Now that my training is ramping up, and I've been doing intervals on the treadmill for a while, it's time to redo my VO2 Max test. Last time I had a pretty low score, due to a couple of factors, so I was curious to see if the intensive training had paid off. Sure enough after 20 grueling minutes on the treadmill, I had run much faster and further than the first time.
My VO2 improved from 30.4 to 50.8, which my trainer said was the largest jump he'd ever seen someone make! I was really happy to see my top speed increase almost a full mph to 9.4 mph by the end. Plus my fat burning percentage went up, meaning that I'm burning more fat at the same running speed than before. This will help me continue to exercise without bonking. It also allows me to run faster at the same effort level.
I guess there's a couple of reasons for this improvement. I've finally got my iron levels up to par, so I've got plenty of red blood cells. Plus, I'm doing specific interval training for really, the first time in my life. While I've run 68 marathons or ultra marathons, I've never used speed sessions in my training. So this is a whole new way to get faster!
I'll be doing another test like this in April, to make sure my training is staying on track before the big race in July. Until then, I'll be doing long sessions in the mountains of Colombia, where we will be paragliding and training in the equatorial sun!
Here's my first VO2 test results if you want to compare.
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