I introduced my coworker to the wonderful world of running this afternoon. We ran 2 1/2 miles; I think he was a bit too gung ho, as he told me to set a pace and he'd try to keep up. I kept it around 10 min/mi, and he kept it up but was really showing his difficulties at about a mile and a half. I kept offering to slow down or to walk, but he would have none of it. He was surprised when we rounded the corner back towards home, saying whoa, we're almost there? I said yeah, we hit two miles a bit ago. Then he ran as fast as he could to the finish. The end pace was around 8:30. It was fun, now he wants to do three.

So in the end I burned 300 calories, which isn't too bad. Not as many as I normally do, but I'll still take 'em.

Today was certainly an off day. I put off going to the gym as long as possible, and when I got there, I just wasn't exerting myself enough. So in 30 minutes, I only burned about 100 calories. I suppose it wasn't a total waste, since I did get some exercise in, but man. Now I need to be sure and make up for it tonight on the stairclimber, which I still haven't used in months.

And to top it off, this morning on the way to work I had not one, but TWO buttermilk bars (donuts). Holy cow, I'm stupid.

Tomorrow.

My normal weekday route, 5.35 miles. After the great Saturday long run, I decided to have a great Monday. I just decided to keep my pace around 9.00/mi, and set out to maintain it. I came close.

Mile 1: 8:42
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 9:04
Mile 4: 8:59
Mile 5: 9:19

Average Pace: 9:00/mi (woo!)
Average HR: 164bpm (boo!)
Calories Burned: 672

This morning, my breakfast was split so I'd be able to eat before, during, & after this morning's long run.

Before:
Oatmeal: 320
Banana: 109

During:
Gel: 110

After:
Pria Bar: 170
Pancakes: 150

Total: 689

Keep in mind though, this is MUCH more calories than I normally have. If I was sitting on my butt this morning I would have eaten more like 200.

So the long run... same route as last week, same distance, 13.3 miles. Remember earlier in the week I turned auto laps every mile? So now I have splits.

I ran it differently this week and it made a HUGE difference. Remember last week I talked about my calves burning? That didn't happen. I ate a banana before I ran, which likely made a difference. The biggest difference though is that I watched my pace closely early on and kept it strictly at 10 min/mi or slower, and let it dip down to 11 a couple times. As a result, my time was MUCH better than last week. More importantly, I feel great. I'm not exhausted like I was, and have virtually no soreness.

After the halfway point I stepped it up a tiny bit and ran faster, but came to a dead stop when four dogs came out of the trees, barking like crazy. They were obviously not attacking me, but I was still cautious. I walked slowly until they gave up, that's all I needed, having neighborhood dogs chasing me. Even pets can bite on occasion. Once they gave up on me, I started again.

Unlike last Saturday, the last two miles weren't bad at all. In fact, when I got to the Furneaux Rd. sign a mile from my house, I said out loud, "Take THAT, Furneaux!" Last week that was the sign that I just felt MISERABLE at.

Mile 1: 10:04
Mile 2: 10:07
Mile 3: 10:25
Mile 4:10:46
Mile 5: 10:42
Mile 6: 10:09
Mile 7: 10:57
Mile 8: 10:52
Mile 9: 9:32
Mile 10: 10:03
Mile 11: 9:11
Mile 12: 9:33
Mile 13: 9:58

I don't have the mile splits for last week but it's obvious what they looked like. My average pace then was 11:19/mi, THIS week's average was 10:09. Last week I finished in 2:30, this week was 2:15. If I keep working on it, by the time I run my first real half marathon, I just might break 2 hours!

Oh, and on the Garmin 305, the heart rate strap, and how it calculates, I think I just proved it's using the heart rate in calculations. Calories burned were 1689, and last week's was 1684. Almost the same number, even though I was 15 minutes faster. I think that throws my whole time/distance theory out the window. :)

Empirical data GOOD. Fire BAD.