Cardio – My First Run
Today I did something I didn’t think I would do for a while. I ran. My most avid commenter Andrew from Andrew Is Getting Fit is probably going to love this. I was a runner when I was 13. Then I quit and things went downhill for me and the weight piled on. I have always felt that running is for skinny and fit people and someone who weighs 200 lbs should not be running as it’s a recipe for disaster and it’s only a matter of time before permanent knee damage will occur. But the closer I get to my target weight the more I’m itching to finally start running. So today I went for a test run.
It wasn’t long and I didn’t go far. I only ran up and down the street where I live. We got some slopes in the terrain so it wasn’t all flat. I used to walk the same loop as my cardio exercise before we got the elliptical machine for the bedroom so I knew the distance and I knew the time and calories it took to walk it. One lap is 1,200 meter. I used to walk 6 laps, 4.47 miles in 66 minutes and I’d burn 660 calories. That was back in October when I weighed 230+ lbs.
Today I ran 3 laps, 2.24 miles in 20 minutes 40 seconds. That is a 9:12 pace mile on slopes. My average heart rate was the highest I have managed during any cardio I have done so far at 161 bpm. I have burned 310 calories which is surprisingly little. It means I burned the same amount of calories now running with 200 lbs as I did walking with 230+ lbs. I guess it makes sense but I was expecting a bit more calories, although 310 calories in under 21 minutes is not something I can achieve on the elliptical.
The only problem was that I was running in some crappy worn out shoes and it was a bit chilly around 36 Fahrenheit, 2 Celsius. I hope I can remedy both of these things soon. I quit the run at the 3 lap mark because we needed to leave the house and run errands and my knee started to hurt a bit towards the last 200 yards. It might be letting me know that running might be a bit too early for me. But the whole running experience was exhilarating and I’m really looking forward doing it again soon.
I also did my usual cardio on the elliptical in front of the TV watching ‘Taken’ by Liam Neeson. I was a pretty good movie, I enjoyed it.
Run
- 20 minutes 40 seconds
- 161 avg heart rate
- 310 calories
- 2.24 miles
Elliptical
- 60 minutes
- 131 avg heart rate
- 623 calories
I’ve run two marathons at over 200 pounds this year and my knees are great. The key is to not overdo it. So don’t increase your distance by more than 10% a week. Your muscles adapt to running extremely quickly but your ligaments and tendons take about 6 months apparently.
And good shoes are a must. Go to a speciality running shop to get fitted. It pays in the long run.
AndrewENZ´s last blog ..Cycle commute
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