Recession-Proof advice

[Too Tall]

Take your best shot, the world is your oyster. Here is mine...this is a cut/paste from an email list I belong to. Advice is from a pretty reliable cat. Enjoy:
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I never
understood why anyone would want to know their VO2Max. Could someone (who
does not make a living in part by charging clients for these tests) tell me
why you would want or need one?
(As an aside, if I were going to have a VO2Max test, I would do it at a
university with a graduate program in exercise physiology if possible. Often you
can be tested for free as graduate students always seem to be looking for
test subjects. This is ideal if the students are conducting the tests under
the watchful eye of a professor.)
Most health clubs, personal trainers and coaches seem to use a sub max test,
which while safe are inaccurate. The inexpensive metabolic carts are
equally inaccurate. An exercise physiologist told me that it takes years of
practice before you can accurately interpret the test data. Most coaches could
guess your VO2 and LT by looking at your race results and be within the margin
of error of the typical health club tests.
Then if you have the test, what do you do with the result? Training is
typically based off LT in my experience and there is no way to accurately
identify LT from a VO2Max test.
It seems to me that your best predictor of performance is past performance.
Training based on race pace (speed, heart rate, and wattage) is more
instructive than a laboratory results. If you want to break one hour in a 40K bike
leg or time trial, you better add intervals at 25+mph to your training plan.
If you never ride at 25 mph, you will never race at 25mph.
Finally, what could be worse than being a masters' level athlete who
discovers that when their age is factored in, they have a world-class VO2 max, but
their miss-spent youth was further wasted in non-endurance sports and
activities.

[SteveP]

listen to tt.
hes not full of shit.

more ( idiots ) riders spend so much time dicking with this stuff , download this, upload that, blah, blah, track this, chart that...

they forget that 99% of the time its about the last 1/4 mile in the race and once there all that shit means nothing.
if you race you have to learn to dig deep and reach back further than the other guys.

it all means a lot to a pro or someone who can dick around for 30 hrs a week on it.
most take time from riding to play w/ numbers.

i agree w/ tt.

[Chance Legstrong]

can't measure the fight in the dog.

[EnginCycles]

That message is great. I am a firm believer in the Anti-Training regiment**. I am not against the idea just the process. I work lots of hours and when i ride my bike i want to enjoy it. Some people thrive on the log book and keeping track of things. I just want to ride my bike. The more i ride the faster i get. If i ride too much i get sick and slower and can not work. Simple equation, find the balance.

NOTHING will get you to a finish line in a road race better than BRAINS. I can finish most group rides in the area because 1) i know where they are going and what is around the bend 2) i am smart and do not exhaust myself at the wrong time 3) i can ride my bike like paint on the wall when it comes to the wheel in front of me. This adds up and gets you near the finish. The last 1/4 mile is all about drive and will power. If you can dig deep and have muscle memory from years of riding then you are all set.

Cool stuff. Looking forward to warmers days and lots of daylight!!!

Cheers,
Drew

** Not anti coaching just anti training. Many people need guidance and do not have the history that allows them the ability to figure this out. That i get. I just do not like the words Work-Out, Indoor Riding and Schedule when it comes to my personal riding.

[nm87710]

most take time from riding to play w/ numbers.

or play on the internets :)

[jean-jacques EPOeau]

Heard this often.

"I can't dood. The 'meep zorp' tells me I can't go any harder."

My reply is "see ya."

Computers on bikes are extravagant clocks. I only look at it when I need to know the time.

If technology is keeping you from trying or holding you back, you're a putz.

[znfdl]

listen to tt.
hes not full of shit.

I do, I do, I do.....

[Baroudeur]

if you race you have to learn to dig deep and reach back further than the other guys.

Yup, this is the diff b/w guys who find a way to win/place/show and guys who find excuses why they didn't.

You don't have to be in the top % of any of these mumbo-jumbo tests, you just have to know that no matter how hard you push yourself you can always go further.

[Dave Kirk]

My experience tells me that as long as you are there when the critical move happens that the win is often taken by the person who can and is willing to suffer the most. I was never the most fit person but I could (and still can) turn myself totally inside out just for the sake of doing so.

Brains will get you into the break and the ability to suffer will put you at the front of it at the line.

Dave

[Tom]

When I ran long I was more in tune with this kind of thing... you could have the best numbers in the world but if you ran like an egg beater you'd watch the pack head over the first hill and never see them again.

I had little running talent but I maxed it. My results were mediocre in the scheme of things but they never should have been as good as they were.

I quit riding races because I realized I didn't have the nerve and my results were directly related to my frame of mind. If I had a good mindset it made all the difference and if I didn't the results stank and I had no fun during the event.