You may recall my giving a fitness test on New Year’s Eve to a 57-year old named Bill Bodnar. Bill was one of eight people for whom I was testing and writing running programs to compete in this Sunday’s Rite Aid half marathon or marathon. Bill was running the marathon and wanted an update on his fitness test to see exactly how much improvement he’d accomplished over the last four months. He’d been told last July that he had 70% blockage in a coronary artery and bypass surgery was the recommended course of action. He chose a different one, electing to change his dietary habits instead and to resume a running career that had taken a 27-year hiatus. We gave him the fitness test on the last day of the year and he’d scored 257 out of 1,000 possible points. He had a baseline and a plan though, and he followed it with relish.
He’d dropped almost 8 pounds since the last test, but more importantly, he made significant improvements in the step test…designed to measure aerobic/cardiovascular fitness. He did the 3-minute step test with a 1-minute recovery heart rate of 99 beats per minute. That same test had resulted in a recovery heart rate of 123bpm when we’d done the test four months earlier.
“That is an amazingly positive drop, Bill. And you scored 449 on the fitness test…which is a huge improvement. You should be very happy,” I said.
And he was…but he wasn’t satisfied. He figured he could lose another 10 pounds, wanted to run a marathon (he’s doing the half marathon on Sunday), and ultimately would like to qualify to run the granddaddy of marathons in Boston.
“Maybe when I hit sixty,” he said, noting the qualifying times for that age bracket and the training he’d have to do to hit it. I feel reasonably comfortable saying that Bill will achieve whatever he puts his mind to doing.
I went to the park after testing Bill to get in a short run before dark. I decided to run my favorite, short course knowing that it would allow me about 30 minutes of running. I started out slowly and almost bagged it because I just wasn’t feeling right and didn’t want to jeopardize my weekend in the mountains. I decided I’d turn around at the 5-minute mark if things didn’t improve. But they did.
I hit a time marker about 45 seconds behind my fastest for that spot and since I was feeling stronger, picked it up. The rest of the run felt fast and smooth and when I hit the stopwatch to find I’d covered the course in 26:45…or about 90 seconds faster than I ever had before…I was more than a little shocked.
I came home, showered, and decided it was time to check my weight. I haven’t done this since last fall and was dreading the outcome. My running times were so good lately though that I figured if I was running so well with the extra weight, I’d be smoking the courses when I dropped down again. I stepped on the scale thinking anything below 190 would be wonderful. I was completely unprepared to see ‘181’ registering.
I suppose I should have known. My clothes fit as they did last fall and my training is as good as it’s been in years. I’d managed to dip below 180 last fall, but barely so I’m right where I was…and quite happy about it.
Run duration: 26:45. Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 150 running and 100-150 for SW.
Calories burned during workout: 500 running and 600 for SW.
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