Tuesday, February 27, 2007

U.T. Cycling Study - Number Two

Finished my last cycling study at U.T. today. I sure am glad to be done. All of the kinesiology lab folks know me too darn well at this point.

It was interesting to watch my heart rate stay almost perfectly consistent the entire time - at 60% effort, my heart rate is 138. I also had a very consistent VO2Max reading throughout the trial. As I said in my last post about this study, two hours is a long time. I now have an added appreciation for the fact that when I'm outside biking (versus biking on a stationary bike keeping a constant pace), I can take some rests and either stop or coast. I will also now appreciate the fact that I don't really need rest, either.

Biopsies went better this time, probably because I wasn't as nervous. They did have to dig in my leg twice the second go round because Dr. Ivy didn't get anything good on his first attempt. So, I thought I was through but then he had to go again. That kind of sucked. I asked to see what the muscle looked like when he was done. Let me warn you if you are ever doing a biopsy - don't ask to see anything. It was really gross!!

Today, I realizes that I do not like wheaties and skim milk. I had to eat a full bowl of that, plus two cups of water, and it sucked. Maybe it's because I never drink milk (only soy milk), but I will not be using wheaties as my recovery food, even if it proves to be the miracle fix.

The funniest thing about this study is how I showered when I was done. I can't get the biopsy wound wet, so I had to cover the huge pressure pack with saran wrap. Phil had the brilliant idea of taping it down to my thigh with US Priority Mail tape. I looked pretty darn ridiculous, but it worked!

So, now all I have to do is sit pretty and wait for my $300 check to come. We'll see if they start missing me too much and want me to come back in for another round of studies. I'm thinking I will take a break for a while!

No comments: