VO2 and my suckitude

It's official. I suck. Wind. A lot. And can't transform it into power very efficiently.

This morning I did my first ever VO2 max test at Fitness Concepts. JoeP was up at the plate before me, Foley was immediately after, and big Lee was last in the lineup. They got to sit around and heckle me as I whithered into a sweaty blob.

Having never done this before, I didn't really know what to expect. Yeah, I've heard how it's done, but I didn't think it would be so hard. You get on a trainer that is attached to a computer that measures your speed and other things. At the same time, you are wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth. Attached to the mask is a mouthpiece that has hoses that go into a carbon dioxide analyzer. This thing is also attached to the same computer.

I know it's wrong to demonize a computer, but this laptop was out to do me wrong. As I pushed on the pedals harder, it ramped up the resistance. I fought back and bumped up my effort, and in defiance the computer just told me to shaddup. We fought for a little over thirteen minutes before I had enough.

I got my results and I found out I was outstandingly...normal. I'm in the "good" range according to one chart I saw, so now every time I get whupped up on the trail, I can say, "Yo, I'm just good. You must be grrrrreat!"