Running Substitute

Even though my ankle is feeling really...really...good, I opted to get some alternative form of cardio in today (although I did cheat in about 10 minutes worth of treadmill running).  I couldn't take time out to exercise until the very end of the day, so with time compressed I had to choose something efficient, which meant spin class and swimming were out.  I could have rowed, but I chose to do a medley of the elliptical trainers that Pure Fitness has.

FreeMotion

First, I hopped on the FreeMotion strider, which is the first time I'd ever used this device.  I set it to quick start on a programmed profile under the "performance" heading and just followed my nose for 10 minutes. I tried to find a resistance level that would give me an estimated burn of 150 calories in that amount of time.  I'd like to go back again and explore the various workout options.  It seemed to work my quads mostly, but in a slow twitch kind of way.

Precor AMT

Next, I quickly moved over to the Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer (AMT), which I like a lot.  I just went with the interval program set for 10 minutes, and cycled between 20 (max) and 10 (recovery interval) for my settings.  I think the calorie expenditure calculation on this one over estimates because it feels too comfortable for the number displayed.  I like to let go of the grips and use my core to maintain balance and try to simulate a running motion, in slo-mo.

The AMT is kind of neat because you can alter the stride pattern on the fly, from a forward striding motion to a vertical stepping motion, and reversing, all without stopping.

Arc Trainer

After 10 minutes on the AMT, I switched again, this time to the Cybex Arc Trainer, which is a newer addition to the stable of strider/elliptical trainers at the gym.  I'm not sure what to make of this one.  With the incline set to minimum, the motion is almost like Nordic skiing.  The resistance is also on a very gradual scale of 0 to 100 I think, as opposed to 1-10 or even 1-20.  I had to set the thing to 50 to feel any kind of resistance at all.

What I did like was that I could get my stride rate up to something more closely approximating my running stride rate, which I can't do on the other trainers.  If I'm going to use a low-impact substitute for running on occasion, the Arc Trainer seems to be the best for recruiting the fast twitch muscle fibers.  But I'll have to experiment more.


With 30 minutes gone, I skipped over the familiar Precor ellipticals.  I'm very familiar with them (and the A.M.T.) and I wanted to put 10 minutes in on the treadmill to conclude the cardio "circuit."

Star Trak Treadmill

I ran on the StarTrak treadmill today, since I'd been using the Precor treadmills most recently and just wanted to see if I could detect a difference in belt speed calibration.  It sure feels like the Precor treadmills are fast.  I'm not totally sure if I could really tell a difference.  I was good and warmed up from the ellipticals, so the treadmill running felt very comfortable.

I built from a start of 6.7 gradually up to a speed of 8.5, counting my strides per minute just to see how my stride rate changed as speed increased.  I may not be remembering this exactly right, but...

Speed 6.7 (about a 9:00 pace)  = stride rate of 170 strides per minute
Speed 7.5 (about a 8:00 pace) = stride rate of 180 strides per minute
Speed 8.5 (about a 7:00 pace) = stride rate of 190 strides per minute

The whole workout took about 45 minutes, counting transition between machines.  The running felt good.  I didn't wear the shoes with the GelThotics.  I had the Saucony Grids with me so that's what I ran in.  I didn't run long enough to really challenge the ankles, but they're still feeling solid.

Tomorrow, I will run.  I just don't know for sure what I'm going to do.  I might go 1-3-1: one mile light and easy, 3 miles hard and then a 1 mile cool down.   I don't really want to put in any distance yet.  I'll probably go easy on Friday and then get back to the long run on Saturday morning.  Planning on joining the SDR group at Lake Miramar for 3 laps.  I hear it might rain.  That'll be interesting.