VO2

I watched PBS' NOVA episode about marathons and remembered that all the runners began with an assessment of their VO2 or the volume of maximum oxygen consumption. The higher it is, the more fit you are. All the runners who trained for the marathon ended up with the same level of VO2 regardless of where they were before they began training.

Since I'll be running a half marathon this year, I figured it might be a good idea to measure my VO2. The participants in the episode had theirs taken using a treadmill and some fancy equipment. It turns out there are several ways you can measure your own levels and I used the Rockport Walking Test to measure mine. It ended up at 38.6 which is on the higher end of the moderate fitness level scale. I think my level will be higher and move into the high fitness level scale after all the training I do, exactly what happened to the participants in the episode.