This morning, I had just three miles on the schedule. For some reason, I had the odd idea pop into my head to do hills on the treadmill today. Lately, I've been wanting all of my runs to have a purpose--to make me a faster runner--and while I know that easy running serves a purpose, I figured throwing in a few hills couldn't hurt.
Since I don't have any hills to run around here, I have to make do with the treadmill. Joey insisted on coming out to the garage with me while I ran, so he came and sat on the couch to supervise (when he wasn't standing so close to my legs that I could feel his whiskers brush against me while I was running).
I've noticed a bit of a discrepancy in my Garmin foot pod when I change the incline on the treadmill, which is odd. The speed on the treadmill can stay steady, but if I change the incline, the pace on my Garmin changes a little. I'm not sure why that is. I'm thinking maybe because when there is an incline, my foot touches the ground just a split second before it would if I were running without incline--so the foot pod "thinks" I'm taking quicker steps...? Anyway, I figured it would be a good time to test it out.
I started the treadmill at 6.0 mph (10:00/mi) and left it there for the entire three miles. Then, for the first mile, I used an incline of 4%. It was harder than it sounds! After that first mile, I lowered the incline to 0% (unfortunately, I can't practice downhill running on the treadmill) for mile two. Then, I ran from mile 2 to 2.5 at 5% incline, and from 2.5-3 miles, I ran at 0% incline. All-in-all, I ran 1.5 miles at an incline of 4-5%, which is pretty good. The pace reading did vary, just as I suspected, even though I kept the speed on 6.0 the whole time.
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| Pace graph |
Basically, if I am running at an incline, the foot pod shows that I'm running faster than I actually am; if I'm running at no incline, it shows I'm a little slower than I actually am. Interesting!
I have no idea why my calories burned was so LOW. Only 229 calories for a 3-mile run? The heart rate graph shows that it was pretty low for the first 3/4 of a mile, so I wonder if maybe it just wasn't getting a proper read on my heart rate.
Anyway... I've been doing really well so far with getting in a walk every day. This evening, I was getting changed into my pajamas when I realized I hadn't gone for a walk today (I'm trying not to count my runs as part of my walk-once-a-day goal). Even though it was pitch black outside, I grabbed Joey's leash and a flashlight, and we headed out for a walk around the neighborhood. We only walked about 3/4 of a mile, but it was really nice!
I'm usually scared of running/walking in the dark (I'm not sure when that started--I used to do it all the time, but over the past couple of years I developed a fear of it). It was really peaceful tonight, and it certainly helped that the weather was great, so I think I'll walk in the dark more often.
Don't forget, tomorrow is Motivational Monday! If you have a submission, please email it to me tonight or early tomorrow. If I don't get any this week, I won't be posting again until Tuesday.
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