The Chances

How a 250+ Pound Couch Potato Got Healthy

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Weekday Run - 6.2 miles

Today's run was with Tim. I kept at his pace, although I ended up way ahead of him for a while and ended up walking with him a short while. Because of the walking, I told him at a certain point I'd ditch him, so that's what I did.

After I went inside to get my Powerade Zero, I went back to make sure Tim was ok. As I suspected, he was walking. I started the GPS again once I went after him.

Here come the splits.


Splits
Mile 1: 9:43.32
Mile 2: 9:56.65
Mile 3: 12:48.32
Mile 4: 11:34.26
Mile 5: 9:11.68
Mile 6: 9:14.84
.46 Mile: 5:44.09 (12:28/mi)

I ditched tim in the middle of Mile 5. We were about a half mile into it at 10:00/mi when I said, "I'm going to ditch you at the corner." I sprinted to about a 6:30 mile for all of about 200 feet, then averaged about 8:45 for the rest of the mile. It's interesting the average pace for that mile came to 9:11, which I averaged the rest of the way.



After 6.2 miles, I jogged back to where he was and walked with him the rest of the way back.

Cooking Mama: Mama Kills!

What happens when PETA gets into the videogame industry?

Thanksgiving happens! Oh, the humanity!!! Fun game, although I wonder why A) there's blood coming out of the eggs, and B) you cut off the head AFTER stuffing the turkey. No matter, let the slaughter begin!

Cooking Mama: Mama Kills

Monday, November 17, 2008

Gym Day

Went to the gym today, and the HRM's caloric readout was strange at the end...

Warmup, w/45lb bar
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-over Row

Workout
* Drop Squat, 3x20
* Underhand-grip Dumbell Row, 3x20x20lbs
* Reverse Hyperextension, 3x20
* Elbows-in Elevated Pushup, 2x20
* Side Bridge, 3x20 per side
* Side Lateral Raise & Rotation, 3x20x10lbs per side

30 minutes, 103 calories burned

2.5 mi treadmill run @ 7.5mph (8 min/mi), 20 minutes, 127 calories burned. This is where it gets strange. I should be burning about 100 calories per mile, and on my typical runs (including long runs), I burn about 125 calories per. Today according to the HRM I was burning about 60! So while I don't believe it, the numbera at the end is what I'm quoting.

Total calories burned: 227

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Yet Another Gadget?

Well, yeah.

I'm a gadget junkie. I always have been, since I was a kid. One of my favorite toys when I was 7 years old was a transistor radio my mom gave me. For years I thought it was because I could listen to any radio station I wanted, but now I realize it was the portability of it. I didn't have to be listening to the radio station SOME place, I could listen ANY place. In my bed, in the bathtub, walking to school.

The obsession followed me through life and into adulthood. Anyone who knows me for a period of time (5 minutes maybe?) will soon be introduced to my Treo 755p. One of these days I'm going to have it surgically attached to my hand, but I'm waffling on that because I wouldn't be able to hold a water bottle while running.

Speaking of which, I ordered yet another gadget. I'm a regular visitor of a clearance site called Woot, which has the business model of one item each day. When it's sold out, you can't order until midnight the next day, at which point the next item comes up. On occasion they have what they call a Woot Off, which brings up a new item as soon as the previous item is sold out.

Yesterday, Woot had this:



Yup, it's the Garmin Forerunner 50. But why, you ask, would I want to buy a non-GPS Garmin watch that doesn't measure heart rate, but uses a foot pod to estimate distance traveled when I could just wear my GPS?

* Foot pod. It will allow me to wear my 305 when on the treadmill so I can take the distance data and import it into Garmin Training Center or SportTracks.
* Stylish watch!
* It's 50 bucks!

The $50 thing is the kicker. The Forerunner 50's suggested retail price is $100, which is what Amazon.com is charging for it at present. If I were to buy the foot pod alone, it'd cost $80. Here, I paid $50, got a watch that's compatible with the 305's strap, plus the foot pod. I'd call it a bargain.

Now all I have to do is get back on the treadmill again. I plan on doing that a lot once the hard rains hit.