Operation 204 - Chapter 40

Happy Monday everyone!

Another Monday, another treadmill day. Again I was dreading today's treadmill run. I curled 6 games on the weekend so I was a bit tired today. I know, all of you non curlers are laughing, but for any of you who have curled, you know how I feel. Non curlers, let me know when you have time and I'll take you out on the ice and we'll see how you do after a 30 minute practice!

So, the treadmill today. The gym was packed today, so I didn't get the machine that I like. There were still lots of treadmills available, but you know how it is, you find one you like and you want to use it every time. So, I used one that I haven't used before. It didn't quite operate properly, but I'll tell you about that later.

So today was another usual treadmill setup. 60 minutes followed by a 10 minute cool down. My heart rate max was set to 154 and the speed to 5 mph. The machine adjusts the incline to adjust my heart rate. If my heart rate gets too high and the incline is already at zero, then the machine will slow down automatically to adjust my heart rate.

I should let you know that I also use my own heart rate monitor as I don't always trust the ones on the machine, plus, to check your heart rate on a treadmill, you really should stop running to grasp the bars in front of you.

This time, the machine didn't slow down when my heart rate went up. I think that I peaked around 171 bpm, but I could still handle it. My breathing was starting to be affected, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

So, the run itself...let's split it into thirds. The first third was hard, the second third was harder, and the final third was pure hell. Again, I wanted to stop many times, but I didn't. I pushed through everything to make sure that I finished strong. My numbers show how I did this time.

Elapsed Time: 70 minutes
Calories: 942
Distance: 5.38 miles
Distance Climbed: 247 feet
Average Speed: 4.61 mph
Average Pace: 13:00 / Mile
Average Heart Rate: 154 bpm

That average heart rate includes the 10 minute cool down and the ramp up to get my heart rate up. So, I was clipping along a lot higher than where my training max is supposed to be. So, as I wasn't struggling too much, I think I need to find out where my max heart rate really is.

To that end, I will be getting tested here at Grant MacEwan College. They do a body age assessment, body comp analysis and a VO2 Max test. I am not looking forward to that, but it is a necessary evil if I want to train more effectively.

Anyway, I am so glad I have some motivation to continue working out, else I would probably stop and that wouldn't be good.

I also think that I am going to be moving my treadmill workout to Thursdays as there is an abs class that I want to take on Mondays. I don't want to do both in one night, as one seems to be enough. So, my week will look like: Gym (abs), curl, curl, gym (treadmill), gym (trainer), weekend. Not sure if I am going to go hit the treadmill this Thursday or not, but I'll let you know if I do.

See you later this week.