Do you have a fitness test? I have several. One of them is The Beast. This is a particular climb on my most regular commuting route. It lays in wait for me. More on that in a bit.
I have several fitness tests. These are features of particular rides or roads, such as The Beast. Or they are very specific loops. I know exactly what to expect on them. One of them is a particularly awful hill climb on the paths in Peachtree City. If I can get up that thing, on a singlespeed bike, without stalling… if I can do that, I know I’m getting into shape. Once I can do that climb and still have some air left to say a word or two, things are getting better. When I can roll the top of it, and keep going, then I’m close to being in form for short fast rides. Say a 200K or some such.
What I’m referring to is using a predictable set of measurments to test fitness. Some of these are lab type tests, of the kind that the FitLab ™ folks provide. Others are tests of the ability to sustain a given heart rate, and recover back to less than 75% of anaerobic threshold, in less than three minutes. In short, these are objective measurements. They are tests within very specific conditions. They tell us where we are, what is the actual measurable level of fitness.
And then there’s The Beast. The thing starts out with a steep climb for about one tenth mile, and then continues into a one mile long grinder. The objective is to do that climb, carrying a full commuting load, and not be trashed. I’m not there yet. I will be by mid-Spring.
What are your “tests,” and how are you doing on them?
Tomorrow: The BIG announcement.
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