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Written by Brian Olsen
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Tuesday, 17 August 2004 00:00 |
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Location: Lake Placid, NY
This morning I had the second of two tests at the Human Performance Lab in the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid.
Yesterday, I skate rollerskied on a treadmill about six feet wide, with ever increasing speed and incline until I could ski no longer. The test provided me data on my body’s physiology, such as blood lactate values, heart rate, and ventilary oxygen consumption (Vo2). Knowing these numbers helps me plan my training and understand how my body is adapting over the course of a year.
The testing went very well. My Vo2-max in skating has increased 13 percent over the past two years, which is very positive. My blood lactate threshold continues to rise, meaning that I can ski at a faster overall pace for much longer. One disappointment was that I did not hit my max heart rate, which might mean that my Vo2-max is actually higher.
Today, the test was conducted running. Over the past few weeks, I have not done much running, but the test results showed that my running efficiency is much better than I thought. My blood lactate threshold has risen remarkably. Again, I was disappointed that I did not hit my max heart rate here either.
I believe that I did not reach my maximum capacity in both tests because of the testing format, or protocol. For the first fifteen minutes of both tests, the speed increases by 2.5 mph every three minutes. For the remainder of the tests, the grade increases by 1 percent every three minutes.
Since I am built like a distance runner, I will use a test protocol in the future that focuses on an increasing incline, rather than speed. Most of my running intervals are uphill.
In skiing, I think that the test went poorly because for most of it I was using the V2 technique, which is suited for high speed and flat terrain. But for the second half of the test, the grade became steeper, but the speed remained constant. Switching to the V1 technique works for when the grade becomes steeper, but it requires a slightly slower speed. In the future, I will use a test protocol that increases only the speed, allowing me to use the V2 technique for the entire test.
Regardless, I was satisfied with my results. A biathlon race is hardly won on a treadmill during testing, but both tests show that I am improving significantly.
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