Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Is That All?


I got in from my run this morning and plugged my favorite toy/tool into my PC. My Garmin 305 has been on my wrist for every single training ride and run since I started my triathlon dreams in January. It has been a constant reminder that I am getting faster and in better shape.

As I reviewed my run from this morning, I was disappointed to see that I was slower and had a higher heart rate than the last few runs. Not sure what that's about - but I will keep an eye on it and see if I can bounce back in the morning.

I was looking at some comparisions between today and older runs when I clicked on the "Running" heading at the side of the page. I hadn't realized that the software was keeping a running tally of all my training. It's cool that it does, but what I read didn't make me happy.

Here's what I learned:

* Running - 194.7 miles and 33,127 calories burned this year

* Biking - 491.5 miles and 40,912 calories burned this year

* MultiSport - 159.2 miles and15,998 calories burned this year.

* Total - 845.4 miles and 90,037 calories burned this year

I don't know what totals I was expecting - but this doesn't seem like enough. It's a bad comparision but the Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes has covered that running distance in one race! Clearly, I needed to find a more positive spin on this data!

My next stop was Mircosoft Streets and Trips. Why? I was curious how far I would have made it if I had gone "Forest Gump" and just started running at the beginning of the year. The answer, I would be a couple of miles outside of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hey, that sounds better!

Next question - what about the calories? Well this is cool! I have burned the equivilant of 1664 Oreo Cookies! I'm not sure how many packages that is - but it's a lot! My other favorite "bad food" is Brown Sugar Frosted Cinnamon Pop Tarts - I've burned 450 of those. Last, but not least is the foot long Dairy Queen Chili Cheese Dog. Feel free to beat me down for this one - but I do love a good chili dog. So, I have burned the equivalent of 127 Super Dogs!

Now I feel good about the numbers! I could be sitting on my butt eating Oreos, Pop Tarts and Super Dogs, or I can be moving through Louisiana getting better every day! I like the second option. I wonder how long it will take me to reach the Pacific Ocean???








Take care friends!

kbc2

3 comments:

  1. 90,000 calories is 26 or so pounds. Just think, dont take in a whole lot more than you used to and the pounds will float away.

    Also, at our ages dont put a lot of weight into the times. You only set yourself up to get hurt, which I did last Monday (but I was wearing new shoes)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I looked it up...the average 20oz. bag of oreo's has 21 cookies. Yep, that's 32.62 packages of oreos.

    Well done!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perspective is everything. That's 90,000 calories and 800 odd miles you WOULDN'T have done had you stayed on the couch.
    Comparing yourself to Karnazes is setting the bar a bit high...how many people could do what he's done?
    Oh that's right.
    He's the only one.
    EVER. : D

    Given your current post about being sick, it's evident to me (with that wonderful 20/20 hindsight we all possess) that your body was fighting a bug on the day you wrote this. You weren't symptomatic yet, but your pulse was up, and your times weren't what you expected. A good reminder for us to be kind to ourselves as we train, and not assume that these fluctuations mean we're doing something wrong. Quite the opposite: your body was already working overtime!
    Congrats on a great training record!

    ReplyDelete