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The magic of numbers

Hi Y'all,

"Anything in life can be measured" someone once told me. I think it was a mathmatician who said it and probably the love of my life since he is one. At that time I didn't think much of it but lately that quote keeps popping up in my head. You know the thing is I am once again completely mesmerized by my second love which is running. I am completely in it's grips and I surrendered to it like cookie monster would to cookies.

Right now all I can think of and all I really want to do is run my own runs, go to classes on running, talk to other runners about running and coach other runners. There is nothing else I seriously want to do. I can't read anything unless it's running related and the only thing I feel good doing when I'm not running, coaching or preparing classes is lying on my couch watching Netflix wondering where and when to plan and plot and scheme our next vacation that most definately should include a run or stunning nature so I can set out for myself. Or check that specifically Dutch realtor app for affordable houses in the middle of somewhere close to nowhere so I can set out for runs with lots of green at my front door. So yes I am head over heels in love with running on a whole new level. This level defines itself by numbers.

Now remember how I was once told that anything in life can be measured? Well this is how running is measured in numbers:
1. Time (obviously)
2. Distance (DU-Uh)




3. Max HF (max heart rate frequency)
4. Aerobe treshold (fat treshold)
5. Anaerobe treshold
6. Rest HF
7. Time to recover from MaxHF to normal HF
8. body weight

When it comes to how fit you are, how fast you can go and how long you can keep that fast pace everything is quantified and each and every number counts. For instance: You can't change your MaxHF it is a given and it's (partially) a gene thing. Mine is pretty high with 186bpm. There are several ways to measure your MaxHF but the best way to do it is by running the treadmill at a good licensed sportsdoctor that is experienced in doing VO2Max tests. That MaxHF is a good one to know because if you know it you're able to do a Zoladz test for instance. By doing that test (not an easy one) you can figure out which one of the 5 zones you need to work on to become even fitter. I do suggest however that only experienced runners do this one AND never run it alone. Always ask a coach to help you out.

Your rest HF is easy to measure. There are numerous apps free to download on your phone that use your camera for heart rate monotoring and some are really accurate. Why do you want to know your rest HF? because it gives you basic info on how fit you are. If you are well rested and feeling good your rest HF will be low. The fitter you are, the lower it will get. Some really trained elite athletes have measured even below 45bpm! How and when do you measure this? As soon as you open your eyes. Don't get up, don't move to much just measure it. The fact that your rest HF is defined by how fit you are is also the reason you can't use it to turn the zoladz-zones around to calculate your max-HF.

Your aerobe and your anearobe thresholds are not constants. You can change them. You can up them both by training in the right zoladz zones. Why do you want to do that? Because if you do you will teach the little factories in your body (called mitochondria) that play a key role in fueling you, to be as efficient as they can possibly be. And by training the 5 zoladz - zones your body will also make more little blood vanes between muscle fibers and that helps with the transportation of blood and oxygen.

In Dutch we have a saying: "Meten = weten" and it means that you can only know if you have quantified it. So I now know that my zone 1 has changed drastically over the course of a year. My heart rate within that zone is the same...my speed (and therefore distance) are not. I am much faster now within that zone. My restHF has dropped significantly even to the point where my GP at one of the check-ups said: 'Well your heart rate is very low but you're an athlete so that is to be expected'  (at this point I was smiling like crazy....I'm an athlete...)



Some things in life make sense to me now like measuring your heart rate before you go pee in the morning, decaffeinated coffee, alcohol free beer, an annoying timer app to count seconds when you plank or wall sit, doing those things......

I never thought I would enjoy numbers as much as I do now but there's no escaping it...I do. I'm in love with running all over again and it's bliss without the ignorance. Being the best version of me in another universe and I am loving it.

That's it for now, until we read again.
Love, Marlies

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