The Runner | VO2 max, body fat and MAS testing: calculating a runner’s economy
- Reporter Patrick Blennerhassett turns himself into a scientific guinea pig and finds out how well his physical engine is running
One hundred and sixty days of sobriety have morphed my body on every level: sleep cycles, skin, weight loss, general anxiety, cognitive function and even my wallet. There have been no setbacks and I’ve found new physical gears I didn’t know existed. I got the chance to hang with some university-level cross country runners back in Canada, putting my body to the test for the first time, and didn’t embarrass myself, a definitive win in my books.
To be frank, I’m crushing life right now, couldn’t feel better and I’m contemplating making my sobriety and training regime a permanent thing. I can’t fathom going back to the old ways. I would be going backwards when forwards is the new mantra. I’ve installed a new operating system on my hard drive, and can only imagine the person I might become if I stay on this path.
I’ve also been given the chance to train under physiotherapy clinic Joint Dynamics’ Erwan Desvalois, an accomplished middle-distance runner from France. Desvalois has me on a weekly running plan which also includes some strength training, but first he did what all good coaches do and calculated a term I’m hearing a lot lately: one’s “running economy”.
