Two Hundred Nineteen

While I was in Indiana I stayed with my parents, visited family, met some of my crew, and got in a little training at Purdue's Exercise Physiology Lab. In the picture above, Melissa and Andres are observing the effects of riding for three hours without food or water, and then hydrating in the fourth hour. Every half hour they drew some blood from my finger tips, recorded my perceived thermal sensation, comfort, and thirst, and measured my weight. That and some Aerosmith helped the time go by fast. The day before we measured my VO2, maximum power output, and lactate production.

It was interesting to learn that my VO2max is 68.9 ml/kg/min. A score for men who are not athletes but are otherwise healthy is typically between 45-55 ml/kg/min. According to Tim Noakes, Frank Shorter's VO2max was 71.3, Steve Prefontaine's was 84.4, and Scandinavian cross-country skiers have measured as high as 93.