I got a late start this morning (had to drive my mother to the train station as she was going into Toronto for lunch), and so I really only did 30 mins on the treadmill before I really just wanted to have lunch. I kind of sat there doing a back and forth and decided eventually to have the lunch and then swim for 30 mins in the afternoon. I changed into my swimsuit (with the HRM on) and went outside. I did a little watering and since I had my runners on I decided to do a little walking first, then make it up with the swimming afterwards.

Well, I ended up doing the entire 30 mins walking in circles around the pool. If the cat thinks I’m crazy walking on the treadmill I’m not sure what he thought watching me walk around and around in circles. I kept going because I realised that my heart rate was keeping up higher than on the treadmill. It really didn’t make sense. I felt like I was walking around the same pace as I do inside, although I thought perhaps I was going a little faster. On the TM I usually walk at 2.5mph with a 5% incline. Some days I’ll do really short jogs (like a min) at 4mph, although at the same incline.

Anyway, after I finished I got out the big measuring tape and decided I was doing roughly 33 meters in one circuit (slightly more but I’m rounding down). So I timed myself walking it (20 secs), and the light jog I tried (15 secs). Now, I know I likely didn’t maintain that pace (even the slower one) for the entire 30 mins, but still. It didn’t feel like a real push. Well, the jog did, but that’s mainly because it pushes my heart rate up. So doing the calculations:

3/min x 33m x 60min = 5940m = 3.69 miles
4/min x 33m x 60min = 7920m = 4.92 miles

I seriously cannot walk at 3.5mph on the treadmill, and jogging for a minute at 4mph just about kills me. Yet, I appear to be walking faster in circles on a flat surface. And it was a lovely day out, so why not. According to the HRM I burned more calories doing that for 30 minutes than I did earlier on the treadmill. So, I suspect this means on the nicer days maybe I’ll take the walking outside. Tomorrow though it’s back to the weights and Stage 2!

Oh, and I’m completely bummed about the body fat testing. I finally got up the nerve to do it, and it looks like the place is closed. The website was gone last week, but I managed to find the phone number - disconnected. There are two universities close by that have one, but both are using them in research labs and don’t do general public testing. I found another school a bit further away, but it’s unclear if they do public testing so I’m waiting to hear back. I don’t know why I want to know so much, because I know it’s going to be really bad.

One addition as the two cats just came downstairs. Over the past few years we’ve had mourning doves nest in or around the yard. Usually in a old flat feeder (that none of the birds liked), but also in a hanging basket at the front door. They’re fairly tame birds - the one nesting in the basket used to let me water the basket as long as I talked quietly to her while doing it. I’m pretty sure we blew all chances of that happening today. We have two house cats, both male (and brothers). The little one has the potential and the patience to hunt. They only go outside with company, and only into the backyard, so they were with me today. The little one settled under a chair and waited. I saw the dove land on the patio and saw him attempt to take it (no luck) and it flew up to the old nesting place. The big one freaked out, jumped on a nearby bench (knocked things flying) and he ran one way as the bird flew off. I suspect the old nesting place will be ruled out, although it is interesting in the fact that there was another (or the same) dove back half an hour later when we were swimming.

From the HRM today:

Food for the day:

Food: 2391 (28% fat, 38% carbs, 32% protein)

Breakfast: pecan cherry bread, jam, orange (252)
AM Snack: almonds, protein shake (299)
Lunch: onion soup with cracked wheat oatmeal bread and cheese, smoked ham, apple (547)
PM Snack: soy nuts, protein shake (314)
Dinner: lasagne, broccoli, butter, salad w/dressing (660)
Late Snack: protein shake, fruit salad, biscotti (319)