VO2...what?

OK i'm cruising on the internet (read: avoiding all things important) and find a site that has a running 'pace' predictor from one's VO2Max. Hmmmm...being the ever so curious person that I am, I went and dug out the VO2 max test I had when I was a guinea pig in some poor grad student's experiment. And hey, those things are expensive and it was free for me. So sure, being a poor gradstudent myself I knew I wouldn't pay for one of those things anyway. (and being a skeptic into the whole importance of the VO2max...more on that...)

When I got to this website you can 'calculate' how fast or slow based upon your weight and a current time you have gone....bla, bla, bla. I know...not reliable...but this is the weird part about is that when I type in my 2 hour time for my half marathon, it comes up with a

VO2max of 36.5ml/kg/min...

Me...i'm thinking...um...no.

I know, I know...website calculations are phooey, but if I type in my VO2max test from two years ago (and again, i know...VO2max's shouldn't change much...whatever) which was 44.5ml/kg/min I get some OTHER very different numbers.

Apparently I'm 'supposed' to be able to run a mile in 6:28 (that hasn't happened), and my 'marathon' pace should be 8 min/miles (i wish...I wish I could run that for a 10K) and my 'slow' run time is supposed to be 9min/miles. (um...that's when I've trained like heck and have a base and let me tell you sister...i was not 'slow' running that half marathon back in Oct). Right now i'm lucky if I see a sub 10 min/mile. OK I know, i know...i have no base at the moment. But really...what the HECK is the VO2 max all about? I think it's a load of garbage at this moment because what exactly does it tell you except the amount of air you sucked down before you decided you should stop otherwise you might puke and you didn't want to puke in that little mask on your face. And to date I have not found any satisfactory answer to the mystery of the VO2 max. I'm puzzled. It's a perplexing thing...that's for sure.

So...my conclusion...VO2max predictors online...tell you...well...not much of anything. Does the VO2max tell you anything at all really? Any other takers on the subject?

So much for 'fancy' food...

I bought some prosciutto and goat cheese the other day to have a 'fancy' snack on a tortilla or crackers or something. It was my way of 'comforting' my insanity these days. I opened them a few days ago and had a yummy snack. Last night I thought "Oh i want a yummy 'fancy' snack" and pulled out he prosciutto and goat cheese. Yes it was yummy at first and then 30 minutes later I realized "Uh oh...I now had food poisoning" and the rest of the night...not fun.

From an outside observation point I was rather floored at how quickly the body can recognize something as BAD and so rapidly do something about it. It's pretty amazing if you consider it from that perspective. I've never had food poisoning occur so quickly...so I was bizarrely fascinated with the immediacy of the response. OK, a little morbid in that observation.

So...my planned 6 miles of running today was a no-go. Instead I slept, had bizarre dreams and blog-stocked various blogs. What else is there to do?

Feeling better already. Hopefully tomorrow is more productive in many ways.

updates and randomness

YEA...i ran again this morning, 3.5 miles. A runner friend of mine is now running in the mornings which helps me be more accountable about running and such. I'm contemplating a 10K next weekend solely because it would be hysterical to see my lack of training at the moment. And since I know it would be pathetic, it might be funny...at least to me. We shall see if I can be bothered to do it let's wait and see what the weather is that day.

I'm losing the capacity to speak coherent sentences lately...it's become funnier than usual. What is the saying...? "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". I think there should be a qualifier on that one "unless...you end up in the loony bin..."Fortunately it's just the words I am speaking that are incoherent...i can still sorta write (only on specific topics...blog posts seem to be difficult for me to write also) and hey, that's what i'm doing all sorts of these days....although i still have a few (just a few tiny ones) experiments left. Weird.

Um...and the purge of the winter gear has started since I won't need much of it in Cali. During the purge I had to part with a pair of flannel pants that I loved while I was out here. Now i have no regrets about giving them to a friend of mine because of what they represent (bitterly cold winter), but they were great...and functional...and cute. Don't get me wrong, I do like winter to a degree...it was the 6 months of winter with a lack of spring in this region that killed me. But anyway, i'm digressing. Here is an ode to those pants...

Ode to a pair of pants

You were so soft and nice and warm.

Many thought the red and white flowers were quite the charm.

Your warm embrace on cold winter days,

Made me happy despite the freezing cold haze

But alas our time has come to part.

We each shall have a new start.

I would take you along for my new move.

But you would have nothing left to prove.

Your warming abilities would be a waste

As you would never leave my closet unless it was in a dressing haste

So I say good-bye and adieu

…I will miss you.

(OK, maybe i won't miss them *that* much...but hey...this fits the random category)

Amnesia Trees

New England has these interesting trees that I call “Amnesia Trees”. They are invisible but they reside outside of everyone’s home in New England. They start to bloom right around May and come into full bloom in August. I went for a nice 3.5 mile run (lookie I did run) this morning and realized that the Amnesia Trees have started blooming… Ahhhh.

Now I should explain these trees. They have this amazing ability to somehow make you forget that winter ever existed in these parts. When I walk outside, the thought that this place could be under many feet of snow and bitterly cold in winter seems absolutely inconceivable. Right now it’s only the beginning of the blooming season for the Amnesia Trees. They TRULY are in full bloom when it’s, oh, mid-August and it’s 90 degrees and 95% humidity and my house doesn’t have much in the way of Air-Conditioning and me and my housemates just sit in the coolest part of the house trying not to move. The cats get all weird-o and you find them sprawled out on the linoleum or hiding in the basement. It’s at that point of the year that I think “How in the world can winter even exist in this region?” It just doesn’t seem feasible that it could get as cold as it does.

What’s super funny about these trees is how much they make one forget. My friend JM mentioned to me yesterday that the Amnesia Trees were blooming and I said to her “Ha, ha, ha…Where did get that term?” She looked at me and laughed and said “You made it up”.

Winter is not the only thing I’m forgetting these days….sigh(giggle).

Does it work now?

Puzzled by my last post's inablity to publish comments on. Apparently it was a mystery as to why one couldn't...but i'm curious if it is enabled now. They said it was 'fixed'...guess they were right.

posting? What's that?

Hmmmm...i thought I was going to start posting a little more 'frequently' back there when I made my last post sometime back there. What i've found these days is that the way I respond to the hours of my life being sucked out of me and stress in my life squishing me is that I somehow can't respond well to anything 'other' than my focus in front of me. And really what that means is that if the question/inquiry is not about stupid work stuff...I'm lucky I can string a sentence together about it. (i'm truly serious about this one, I cannot count the number of times this week I've had to say "um, sorry, hang in there with me, i'm having trouble talking today" What is wrong with me??!!)

Anyway... here are a few conclusions I've come to over the past few weeks:

1) Don't store chocolate in your office when attempting to sort out a stressful situation...you'll just eat all of it...pretty much at once.

2) Swearing at instruments (or 'machines' as I tend to call them...) really doesn't get them to be more cooperative. They *really* have a mind of their own. I've mentioned it before...resistentialism. And yes...I really have the worst scientific luck. I've been told by many that is the case. Thank goodness that I think I coaxed all the necessary data out of the instrument before it decided to pitch a fit.

3) How is it that a person can be so excited to move and so sad to leave at the same time?

4)Life is insane...or at least mine is. Or maybe it's that I'm insane and the rest of life is not...thinking...thinking...thinking...on that one.

5) Six degrees of separation...too true.

6) When I get stressed out about moving...I look for luggage. So. weird.

7) I'm having STRANGE dreams. Stop. Fortunately they aren't centered around work...but they are just weird. Get out.

8) Not sure about this tri season. So far...no Oly in June. Sad. But...the tri season goes on longer where i'm moving...so maybe.

9)Don't think I'm going to run a marathon this fall. Instead increase my mileage to 30 miles/week over the next 10 weeks...then work on strength with hills/speed...run a half...maintain 30ish miles for the winter while working on core strength and then train for a marathon after some solid months of running and train for a spring marathon...or early summer one.

10) I'm either going to start blogging about insanely random things from now on...or there will be no word from me til I'm on the flip side, some time in Sept. Random...maybe...

11) Cats are weird. Or maybe it is the cats that occupy the space I call my home that are weird. Or refer back to number 4.

12) Life is not a TV show...reality TV needs to get over itself as well as TV shows.

13) and let's be honest...blogs are weird too. :-)