FLCC> VO2 etc. numbers

[Glenn Swan]

At 12:11 PM 11/1/2007, Karen wrote:
>FYI- This pricing is a steal. I just had mine done this morning and it 
>cost me $175. Great numbers BTW, not sure what I am supposed to do with 
>them so I hired a coach!!


Very interesting and relevant observation. What good are the numbers for 
most of us ? There are some local racers and local sports physiologists who 
will hopefully turn this into an interesting and informative thread, as 
they use these numbers to tailor a training program to your physical 
limits/abilities and help you to reach your possible limits most 
efficiently and effectively. There is a lot of technical training using 
heart rate monitors and power meters and knowledge of physiology to 
"optimize" training. As the one who wears the hat of "Coach" of the FLCC I 
am certainly aware of much of this equipment and body of knowledge. Heck, I 
SELL the equipment, so I should be pushing you to get into all of this stuff...

BUT....

Most of us only find the numbers to be "interesting" or "confirmation" of 
what we already suspected, or maybe reason to be hopeful that we have the 
potential to be better than we thought. (read:Trevor Connor) Two important 
observations about these numbers: 1) VO2 etc. tend to indicate your 
potential, but don't guarantee success (or lack thereof), so although it is 
fun to know your numbers, they don't tell you much that is practical and 
useful.  2) To do something practical and useful with your numbers, you 
will probably need to hook up with a good coach and plan to be very 
dedicated to a technical training program. If your coach is good and you 
are very dedicated, you will reach very near your maximum physical 
potential on the bike. Will you become a successful racer ? Will you enjoy 
riding your bike while working solely toward achieving maximum physical 
potential ? Maybe yes, and maybe no. A bad coach will burn you out and help 
you to discover the joys of playing tennis.  A training program that 
focuses only on physical training and ignores the many other aspects of 
riding and racing won't make you able to beat really smart and determined 
racers like Ernie Bayles or other perennial top-dogs.

SO.....

By all means, go and get your numbers if it sounds interesting to you. Get 
a coach and develop a training program with him/her, if you have big goals 
to reach for.  Just remember to ride your bike and have fun doing it.

Glenn