not a jogging update

January 26, 2017: All quiet on the bloggy front

I did not get a single visit to my blog yesterday, January 26. This calls for a sad face.

 

In other unrelated sad news, I walked along the Brunette River trail today to see if it was ready for running. Behold!

A little mucky in spots but completely clear and perfectly suitable for jogging. Hooray!

But you are saying to yourself, “Why is this sad? Is it because he has grown fat and lazy and it is sad that the trail is now free of snow but the desire to run has itself run away?”

The answer can be seen in the next photo. I emphasize that this photo was taken at the same time on the same two km stretch of trail along the river.

If you look carefully in the above shot you can see another completely clear patch of trail near the top. These two pictures cover the extremes as most of the trail is somewhere between the two, with a mix of snowy and clear patches that would work for limited running, provided you had nimble, gazelle-like reflexes to constantly alter course between the snow and no-snow spots.

It has been almost four weeks since the last snowfall. Given that the weather over the next ten days looks to be pretty similar to the last few weeks I am revising my estimate on being able to run outdoors again from early February to late February–a month from now and, incredibly, close to three months since my last outdoor run on December 4, 2016, or as I like to call it, the BS (Before Snow) era.

And to think I once found snow delightful. Delightful!

Damn snow.

Elliptical the Fourth

Yes, for the fourth day in a row I went to the gym (Canada Games Pool). I have never done this before. I may never do it again. But I did it this week.

I chose an elliptical workout with a setting of 14/11, adjusted down to 14/10 for a bit before going back to 14/11.

On the machine itself my step and calorie count were down slightly (sad face) but on the watch the calorie count was up slightly, perhaps reflecting the fact that I was ever-so-slightly heavier and this burning more.

Calories burned: 389 (341 active)
Time: 30:09
BPM: 156

Last night:

Calories burned: 383 (334 active)
Time: 30:56
BPM: 155

I actually felt myself getting tired earlier tonight, which isn’t that surprising given it was my fourth day in a row working out and sweat was literally pouring down my face. I made a tactical error in soaking in the swirl pool for about ten minutes before the workout. The logic was the dip would help my slightly stiff muscles loosen up. Although I felt I’d cooled off in the time it took me to dry off and change, I probably was still running (ho ho) a little hot.

Still, the end result was surprisingly consistent and I didn’t feel as wobbly heading down the stairs after.

I’m taking a break tomorrow (Monday) but should be back Tuesday, when I will likely tackle the treadmill again. Not literally tackle, because that would hurt. This also gives me time to find a groovy water bottle to help keep me hydrated and super-fast and such.

Elliptical, Part 3 or I can’t stop going to this place

For some crazy reason I went to the Canada Games Pool for the third day in a row, trading in the dreaded treadmill for the much less-dreaded elliptical again.

I managed to start things off a bit better by making sure the fan was running and started the elliptical activity on the watch only a little late. I adjusted the height and speed to 14/10 instead of 12/7 but in the end, I only burned six calories more than the previous time, 345 vs. 339. I apparently did 3,750 steps in the half hour workout. My advanced math skills (and calculator) tell me that’s 125 steps per minute. I have no idea if that’s good, bad or average.

Overall the workout went fine. I didn’t feel inordinately tired for doing this three days in a row (and four times this week) so that’s good. We’ll see how my various muscles feel about it tomorrow morning. I am apparently more serious than I realized about getting in shape.

One time I lost my rhythm and my left foot started to pop out of the foot guard or whatever you call it. This caused me to briefly stop until I got it back in. The equivalent thing on a treadmill would result in me flying off, so this is a definite advantage of the elliptical.

I was good and sweaty by the end so it at least looked like I worked out hard. And I’m all about looks.

And getting in shape, too, I suppose.

If I’m feeling extra nutty I may even go again tomorrow.

The machine works

Last night I defied my own expectations by exercising on a Monday night. Monday night is usually when the couch has an unnatural magnetic attraction but I had a strange urge to get out and burn a few calories, so off we went to the Canada Games Pool.

My second run (so to speak) on the elliptical went well. I couldn’t remember the settings I’d used previously for height/resistance so I just made my best guess and went with 12/7. It proved to be harder so my guessing sucks.

On the plus side, I remembered to start the workout on my watch but since I ended it on time instead of letting it go for an extra five minutes as I did the first time, my calorie count was lower.

On the machine itself, my calorie count went up significantly, though, from 260 the first time to 339 last night. Also, my legs felt wobbly when I got off the elliptical and walked down the stairs to the main level of the pool. No stiffness or soreness today, though, so hooray on that.

I think for the next trip I will try the dreaded treadmill (I have no idea why–except perhaps madness–treadmills are always much busier than the ellipticals). I may then alternate between the two as each works different muscles. All part of my clever plan to become a big muscular something or other.