The Anaerobic Threshold

The worst feeling I ever had while having fun was trying to run and smoke at 11,000 feet above sea level.
I was skiing Snowbird Mountain and took the first Tram of the day to the summit, 11,000 feet.
The first thing I noticed was air hunger.
The second thing I noticed was that it was hard to keep a cigarette lit.
The third thing I noticed was the cold followed by the fact that my hands were purple.
I was standing with a friend and we decided to try to run to the head of the first slope.
We made it a few feet and several minutes were required to catch our breath.
I felt this same way on Tuesday at Boot Camp or as I will now rename it the Anaerobic Hot Box.
A whole new set up was ready for the unwary.
No wraps, no boxing glove required.
Multiple stations, alternating upper body, lower body.
The count 100 standing dumbbell presses.
Other stations of interest, push ups, jump rope, stair run, agility ladder, hammer curls, mountain climbers and so on.
No rest periods were afforded and the sweat came fast and furious.
I began noticing it after the first three stations, I was panting trying to catch a breath, I had real air hunger, but it was on to the next station and the air hunger just kept getting a little worse and demanding more of my attention.
I wasn’t smiling and I didn’t have enough air to laugh and there was another 50 minutes to go.
Everybody was initially bright red but then I noticed gradually shaded into the color purple.
It suggested that oxygen levels were falling or blood flow was “stopping”.
It immediately flashed through my mind that this was just like Snowbird, we were flirting with the anaerobic threshold.
Cross it and exercise has to cease in just a few minutes.
Stay just below it and you can exercise until the fuel runs out.
People felt it; low rumbles of discomfort were heard circling the room.
“Man I am hurting”.
“I can’t catch my breath; I have a stitch in my side”.
But the circuit continued, three times around followed by a vigorous set of abs.
The locker room was quiet, most just happy to be out of the Anaerobic Zone.
Heart rates and respiratory rates began to return to more normal levels.
I knew the amount of lactic acid built up in that room meant a lot of people were going to be sore the next day and many complained of muscle aches lasting beyond 24 hours.
It is interesting what we will do to ourselves.
It is good to know that the competitive spirit is alive and well even without oxygen.
I guess that is how life got started anyway.
One little anaerobic cell with a big attitude.