5c is exactly where I thought it was when I thought my LT was 6 beats higher. Really, I think, what this means is that I'm spending way, way too much time training up there. OK, not in Zone 5c, but certainly in 5a & b. Not good - both because that's not where I race, and because of the leg fatigue that kind of training creates.
So I have some big takeaways from this. First off, I need to train the shit out of Zone 2. My actual Zone 2, which I pretty much never live in - especially running. I need to build up my slow twitch muscle fiber, and I need to dramatically improve my fat burning ability. (Which, incidentally, may also help the fact that I have clearly put on weight since I started the training plan. WTH?!?!) Second, when I do go hard, I need to keep it in Zone 4. Not 3, not 5a, Zone 4.
It's not going to be easy to do this. I hate feeling like I'm slow, especially running. But I need to make it work, otherwise I'm going to be miserable come June 10th. Especially on that run, when I've burned through all my carbohydrate stores, and my body can't convert the pounds and pounds of fat stores I've got into fuel to get me across the finish line.
So this week is the big test … Can I do it? Stay tuned.