Last year, I'd say I was definitely heavier. I've lost right around 10 pounds from last year, and I can tell. I feel a lot better. But obviously I'm a little bit bigger than my competitors, but in no way does that ever affect the way I approach the race. I kind of joked when I ran 13:12 a couple of years ago "yeah, I probably have the weight class world record -Chris Solinsky who attended Stevens Point Area High School in Stevens Point, Wisconsin runnersworld.com
MY COMMENT: I am guessing, but let's say Chris weighed 175 last season, and now he weighs 165. Running a 13:12 the prior season, his maximal oxygen consumption must have been around 80 ml/kg. Doing the math, at 175 he was able to process 6.36 liters of oxygen (80 ml x 79.5 kg). At 165 (75 kg), assuming he can process the same amount of oxygen (6360 ml), his VO2 (ml/kg) jumps to 84.8 ml/kg (6360/75). There are other factors involved such as running economy, environment, hydation, nutrition, etc. but a 6% increase in V02 is more than enough to improve a 5K by several seconds. If he has, in fact, lost 10 pounds, even if a couple of those are muscle, watch for a breakthrough.
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