I may seem like I'm being a lazy blogger (not blogging for several days) but my home computer is f*d up, so I couldn't post from home over the weekend.
So, there is much to tell; however, I will focus on just the highlight: my 18 miler yesterday.
I took my pal Garmin with me and we set out in the early evening on the longest run so far. The first six miles went well, and even the first nine (my turn around point) felt pretty good, but once I hit ten, I could definitely feel myself slowing and getting tired. At twelve, I felt like I should be done, but I'd been making decent time, so I kept pluggin' away. At thirteen, I hit the "wall." I didn't want to go any farther and my legs were aching; particularly, my right hip was bothering me.
Those last five miles, and especially, the last three were slow. I would walk for a few minutes and then run for a few minutes, then walk for a few minutes. I was so tired in the last mile that I literally wanted to fall into the grass by the side of the road and be done with the whole thing; but, alas, I pressed on until the end.
Final time was just under 4 hours, which is really friggin' slow -- the last six miles took me nearly the same length of time as the first twelve miles (all that walking slowed me down significantly and by the end, every part of my body was aching). And like the sixteen, I was hurting and tired at the end. Plus, I finished with the same mixture of emotions: relief that it was done, pride that I'd finished, but apprehension that the marathon will be even more (another 8 miles!). I'm just crossing my fingers and believing that the crowd, my own adreneline, and the atmosphere of race day will carry me through to the end on marathon day.
Also, for those of you who own a Garmin, a few queries:
Does it count calories correctly? Because I stored my personal info (age, weight, etc), and I assume it calculates more accurately than I do, but for the 18 miles, it said I bured 2340 calories, and I thought that the average person burned about 100 calories per mile. And by "average" I think most calorie burn rates are based on a 150 pound person and if you weigh less, you burn less, right? I weigh about 115, so I figured I was burning far fewer calories, but could Garmin be right?
Secondly, what can interfere with a Garmin's accuracy? It said, for example, that my fastest mile was 1:17, and I KNOW I did not run a one minute mile.
And lastly, aside from deleting past runs, how can I get the timer, etc to reset at zero when beginning a new run?
Thanks for any help! I'm going to hobble (sooo sore!) off now!
8 comments:
so many questions! i think the 2340 could be right...depending on your pace....also if you are doing hills that burns more but i dont know if your Garmin is tracking incline...
heres a general rule for calc calories for your basic run: #miles * weight in lbs. * .75 = total cals running (use .65 for walking)
as far as it saying you ran a mile in 1:17 yeah thats not right :). mine has never done that, but anything could have done it...sometimes mine loses signal for no reason. just like a cell phone. :|
mine has a reset button, you just hold it down to clear out the last run when you turn it back on. it might be the same button as the lap...cant be sure, not sure what model you have...mine resets in 3 seconds to start the next run.
ok now 4 hours on the 18 miler is not SLOW...maybe not as fast as you (or i) would like, but hey it WAS 18 MILES!! and i think its your first time at that distance. i beat myself up too last week, but i overcame it.
you are doing GRRRRRRRREAT!
Junebug: Thanks for the advice and encouragement. You're right: It was my first time with that distance, and I have to keep reminding myself of that; I'm learning and adjusting all the time.
Your calorie calculation seems more accurate (no hills in FL) and my average pace was 11:30 -- so I wasn't necessarily burning up the track. I think I'm going to stop by the running store tomorrow and get some advice and help for the Garmin (Forerunner 205). I need a new pair of shoes anyway ;)
Congrats on the 18. As an althetic supporter I know how much of an accomplishment it can be, especially your first time at that distance. Be patient with yourself, you're on the right track.
I think it is calculating your calories correctly, becuase even though they say you burn an average of 100 calories per mile, you may end up working harder, getting your heart rate up and so forth. When I wear my heart rate monitor, I calculate anywhere from 375-410 for a 3.25 mile run. So, I bet it is pretty darn close and accurate!
Ah, your narrative makes me wistful for my marathon training days. I hope to be where you're at come next fall! Keep on plugging away. You're doing great for a first-timer. When you train for subsequent marathons, you'll be amazed at how much easier -- albeit, still tough! -- the long runs seem.
Congrats Jess! Every run you do puts me in envy of your determination. I wish I had the will power and desire to tackle a feat such as running a marathon. I can't even diet successfully much less work out consistantly.
18 miles...that is so unbelievably long!
The calories count sound on the dot. Runner's World has a good calorie burner calculator on its site. Congrads on the 18. You ROCK! I need to get mine done either on the 16th or 23rd. :D
Great job on the run. You pace sounds fantastic for that distance!! Way to go!
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