Tough and a little stupid

When you get the itch to run, you gotta run! I really missed not running yesterday even though it was stupid hot.  So I super hydrated this afternoon before I left work, and I took my two new sports bottles filled with ice cubes and cold water.  And another half-frozen 20 oz. bottle of water and a half-frozen bottle of Gatorade.
Here's the weather now when I got to the parking lot at the trail head to start my run:

There was some good cloud cover when I got out of the truck, that made it cooler, but look at the radar map:

Yes, those are nasty storms headed my way.  And here is the weather now when I finished:

Too bad the wind doesn't show gusts, I had a big one hit me right in the middle of the run.  I was next to a few large trees, one large branch broke in the wind but didn't fall down right away.  But the snapping sound was incredible.  I thought for sure a tree was going to fall on me.  Every wind gust after that had me looking up for falling tree limbs.  Overall, not a bad run.  I made sure to run super slow so I didn't overheat and I didn't.  I was surprised to see how even my pace was, considering I only walked up the one hill.  Drinking every 1/2 mile helped too.  By the time I got to mile 4, all of my ice cubes had melted and the water was warm.  (I carried the two sports bottles the whole time I ran.  Made my shoulders very tight).  Anyway, a triumph for toughness.  If I feel like bragging, I can say I ran in 100 F heat this summer.  But, in reality, it was somewhere between 91 and 100 F with plenty of cloud cover.  Still plenty hot.  Oh- and when I finished running I saw that I had a weather alert email- it was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the storm that blew through with the big wind gusts.  Very little rain though. 

Tough but not stupid

I'm used to the heat and I'm used to running in the heat. But 105? I'm tough but not stupid. My 5 miles can wait until this evening or tomorrow.

New gear

Check out my new bike helmet!
 
It was a father's day gift, along with a real pair of bike shorts (mountain bike shorts I should say, they are baggy) and a water bottle that fits snugly in my bike's water bottle holder.  Today was the inaugural ride for all of the above.  I went to Hummel Park and rode some of the trails, but I was also checking up on a few things for an activity with the scouts tonight.  I even climbed the sledding hill.  And I did a little bit of exploring.  Overall, a nice ride and a good cross training break from running two days in a row.

Battle Royale

Wow. Where to start...
Today's run was a battle.  I was battling the heat and humidity.  I was battling my thirst.  I was battling some weirdness with my stomach today that negated everything I ate for breakfast and lunch.  I was battling sunglasses that broke mid-run.  And I was battling tired legs from yesterday's run and not enough sleep last night.
For the past 6 weeks I've been running this schedule:
Monday, 5 miles; Tuesday, 8 miles; Wednesday, rest or cross train; Thursday, 5 miles; Friday, rest or cross train; Saturday, 8.0 miles; Sunday, rest.
Notice anything?
My Monday-Tuesday runs are my only back-to-backs all week.  I have at least a rest day or cross train day before every run except Tuesday.  The Tuesday run is always tough.  And today was the toughest I've had because of all the complicating factors I mentioned.
But I stuck it out.  And I finished it strong.  Several times I committed myself to running a certain distance, whether my next water stop, a turn around, or a shady overpass before I could walk again and catch my breath.  It helped.  I did it.  Glad it's over.
Time to catch up on my beauty sleep.
And get ready for Thursday's 5 miler.  The weather forecast is for 103 F that day.  It could be my hottest run all year.

Running quote

For my birthday I bought myself a running calendar, one of those page-a-day type of calendars.  Yes, yes, I know it's June.  So I've got 6 months of daily running tips and inspiration to go through before I get up to date.  So, here's the quote from January 2nd:

"Succeeding in running should be seen as an allegory for succeeding in every aspect of life.  Set goals, plan out how to achieve them, then stick to the plan."  
-Kim Griffin, 1982 NCAA and U.S. 10,000m champion.

Endomondo calorie calculation part II

So here is what Endomondo has to say in the FAQ about the way they calculate the calories:

"The calories are now calculated based on the following data: body
measurements (height, weight, age, gender), sport, distance, time, speed and
heart rate. The more data you provide the more accurate we can calculate
your calories burned.

The calculation methods are based on CPA: ‘The compendium of physical activity’
http://sites.google.com/site/compendi.. .
and Keytel LR, Goedecke JH, Noakes TD, Hiiloskorpi H, Laukkanen R, van der Merwe L, Lambert
EV. Prediction of energy expenditure from heart rate monitoring during
submaximal exercise. J Sports Sci. 2005 Mar;23(3):289-97. PubMed PMID:
15966347. "

The google sites link is broken.  Here's the info on the cited exercise study:
Abstract here:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15966347

Uh oh-  Endomondo isn't using the results of this study precisely.  The title says:  "Prediction of energy expenditure from heart rate monitoring during submaximal exercise."  It does not say "Prediction of energy expenditure from height, weight, age, gender, sport, distance, time, speed and heart rate."  But that's what Endo says they are doing.

Oh!  I just found the correct site for "The compendium of physical activity."  Here it is:  https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/

So, for running at 7 mph (8.5 min/mile), activity code 12070.  The MET equivalent is....   11.0 MET.  What in the world is a MET?  Um... the ratio of work metabolic rate to resting metabolic rate.  Sitting quietly has a rate of 1 MET (1 kcal/kg/hr).  While running at 8.5 min/mile is 11 kcal/kg/hr.  So running burns 11 times as much energy per hour as sitting quietly.  Here comes the next calculation:
MET * (weight in lbs/2.2) * (minutes + seconds/60)/60 per hour = 11.0 * (200/2.2) * (41 + 39/60)/60 = Drumroll please........   Louder, Drumroll please.....

694 calories for Thursday's run.  (But now that I have a handy chart with MET equivalents, I can just compare the MET for running to the MET for cycling.)  

 The MET for cycling, activity code 01040, at 15 mph (Friday's workout) is 10.0 kcal/kg/hr.  But I wasn't exactly cycling, I was riding a mountain bike with knobby tires on an asphalt trail.  So maybe it was a bit more, maybe, say, 10% more difficult than regular cycling, so the MET is somewhere around 11.0.  That seems familiar, like that was the same MET equivalent for... Thursday's run.

So can I just say right now that using all of these tables and equivalents and such is much less precise than I would expect?  There must be an easier way to do this.  I guess I need to find a copy of the Keytal et al. article and see what it says.  On we go...

Calories calculated by Endomondo

This is the flowchart describing how the calculation is done on the Endomondo website.  Note:  This is not how the calories are calculated on the app.  Calories on the app use a simpler formula.  

Aha!  I noticed this too- my app result shows yesterday's cycling workout burned 598 cal, and the website shows 597 cal.  For Thursday's run, the app shows 743 cal, but the website shows 810 cal.  Very strange.  So why such the huge difference between running with the app and the website, but basically no difference at at for the cycling workout?  Very strange.  This looks like it needs more digging.  More info to come...

Which is more intense?

So I rode my bike today for some cross training.  It was a short ride, 34 minutes and change.  But I've always noticed that whenever I ride my bike I feel like it works my heart and lungs harder than my muscles.  And I'm less sweaty too.  So, which is a better workout, cycling or running?  Or, I should rephrase that- How does today's cycling workout compare with yesterday's 5 mile run?  First, I guess I can compare calories, 598 cal/34:26 = 17.4 cal/min.  Yesterday's run:  810 cal/41:39 = 19.4 cal/min.  So if we make a firm calculation (calories divided by time) based on a number that is estimated (calories) in some mysterious unknown way (weight and something else I suppose), what do we end up with?  An estimate of calories burned per minute.  And since both answers are within 10% of each, I don't think I can reach a firm conclusion.
So how does Endomondo come up with these calorie estimates?  I do not know, but maybe by tomorrow I will.
Is there a better way to compare workout intensity between two different activities?  I would guess average heart rate.  But I don't have one of those fancy monitors, so I can't measure it that way.

A major change to the blog

So you might have noticed that I changed the name of my blog.  And the description and the template and the layout.
I decided that there was so much more to me than just give the daily play-by-play of my running and exercising.  I will continue recording that valuable information, but I think this change in direction will give me an opportunity to explore some of the scientific aspects of running.
Hard science, like thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.  Good stuff, like what I would apply to jet engines.  So here it goes...
Oh, and I'm posting under my real name rather than my pseudonym.

Another hot but manageable

Hot again this afternoon, but not humid. The slight breeze helped too.  I left the earphones off, muted the audio feedback on Endomondo and enjoyed myself a nice, easy, 5 mile run.  And I ended up running it at a decent pace, in light of the heat.  Definitely a good run, one I liked very much.

Swim, swim

I hit the pool today to try and relearn how to swim.  If there is one thing I am not, never have been and never will be, it's a strong swimmer.  Sure, I can get myself from point A to point B in a pool, and I can jump off the diving board in the DEEP end and get myself out again.  But I have a small problem:  buoyancy.  I don't have any.  I took a swimming class in college and the instructor said he had never seen someone sink as fast as me.  Sure, I was nothing but muscle back then, and fat floats.  But even my fatter, older self doesn't float much better.  And as I continue exercising and losing body fat, it will only get worse.  Oh well, if there is one thing I don't mind being bad at, it's swimming.  So there you have. 
And never, ever buy swimming goggles from Walmart.  I bought them on the way to the pool, tried them out today and took them back tonight.  Junk.  Really cheap junk.

Hot but manageable

A little warm today but much less humid. If it wasn't for the bright sun, it would have been perfect.  I was hot and I was thirsty, but not sweaty. That means my sweat was working by evaporating and cooling me off. There was also a nice breeze. 
I took several walking breaks in addition to slowing down to drink at mile 3 and 6.  I also tried the Gatorade energy chews again.  I ate two before I started, two at mile 3 and two at mile 6, taken with plenty of water.  Much easier to eat than Dots.  And they didn't bother my stomach this time like last time when I bought them and ate all 6 at once.  But then again, I didn't really notice any amazing burst of energy, so I'm not sure if they worked.  I guess I didn't know what to expect from them.
Overall, a good 8 mile effort considering the heat.  My pace wasn't bad either, 8:37 average.  After mile 6 my legs were very heavy, probably from my track run yesterday and not enough sleep last night.  I'll do better tonight.
In other news, I managed to get out of bed and do 2 sets of 10 pushups and 2 sets of 15 crunches.  And I contacted a potential running coach.  I think if I want to take my running to the next level, that's what I will need to do.  And she's a new coach so her price is reasonable.

Late night at the track

I don't know what it is about running at the track, but I always want to run fast when I'm there. Part of the reason tonight was all the annoying "pretend" coaches with 7 year old boys that don't know track etiquette.  I was so ticked off about it, that I got myself worked up and running faster.  After about 2 miles the right side of my back/hip started to get tight.  So I walked a lap, stretched it then ran one more mile.  Then for the last two miles I ran clockwise around the track instead of counter-clockwise.  That seemed to help a little.
It was warm and very humid when I started, and by the time I finished I was dripping sweat.  Not very pleasant.

Good start to Saturday

Not quite as cool as I like it to be, but much better than running in the afternoon after work.
No back pain.  But I did feel a little stiffness on my left side, which is not the side that has been hurting.  The right side was good throughout.  I was able to feel the offending muscle while I was stretching after my run.  I ate a ton yesterday, and so I took my sweet time leaving the house this morning so I could wait for my bathroom business to be done.  But I discovered at about mile 3-4 that it was not done.  I decided to keep on and not adjust my route.  I even tried to get in a restroom I've never used before, but no luck.  My situation wasn't too urgent though, so at mile 6 I was able to stop at my regular restroom and then keep going.  Overall a good run.  After correcting Endomondo to 8 miles and the time on my watch (1:07:05) my average pace was 8:23.  Very good for a long run.  I definitely could have kept going, but I held back and stuck to my plan of only 8 miles.  Once I had rehydrated and eaten some breakfast I felt great for the rest of the day.

Hot and easy

I took an easy 5 miler today in the heat.  It was something like 80 F and 30% humidity.  I almost didn't carry my phone during the run, so I forgot to screen capture the Weather Now.  It was tough.  The first 3 miles weren't bad.  That's when I stopped for water.  I drank a lot, but within 1/2 mile I was wishing I had carried the bottle with me.  I took plenty of short walking breaks after that.  But I didn't push too hard.  I was mainly in it to try and put in some miles and keep building my base.  Now, time to take another day off.  Unless I find some time to ride my bike.

Gatorade Thief

Dear Thief,
I hope you enjoyed the half-frozen bottle of Gatorade you stole from me. I left it along the trail in a very conspicuous place so I could easily stop during my run and drink it. I was planning on that kick of hydration and carbs at mile 3 and again at mile 5. AND YOU STOLE IT! Have you seen me running? I'm always the sweatiest guy on the trail, and I'm a Clydesdale to boot. Big guys sweat, a lot. They needs lots to drink.
Did you run 8 miles today? Is that why you felt you could help yourself to my drink? IT WAS MINE, NOT YOURS!
The younger, fatter me would have given up right then and ended the run. But now that I'm a runner I'm tougher. And I showed you! I finished my 8 miles and I even changed my route to find some water. And I kept going. I showed you because I'm a tough runner and I don't let thieves ruin my runs.

Wordless Monday

So cool, so nice

A little chilly at the start this morning, 48 F (forgot to screen capture the weather now).  I overdressed and wore a long sleeve running shirt with my usual get-up.  By half way through my arms were very sweaty, especially at my "elbow pits."  But it wasn't too much extra heat.  Still a good run.  I started real slow to give my back plenty of time to warm up, and after the first few miles I stopped occasionally to either walk up hills or take a drink of water or turn on my music.  But by the time I hit 6 and 7 miles I knew I had a lot of gas left in the tank, so I pushed it harder until the end.  Nothing super fast, just picked up the pace.
I'm thinking of doing a half marathon this fall.  I drove the course yesterday, I'll have to write a post on it.  But first I want to enjoy the good feelings from my run this morning, it was a good one.