September 03, 2013

Calorie burn

Well, we didn't end up going to the Metropark yesterday, but we had a nice day at home. The weather was gorgeous, so we opened up all the windows. The kids got the idea to rearrange the furniture in their bedrooms (something I used to LOVE doing as a kid), so we helped them with that. I've never seen them so excited to clean their rooms ;)

I had a seven mile run on the schedule yesterday, and I ran outside. It was tough--I felt like I was working hard but a half mile in, I saw my pace was 11:15/mi! I put some more effort in it, and the farther I ran, the easier it felt, but it was still a tough run. When I got home, I was shocked to see my calorie burn: 454 calories burned in a 7 mile run?! That's only 65 calories per mile. I know that can't be right.

My average heart rate was 148 bpm, and the last time I ran with a heart rate of 148 (a couple of weeks ago), my calorie burn was 83 calories per mile. Something around 80 calories per mile is very typical for me (on super hot/humid days, I'll burn about a 100/mi, but the lowest is usually 77 or so). I was curious what it would say for my run today, because I always burn a lot during intervals.

For today's interval workout, I decided to do 12 x 400's at 5K pace (7:30/mi) with 400 jogs. After a one-mile warm up, that basically means to run 1/4 mile at 5K pace, then jog slowly for 1/4 mile, and repeat for a total of 12 times (6 miles total, not including warm-up). I hadn't done 400-meter intervals in a long time, because they are usually used for training for short races, like 5K's. But 400's usually feel like they go by so quickly, because you're only running fast for a couple of minutes at a time.

Each interval went by really quickly, but I felt like today's run dragged on forever! I kept telling myself I could quit after "one more" interval; and then, of course, I would say, "Okay, you can make through one more." And eventually, I made it through all 12 of them!


My average heart rate was 156 bpm, and according to my Garmin, I burned 557 calories (80/mile). The last time I ran with an average heart rate of 156, I burned 97 calories per mile. So I really feel like I'm getting screwed on the calorie burn. I looked it up on Google, and found that I'm not the only one who has noticed it. A lot of people who have the 910xt have the same complaint. Interesting! I'm not going to use that calorie burn number to figure out my activity PointsPlus earned; I'll just use the Weight Watchers eTools calculator.


Today was the kids' open house at school. Their last day of summer vacation! They got to check out their classrooms, drop off some of their supplies, and meet their teachers. I'm excited for them to start school tomorrow, but also a little sad. They've been fighting all summer long, so it will be nice to have some quiet; but they're so funny/cute sometimes, that I'll miss them being around all day.

I was toying with the idea of switching my long runs to Fridays again (it's easier for me to get outside for a run when the boys are in school), but with this Hansons training, ALL of my runs are pretty long. SO it really doesn't make much difference. I think I'll just stick to the schedule the way it is.

Over the past week or so, John and I have managed to put together the entire Ragnar team for SoCal 2014! I was thinking it would take a long time to get a full team together, but I went through old e-mails from readers (people who had expressed interest in running a Ragnar), and invited them to join. Within a few days, the team was complete.

With the exception of John and I, we are all strangers to each other. The first time we'll all meet up is going to be in California in April when we go there for the race. I've mentioned some of them on my blog before, mainly from Motivational Mondays, but I think I will slowly introduce the team here like I did with my From Fat to Finish Line team. We haven't come up with a team name yet, but hopefully soon! I'm super excited about this team :)

5 comments:

  1. So sad I was too late. I'd love to do a Ragnar! :) I can't wait to have the chance to meet you while your down here. Just found out our Rock n Roll Pasadena in April is canceled. :(

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  2. what happened to motivational monday? Did I miss it??

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  3. I would love to do a Ragnar, but we can't afford it right now. Maybe one day! :)

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  4. Rocio I was thinking the same thing :/

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    Replies
    1. If you read the post from that Monday, I explained why there was no Motivational Monday that week :)

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