How much fat are you REALLY burning?

Sometimes it's fun to geek out over data, but you have to have some data over which to geek out. So, today I did a test to try to nail down how much fat I burn during exercise vs. how much sugar. It's interesting information, and proves that endurance performance is all about efficiency.

Amy the trainer put me on a treadmill with a mask capturing my exhalations, measuring oxygen and CO2. Warmed up a couple of minutes at 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 mph. Finally got to 5.0 mph, then steadily increased the incline. The goal was to reach anaerobic threshold, then only stay there long enough to get three more measurements (less than a minute). Then cool down.

My heart rate (HR) was 60 while I was standing on the treadmill waiting to start. It took a 10% incline at 5.0 mph to reach threshold, and HR peaked at 141 then settled at 138. The HR dropped 15 beats in the first minute of cooldown, then another 9 in the second minute, which means I'm recovering quickly. So it looks like I need to spend more time training in lower zones w/some intervals thrown in, and try to raise VO2 (my peak HR/fat burning threshold) as much as I can. There is a genetic limit to how much this can change, but I can certainly try to become more efficient. Don't need to worry about the ticker; it's working just fine, and better than most.

The graph shows that my body burns fat at a fairly steady level with only a small decline until I hit peak. This is good. Goal is to raise that steady level to more than the current 40-50% of calories to 50-60%. Then I could probably go even longer with less perceived difficulty.

Bike workouts are definitely helping. Last night was half hour warmup followed by 8 intervals of 3 minutes in zone 5 (harder than "comfortably hard") with 3 minutes rest in between. Felt it but it didn't suck. Would have been incredibly painful a month ago, but last night I actually had something left in the tank when we were done.

I was surprised at the low heart rate today. I knew it would be lower to start, but didn't expect it to stay so low while exerting myself. Used to be up around 163 when I was running hard. And 65-70 if I was walking around. It's nice to see positive results from training. Tomorrow: a 15K trail run!

Visiting the Pain Cave

This week I spent some time in the Pain Cave, that place where endurance athletes tend to dwell. And it's been fabulous!

I know I'm there when I find myself chanting the mantra, "I'd rather it suck now, than during a race. I'd rather it suck now..." The Pain Cave is that special place where, intellectually, you know your body is adapting to stress, you are forcing change to happen, and upon exiting, you will feel its benefits. Non-intellectually you just wish it would end but don't dare stop until it's time. It's a place that demented people like me voluntarily enter on a regular basis, a place dedicated to self-torture...or a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, depending on one's perspective. If I have any hope of completing Ironman Louisville AND not having it be an all-day suckfest, I must spend some serious time in the Cave.

This week's visit began with a 2-hour slog session on a treadmill last Sunday. I suppose I could have run outside, but simply didn't feel like dealing with the cold, the ice, and the slush. (Kudos to those runners who braved the elements: you have my profound respect.) I don't do many long runs, but have a marathon coming up soon (Feb 20), so wanted to visit the Cave before the race. That was followed by a killer bike class three nights in a row, Tues-Thurs. There were also the Weds/Fri morning floggings by my trainer Carrie at the gym (see Wednesday's workout at the bottom of this post).

The bike class is through the Indy Cycling Academy, a couple of guys who really know their stuff. It's on your own bike, on trainers. Each class begins with 30 minutes of core exercises (off the bikes), then we hop on the bikes for an hour of serious sweating. As a dedicated non-cyclist, this class is kicking my butt all over the place. It's a bit like drinking from the fire hose, only harder. If I survive the full two months and don't improve, there is simply no hope.

As for my trainer Carrie, well...she can flog like no other.

The next few days are out in the fresh air, away from the darkness of the Cave. I think a beer is in order.

Wednesday's Full-Body Flogging
Remember, this is all in 30 minutes, with minimal to no rest.

- Run .25 mile on treadmill as fast as possible. Substitute elliptical if necessary.
- Pushups 20x
- Alternating lunges with medicine ball (10lb). Start with medicine ball over head, step forward, bend at elbows and do tri-dip over head with ball. Straighten arms up over head as you return to standing position. 20x
- Alternating lunges with dumbbells (15lb). Do the lunge, return to standing position, then do bicep curl. 20x
- Squat to front-raise. Holding dumbbells (7.5lb), do a squat. While going down into squat, raise arms straight out in front of you. Lower arms as you stand up. 20x

REPEAT ALL

Then REPEAT ALL but do 12x instead of 20x for everything.

Today's beating

I knew when I saw the evil twinkle in my trainer's eye this morning that it was going to be a tough 30 minutes.

• Suicide drill, 3x
• Kinesis wall, squat to flye, 20x
• Step-up, bicep curl to shoulder press, step-down, 20x on 1' stool
• Kinesis wall, step-out to reverse flye, 1 minute
• Plank with feet on step, step feet down and back up while in plank, 1 minute
• Pistol -- wall sits, 3sec in sitting position, 19x, sit 10sec on 20th.

--- repeat all ---

• tri rope extension, facing away from machine, 20x

Lose the small pup tents!

This is what happens when you wear super-large shirts to the gym...your friends crawl right up in there with you.

This is a good friend of mine, S, who insists on adding 20 pounds to her appearance by wearing a small pup tent while exercising. I think she's cured now.