Anyone into OCR? (Or other endurance running)

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Just did a re-test of the 15x15 test.

Made it 1.30 miles, heart rate topped out at about 185-187 bpm (my max is about 190)

Last time I did this 2 months ago, I was only able to get 1.24mi. An increase of 0.06mi doesn't seem like a lot, but this is a very grueling and mentally tough test so a 5% improvement is still pretty strong.

Long term goal is to get over 1.50 miles.
 
Bump to the top.
Tried out the 15x15. (I have no incline training in the last year or so.)
Trying to get acclimated to the incline for a potential upcoming treadmill stress test.
Friday I wanted to set a base line with spent legs so I did 5min intervals at 2.0 (150bpm), 2.5(160bpm) and 3.0 (173bpm) = .62 miles
Today I tried to up it a bit with 5 min intervals of 2.5(160bpm), 3.0 (170bpm) and 3.5(185)bpm, net result of .75 miles.
heart rate was taken via hand holds on treadmill for the last 15 seconds of each interval
the highest I have seen with my chest strap was 186, not sure on the accuracy of either the chest strap or the hand holds.

I had to break into a run for the 3.5 which I don't think is allowed on a treadmill stress test, not sure. (4mph is my max walk at 0 incline.)
I am pretty sure my heart rate was over 180 soon after starting the 3.5 and it was a struggle not to pull back on the speed.
I'm going to try this again on Friday and try to start at 3.0 and work up from there. 3.5 seemed to be my top end for speed for right now.

So this is a fun quick way to get some good cardio in, so thanks for the idea. And kudos on your 1.30 miles.
That's a hell of a pump.
 
when i did a stress test a few years back, they had me in a full out run, like 7 or 8 mph. i nearly got throw off the back of the thing near the end.. not sure if its a different kind you are doing.
 
OL's aunt is a nurse that administers these tests.
She said they start at 10incline 1.7mph and work up in both incline and speed, with the goal of hitting your max heart rate, or terminating the test if they see any abnormalities.
She said these young guys come in thinking they are going to destroy the test, and she tells them the treadmill always wins.
She has not seen anyone make it longer than 10 minutes. I think it goes 1.7, 2.5, 3.4, 4.2, maybe 2 minute intervals.

I have a problem losing my vision after squats, deadlifts, or anything where i'm bending over and standing up. (Tying a shoe, etc. Also roller coasters/high G turns.)
Resting blood pressure runs about 100/60 bpm in the 50ish bpm range.
I have not passed out yet, but the vision goes black and i do get dizzy sometimes.
EKG came back normal and I have a Echo-cardiogram on Thursday.
My mother had the same issue if she stood up too fast, back when she had lower blood pressure, so I'm sure its nothing to worry about.

Thanks for the input on your stress test. They won't do the stress test until they confirm there is nothing structurally wrong with the heart ie: valves or septum are the main concerns.
 
When i was heavy, my septum was enlarged (normal is .8 to 1.2 cm, i was at 1.4) i'm back in range at 1.1 last time i got it looked at after losing the weight (2014). I'm due for another follow up but my old dr retired and i haven't gone through the process of finding a new one. He said as long as the blood pressure stayed normal, it was not a big concern. I didn't have high blood pressure so it wasn't too much of a concern at the time. knowing i had the septum, he did the stress test with me anyway.
I get my bp taken regularly at the chiropractor and it's always on the high side of normal or just a tick or two into hypertension. I did all the echo's and grams as well. i have a value that needs some top end cleaner though, so it doesn't close all the way. it leaks a bit. doc said it's not a big deal and as i get healthier it will probably clean itself. ( i had very high triglycerides count before). to follow up on that as well.

get blood work done if you haven't.
<i play a doctor on the internet>it sounds like it might be related to blood-sugar levels and/or low iron or magnesium.</doc> I didn't have any of those symptoms with standing or wanting to pass out after lifting heavy with the larger septum. your results may vary.
sometimes at the gym, if i lift heavy, i'll get that feeling of dizziness after a set too, but it's usually when i haven't eaten enough, or didn't have enough protein that day, etc.
 
he mentioned the enlarged septum because of the long distance running, said sometimes it gets over developed?
my blood work came back good last year, cholesterol was on the high side but that runs in my family.
we went the glucose route last time and he gave me a meter, i tested and that all looked fine.
i take a multivitamin so he wasn't too concerned with the iron or magnesium.
one day at the gym i was hitting sets of 10 deadlifts and then immediately sitting down and taking my blood pressure and it never went up from 100/60, even after my max set.
We'll see how it goes.
 
The septum is a muscle. It's common to increase in size when it gets worked harder over time much like any other muscle in your body. My doc said it's common in body builders and other people who have very high BMI, regardless of being 'in shape' or not, to have larger than normal septum's. Running was never discussed but seems to contradict that statement (most runners don't have a high bmi).

Problem is not so much it being enlarged itself as the fact that it pushes against the 2 chambers of the heart and results in a smaller volume for the ventricle halves to work, and thus leads to higher blood pressure. If blood pressure is in check, it's not a big deal as that's the main side effect of it.

Try wearing some compression socks. It will help keep blood from pooling in your legs which is often a cause of the dizziness issues (blood isn't in the right place at the right time). Sounds like you might be having symptoms of Orthostatic hypotension.
 
Bump to the top.
Tried out the 15x15. (I have no incline training in the last year or so.)
Trying to get acclimated to the incline for a potential upcoming treadmill stress test.
Friday I wanted to set a base line with spent legs so I did 5min intervals at 2.0 (150bpm), 2.5(160bpm) and 3.0 (173bpm) = .62 miles
Today I tried to up it a bit with 5 min intervals of 2.5(160bpm), 3.0 (170bpm) and 3.5(185)bpm, net result of .75 miles.
heart rate was taken via hand holds on treadmill for the last 15 seconds of each interval
the highest I have seen with my chest strap was 186, not sure on the accuracy of either the chest strap or the hand holds.

I had to break into a run for the 3.5 which I don't think is allowed on a treadmill stress test, not sure. (4mph is my max walk at 0 incline.)
I am pretty sure my heart rate was over 180 soon after starting the 3.5 and it was a struggle not to pull back on the speed.
I'm going to try this again on Friday and try to start at 3.0 and work up from there. 3.5 seemed to be my top end for speed for right now.

So this is a fun quick way to get some good cardio in, so thanks for the idea. And kudos on your 1.30 miles.
That's a hell of a pump.

you can run or walk at whatever speed you want for this test. just make sure you dont change the incline, and continue the test for the entire 15mins. the goal is to get the max distance you can.

when i did a stress test a few years back, they had me in a full out run, like 7 or 8 mph. i nearly got throw off the back of the thing near the end.. not sure if its a different kind you are doing.

yeah that's likely a different kind of test. there's a test where they increase both incline and speed at regular intervals until you fail. dont remember the specifics but its pretty common.
 
I believe my test was timed, and he basically told me not to fail. I went the full 5 min... took me like 20 min to get my heart rate back down. lol this was a while ago when i was fat(ter)
 
so since i haven't updated my progress in a while. I've had 3 major races with decent finishes:

Spartan Race Super - Palmerton PA, July 16th

7-8 mile course, ~3000ft total elevation gain, 32 obstacles
toughest obstacle - double 50lb sandbag carry up a 40% grade ski slope
failed the spear throw, 30 burpee penalty
failed the apehanger, 30 burpee penalty
finished in just over 3hrs (which was 1hr20mins faster than last year)
not a particularly good placement in my heat, 119th/650, 22nd/105 for men 30-34.

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River Valley Run 15k, August 13th

15k/9mi course, 1500ft of elevation gain
finished in 1:22:54
took 16th/224 place overall, and 5th place for men 30-39.

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Spartan Race Sprint - Washington DC, August 27th

4-5 mile course, 24 obstacles, all pretty easy
didnt fail any obstacles.
finished in 1:04:14
took 9th place in my heat, and 3rd place for men 30-34

pics soon
 
for comparison, this is what i looked like 2 years ago (and up until about march 2015, when i started working out more regularly)

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Spartan just posted the pics from Saturday.

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this race made my third Spartan for the season. earning me the "Trifecta" of doing all 3 race types.

Spartan NJ Beast in April
Spartan PA Super in July
Spartan DC Sprint in August

I have a Spartan Stadium event (counts as a sprint level) in Philly on Sept 24th. Then 2 more 10k races, one trail, one road in Oct and Nov respectively. Maybe next year i'll consider doing a Spartan UltraBeast (2 laps of a Beast course), but I'm on the fence.
 
so are you using intervals for the 15x15? or steady state?

I hit 0.79 today. 10min@3.0mph, 5min@3.5mph Ending heart rate was 185bpm
Steady state of 4.0mph would only get a mile, so you must be really pushing on the speed.
 
You can do it any way you like.

The last few attempts I was doing intervals. Bouncing between 4-6.5mph.

Next attempt I will START around the average pace of my previous attempt (~5mph) then after the first mins, bump it up a couple tenths. Then the same thing after another 5mins. And really push it for the last minute or so.

But I might fail.
 
OL's aunt is a nurse that administers these tests.
She said they start at 10incline 1.7mph and work up in both incline and speed, with the goal of hitting your max heart rate, or terminating the test if they see any abnormalities.
She said these young guys come in thinking they are going to destroy the test, and she tells them the treadmill always wins.
She has not seen anyone make it longer than 10 minutes. I think it goes 1.7, 2.5, 3.4, 4.2, maybe 2 minute intervals.

I have a problem losing my vision after squats, deadlifts, or anything where i'm bending over and standing up. (Tying a shoe, etc. Also roller coasters/high G turns.)
Resting blood pressure runs about 100/60 bpm in the 50ish bpm range.
I have not passed out yet, but the vision goes black and i do get dizzy sometimes.
EKG came back normal and I have a Echo-cardiogram on Thursday.
My mother had the same issue if she stood up too fast, back when she had lower blood pressure, so I'm sure its nothing to worry about.

Thanks for the input on your stress test. They won't do the stress test until they confirm there is nothing structurally wrong with the heart ie: valves or septum are the main concerns.
How much water do you drink every day?

I've been severely dehydrated to the point where I could barely stand after getting out of bed. Then, I found out that I walk around mildly dehydrated all the time without realizing it. The first time I donated plasma, I felt normal, and the physicians assistant, who was in charge, told me I was dehydrated based on my blood sample. In fact, he said it was the worst he had seen working there; and I nearly blacked out before the end of my donation. I was laying there watching my blood pressure go down on the monitor, and around 60-something/30-something, I started to get tunnel vision and loss of hearing.
 
Awesome man! Keep up the good work. I haven't done any Spartan races but they look pretty intense. I recently got heavily into running as well, also due to a bad breakup. I totally get the idea of it clearing your head, it's helped a lot. I will be running my first half marathon in two weeks, 18 September at the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon race in DC. The longest I've run is 10 miles, with an average pace of about 9'30". Not too fast but I'm going for long distance endurance and not necessarily speed. I felt like I could have kept going but I've been told by other marathoners to not train to the full race length. I usually run 3-4 times a week; 6 miles normally (9' pace), and 8-10 miles (9'30" pace) once a week for my long runs. The goal is to do a full marathon this coming Spring 2017.
 
Spartan Stadium Sprint - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia PA

Event with obstacles setup throughout the stadium. Lots of up and down the stairs. Total distance around 3miles maybe. Hard to judge since my GPS didn't track well indoors and under cover at the stadium.

I ended up in 1st place for the Competitive waves. Happy with the results, but I know that all of the real competition was at a more presitgious event at Wintergreen in VA the same day. But hey, I'll take it :) Also for comparison, the top finishers in the Elite wave finished about 7 mins faster than me!

No failed obstacles. Sticking the spear throw sealed the win for me. I had another guy right behind me for most of the race, until he missed the spear and had to do burpees. He was a faster runner, but I was better at obstacles and the stairs. The spear throw is a bitch. It takes 10sec to complete, but if you miss it, you're stuck there for ~3mins doing burpees...

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All that, and you balk at Cola Warrior.

*sigh*
 
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