One of our lads decided he was injured pretty much at the start of the Richmond Park run so we slipped from top 20% to last 20% within an hour and a half and ended our day too!
Disappointing alright!

Pedal broke off one of our bikes at the furthest point. Depressing end to the day! http://blog.teamgearedup.com/2007/10/photos-video-rat-race-london-2007.html

I would DEFFO do Galway! No mention of it here…. but I’d say Brighton could be different!
http://www.ratraceadventure.com/

Not so bad for a non-Londoner like me but if I were based in london I think I would have felt a little disappointed as it’s was not the normal hard core AR you’d expect.

Mind u the one in Galway might be a lot better so would give that a go!

I think its depends a lot on the type of sport and competition you are training for. I think it even breaks down to whether you are doing a marathon for time, or a 100 miler just to get through it. I am here in America for two week and am meeting with some great endurance athletes next week to discuss different types of training. I have ideas, but I would rather wait to see what is working for who, if you get me. I’ll come back to you on it. LIke all things, sports science if evolving, so hoping to get some good up to date info next week! Aisling you are an ultra runner right?

Avril

That is brilliant that you got your VO2 and lactate measured. I think its such great information to have on yourself and it can really be so beneficial for your training.

I think defo get your results analyzed and get some info on how to use the results properly. So many people get their VO2 measured and get the results but really don’t get enough information on how to use them to your advantage. Having a high VO2 is great as it means that you have a very good aerobic capacity. Most of the top endurance athletes have a really high VO2, cross country skiers being one of the groups with the highest VO2. However I believe having a high anaerobic threshold is even more important. If people have a reasonable VO2 and a high anaerobic threshold, they are better off then having a really high VO2 and a low anaerobic threshold. Optimal is to have a high VO2 and a high AT (anaerobic threshold). I did a VO2 max test on a friend of mine in America, he is one of the top endurance athletes in the South. His VO2 was in a normal range, but his anaerobic threshold was huge, hence he is a brilliant endurance athlete and can do his 100 milers at a great pace because his body is so efficient at keeping his blood ph at a working level. The great news about all this is that even though VO2 does not change that much, especially if you already have a good level of fitness, your AT is changed with training.

Many people have different ideas on how best to use the results. Some athletes believe in spending a good percentage of their training in and around their AT (anaerobic threshold), some believe that you should only train around your AT for a small percentage of your training week, while others (many cross country skiers) believe that you should hardly ever train near your AT so even though their are many different interpretations, a lot of the time, it can be a very individualistic.

There is also a bit of a learning curve when it comes to doing a VO2 test. It is quite unnatural to run with a mask on your face and harness. The first time doing the test can also be quite nerve racking. Even though there is this learning curve, its funny, because every time you do it after your first time, you will finish the test believing you could have done more!!! However, the good news is that with the results you actually reach a peak on the graphs and then begin to plateau, so most of the time, even doing the extra few seconds doesn’t change your results.

Well, sorry to write such a long reply. I also studied sports science and am now a strength and conditioning coach. One of my interests likes in exercise testing, so indulged myself with this post! I also love adventure racing!

Good luck with all your training. Sounds like Nige is going to help you which is brilliant! It will be brilliant to have the results analyzed.

Take care,
Avril