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August 17, 2005
Lab Rat
Should I be ashamed to admit that I freely volunteer to be part of research studies? I have participated in quite a few. For the most part, you get to learn some pretty cool stuff about yourself AND they compensate you for your time and effort. I participated in one that studied stress fractures. That one was kind of boring and it took a long time becuase it involved tracking your mileage for two years as well as a rather long session in the lab. I also did one that measured VO2 max and some other stuff with heart valve function. That one was really cool since you got all sorts of really expensive and informative tests done for free and they paid you for it. Recently I was wear testing this heart rate monitor bra. Hey, I'm going to run anyhow, they're giving me something and I'm getting a small stipend for doing it. When you don't have a job, you'll take any little bit of money you can get your hands on! So yesterday I got a call that they needed someone to try out different bras and run on a treadmill for them and I would be compensated for it, so I jumped at the opportunity!
Well, they wanted to start collecting data ASAP, so that meant that today, the most beautiful morning of the entire summer, when it has been unbearably hot for like months on end, I had to run inside, on a treadmill. We agreed to meet at my branch of the gym at 9 this morning. I got there and waited for my research folks. When I got there, I noticed a sign that all of the cardio equipment is out becuase they are getting completely new equipment. This posed a bit of a problem, since they needed me to run on a treadmill for some reason. We talked for a little bit and they followed me to the next closest branch. One of the researchers had to be a guest, which was not too much of a problem. We got him paid for and were talking some about what we were going to be doing and some guy overheard us and told us that we had to talk to the manager about it. She seemed to think that everything would be OK, so we went upstairs and started to get set up. They didn't have enough batteries, so they left me there to change into the first of the bras I had to test and wait. They took so much longer than I thought they would to get back, I got to meet the guy who is completely in charge and still wait for quite a bit longer. They finally got back and set up all of the various equipment that they needed to check things out. I got on the treadmill and they told me to run for about 20 minutes, so I set it at 7:30 pace (there was a chance that I could be running for up to 2 hours total, so I wanted to run a pace that I could run for a long time). Almost as soon as I got started one of the fitness center workers came over and started to ask a lot of questions and didn't seem too happy to see what we were doing. They were afraid that something might fall on me or that I would run so hard that I would max out or something. We did this with a few different variations of the bra, but because they didn't seem to want us in there, we cut down the amount of time from 20 minutes to fifteen minutes. I ended up running a total of 50 minutes on the treadmill. By the end I was really thirsty and getting hungry because it was much later than I thought it would be. When I got home, I decided to run for ten more minutes outside just to be OCD and end up with an hour.
I am a terrible treadmill runner. I have not run on one in at least three years. I would much rather run outside and go super-slow in the snow than to run on a treadmill. I get really bored and I have terrible balance. Today I felt like I was going to trip and fall at the beginning. By the time I got warmed up I could have run faster, but I was so uncomfortable that I had to start out easy. Not to mention that today was supposed to be easy and there was the possibility of running for up to two hours. I had to keep the pace the same to eliminate any confounding variables (god, I sould like a scientist!). The whole time I was looking out the big window that looks outside at how beautiful it was and thought about what a waste it was to be inside today. While I was on the treadmill, the RD for all of the local races came over and talked to me about why on earth I was running inside. I explained that I was wear-testing and he thought they had the right person to be testing things out. He asked when my next race was, always looking to make a buck. I had to tell him it would not be for a while because that marathon really sapped me and I need to get comfortable running six minute pace again. He did admit that I have been putting in a lot of work this year...as far as I am concerned, this year is pretty much a building year to get used to more training.
The rest of today involved doing the running for my dad. I parked where I didn't have to pay and walked all over downtown. I was a sweaty, nasty thing by the time I got back. I did some errands after that and then came home for a quick dinner. I realized when I started to cook that I had no fresh produce left, so I had to go to the grocery store after yoga tonight. I had a flexible night tonight!! I could actually touch the ground with almost flat palms! We did a lot of balancing exercises. I have a horrible time trying to balance on my right side because that ankle has been sprained so many times that it is just so weak.
I've taken my extra-strength dose of benadryl, so I should be getting sleepy soon. I have been so groggy in the morning because I am so easily affected by the drugs in it.
Posted by Blondie at August 17, 2005 09:01 PM