Lindsey Heim

Some thoughts on the fitness test...

One of the things that I have incorporated into my training over the last several years has been the fitness test. With time, my protocols have evolved, and attitudes have changed, but one thing has remained the same- it is somewhat of a 'final exam' of all of my training prior. A somewhat simple, eloquent answer achieved in a matter of a few painful minutes to the question 'have I done the right thing over X months/ years, or have I wasted my time?' That is a pretty heavy weight to carry (think: world's strongest man keg press weight to carry). I have always had a love/hate relationship with fitness tests. I have gotten to the point that I get the same 'swarms of butterflies' before a fitness test by myself as when I am about to race.

I love the fitness test primarily because It is nice to have numerical standards of your work, and I can properly structure training from the given baseline. It can be self assuring to have proof that you are an athlete and are progressing- you are able to achieve what was previously impossible by measurable scientific standards. Cool. The thing that I hate about the fitness test is first and foremost- they hurt A LOT. I will admit right here that I will almost always whimper in pain, possibly taste a little vomit, and grimace to the point of full body distortion. For some reason, the previous feeling of searing lungs and burning legs is tattooed into my brain and is only associated with my brain saying 'wtf- why are you doing this again?'

Secondly is the fear of the unknown. Sometimes fitness tests go well- good. That is cool. Sometimes they go mediocre. Sometimes they go horribly wrong. That really really sucks. Believe me, I have had my fair share of these complete implosion fitness tests.

Well, the latest battery of tests has been completed, and the results are in. Short and long tests have been completed in both cycling and swimming. Running fitness tests will be put off until a) the ITB stuff is for sure gone (looking good so far...) and b) there is a flat 5 or 10 k on a route that will be free of ice enough that I can run normally and not in Yaks. I am hoping that these two occurrences coincide in their timing soon.

I am not much of a 'let's post all of my numbers on my blog' type of person. If you want to know numbers, just let me know- I really don't care- I'll post them.

Short swim and long swim test: PRd in both. I'll take it!

Short bike and long bike test: I was on par with my best tests of last season- and I had purposely let myself loose quite a bit of fitness this winter and this set of tests was intended to be more of a 'baseline' after some solid weeks of training to allow for enough adaptation that I am not doing a test on 'cold turkey,' but not to be too far from baseline. The good is that I have never had a good fitness test on the trainer and I finally had some good ones that are completely in line with what I know I could do on the road at my peak last year. Not only that, but these were in the aero position- ok, squirmy painful aero position, but nonetheless, aero.

The best part is that I can wait a little bit before I need to do that again...