DaShaun

• I just unlocked the Level 2 "Hot Tamale" badge on @foursquare! In it to win it! http://t.co/y1byYmMB #
• RT @BeanCountinGal RT @KCBizjournal: KC average pay: $44K http://t.co/Lu8H13A0 #
• About Kansas City Restaurant Week : http://t.co/fbnkC3Ur Official Travel Source http://t.co/OcpbO6HX via @visitkc #
• I've only got 3 runs, ever, that are longer than 22 miles. Two of those three were actual marathon races. #
• Glad to see that I'm not the only one thinking Mitch Daniels heavily resembles Emperor Palpatine. #
• Trying to channel my inner @matthewboeckman while setting up my 6TB RAID server with NFS. #
• No less than six accidents, so far, on my way home from work. #wrongway #

• Heading to get some custom coaching from @swimmer_whitney #
• Some data is just too good to argue with. #
• Happy MLK day! #
• I'm not a superstar like @runner_steve, but I also increased my VO2Max this year. From 41 to 42.4. #
• I guess my day can only get better. Just got hit by bird poop. #
• I'm registered for the @Garmin Half Marathon: April 21st, Olathe KS. #
• http://t.co/QzA1wJPi I would have posted this with the rest of my geek stuff, but "identi.ca" is doing a blackout to raise awareness of SOPA #
• Everytime I let IT login to my computer and "fix" something, I feel like I have gotten dumber… #
• http://t.co/Dy0KHtPZ What happens if you are "chronically active" and aging? I like what this study is suggesting. #
• Hoping that my good buddy David G. can join the team @garmin #

There was lots of other stuff besides training and VO2 testing. Work has been going pretty great too. This week was really just a very productive week. I got a lot done and I felt like I was able to help quite a few people out this week too.

I got a house project done on Wednesday. We had been watching the mildew get worse in our shower.  Wednesday, I decided to tackle it.  I took a few before and after pics.  When I pulled the caulk, I realized that there was at least two previous attempts at sealing the shower.  Most of my time was spent removed the existing caulk from the shower.  I bought a special tool, but ended up using a razor blade on over half of the shower.  It ended up being almost a 5 hour job.  Luckily, I had my buddy Aris on speed dial to answer my questions.

Thursday, Jillian and I had a date.  We went to “Fugo de Chao” for dinner first.  It was great.  It was totally different than any dinning experience I have ever had.  I tried two new foods, without knowing what they were before I put them in my mouth.  Heart of Palm and avocado bottom.  At least that is what I think they said.  After dinner, we had tickets to see Avicii.  One of my favorite songs right now is “Levels” see the video below.

Anyway, the show started at 8:45, but Avicii didn’t go on until 11:30. Jillian actually dozed off during the openers. There just hasn’t been that much energy after 9pm in our house. Perhaps, we should have known better. (We had pretty much the same results in 2009 when we tried to see Morgan Page in DC.) After three songs, including “Fade Into Darkness” we were ready to go.  We were in bed by 12:30.

Saturday was family fun day.  I had a great morning with Elizabeth.  We let Jillian sleep in, picked her up some breakfast and did some grocery shopping.  Grocery shopping was a learning experience for me.  I actually carried Elizabeth in my arms most of the time we were there.  We did some stunts and I just let her look around whenever she wanted.  It was great.  After breakfast, we went to “Cute Nails” where Jillian and I got pedicures.  Elizabeth sat on my lap.  She liked it because the massage chair gave her just enough motion to keep her both relaxed and entertained.

My parents came over in the afternoon too.  My mom got to feed Elizabeth for the first time!  I made one of my favorite dinners while they were here and we got started on a quilting project using Jillian’s old cheerleading t-shirts.

After dinner, we went to visit baby Brayden.  I haven’t mentioned much of him here, but he is my new nephew.  He came to us last week a little bit premature, so he is still in the hospital.  While we were visiting, he told me “You can leave when I stop holding your finger” so I stuck around.  We talked about how he handles the paparazzi.

Today I got some quality time with my niece Whitney.  We were supposed to go swimming, but the swimming lanes were only open for adults.  So we went for a little bike ride.

She told me that she will teach me how to do “flip turns” in the pool next time we go swimming.  I’m pretty excited about that!

• I did 17 miles in my neighborhood. I thought it would get boring, but it didn't. I stopped at home every 2.5 miles. Zone 1. Felt great! #
• http://t.co/xyt7aOvl My 2009 in review. #
• Had a good lunch workout. Needed to clear my head. 17+ miles on the bike. I've lost all of the "holiday" weight I put on, and 2# more. #
• Reminded how much I don't miss highway 71 traffic. #
• 118 over 65 this morning. My BP continues to improve. #
• Fitness test, part one, complete. I will get a new VO2 max on Thursday. #
• http://t.co/YcaOzaXh Exercise can help reduce risk of Alzheimer's according to a recent study. #
• http://t.co/Vb0vgPuA Harvard declares dairy NOT a part of a healthy diet and suggests healthier ways to get calcium. #
• Join me & change your profile picture to protest SOPA: http://t.co/5dmHafDo #BlackoutSOPA #
• http://t.co/EbeqcXJw Starting 2012 with some high quality data. #VO2max #EKG #
• Winter Ride: Christophe Le Mével and Garmin Edge 800 :http://t.co/levPpbyJ Who wants to get out and ride!!!! #
• If you need ANY motivation to train this winter, start here: http://t.co/90VS9fDG
  All I can say is "Wow" I need to go get in my miles. #
• #WinterTraining Last week's record is this weeks motivation http://t.co/P29AuNKv #
• I just had a great day of collaboration, knowledge-share and productivity. Problem solving is a little addictive. #
• Weird, I upset my wife for starting a project she has been concerned about for weeks. Recaulking the shower because of mildew. #
• Shower. Done. #
• The numbers are all in: 42.4 #
• I'm not sure how this guy gets to open for @avicii #hotmess #

This part wasn’t nearly as cool. I sat in a machine and tried to keep a consistent RPM while they increased the resistance and measured my heart rate. It felt easy, but I guess my heart was saying something different.

After than I did a stair-step test. Basically go up and down steps 20 times, then they measure your heart rate.

The best part of the day was that I got the results. According to the first 2 tests, my VO2 Max is 42.4 m/kg/min.

The third, stair-step test, suggested an even lower result, 41.7.

I think the point of this research study was to see how accurate the formula for the 2nd test was in comparison to the first test. The first test being the most accurate since its actually measuring the amount of oxygen uptake and not a prediction. I guess the good thing is (for the research) that, for me, the first and second test actually matched exactly.

I also got some additional information regarding my tests too. It was a cool process overall. I’m glad I could be a part of it. The organizer also said that the lab will be open, to the public, in the future, for VO2 max testing.

The bottom line for me is that this VO2Max calculation gets balance out by the “per kilogram” part of the function. which means that if I were 14 pounds lighter, my score would be over 3 points higher. So with the 2-year goal of being 205 instead of 234, perhaps I can dramatically improve my VO2 Max by then.

I tried to find my VO2Max results from my NewLeaf test last year, but couldn’t seem to find it.