Monday, October 18, 2010

Switching apps?

Okay, so I had posted my workout through my iPhone app on Friday, and got a comment or two that the calories burned seemed low to them (my walking partner had mentioned this before, as well).  So I decided to do a little investigating on my own, and here's what I found:
  • My current iPhone app says that 35 minutes of walking at a 3.5mph pace burned 176 calories.
  • I checked an online calculator, and it says that the same time, same pace would burn 296 calories.
WOW - that's a pretty big difference.  I'm beginning to wonder if I need to switch apps in order to get a good idea of the calories I'm burning.

So here's my question: what iPhone apps out there do you think are good for this?  My walking partner suggested RunKeeper Pro, and so far I like what I see, but I thought I'd see if anyone out there has any other suggestions before I drop $10 on it.  (Before you suggest I go for the free version, I would like the option of setting intervals, so that when I get further along, I can start incorporating some jogging into my workouts, along the lines of the Couch-to-5K program.)

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!!

Friday, October 15, 2010

I'm baaaaaaaaaack!!

Bet y'all thought I fell off the face of the Earth, didn't ya???

Anyway, I was berated by a friend to get on here and update the blog, so here I am.  Sorry I haven't been around.  I guess I haven't had too much to say.  I said I was back, then abruptly disappeared again.  I sort of fell off the wagon (don't worry, no chocolate-donut binges this time) and got out of the habit of walking and tracking my eating.  I also haven't weighed myself in about two weeks.

I decided to start again this week because ... well, to tell the truth I'm not exactly sure what spurred me back on this track.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you.  I don't need to remember the reason why I restarted, just the reason why I'm here to begin with.

Anyway, today I got further on track by walking in a 5K on base with the other people in my husband's group.  The weather was less than stellar--about 50 degrees and a light drizzle--but we got the Munchkin into her stroller, all bundled up, and got on our way.  My husband even offered to walk with me to help keep me on track.  It was pretty hard--I'm used to walking on a track, which has NO hills whatsoever, while this route had some slight gradations in it.  My ankles started burning about 1/2 mile in and didn't stop the entire time.  About a mile into it, my legs were like LEAD.  But I pushed through and walked the two miles, and now I'm pretty glad that I did.  We would have walked the entire three, but the Munchkin was getting antsy and they were going to reopen the roads so we cut our route short.  Next time, though - three miles all the way!

I'm actually going to check into walking that route more regularly.  It will obviously do me some good to get those little hills into my workout, and it will be a nice change of scenery.  I also want to start using my jogging stroller, but I have to purchase a bike pump first and get the tires inflated.  Hopefully I can take care of that this weekend so I can start using it on Monday.

Workout for Friday, 15 October

Walked 2/3 of a 5K today with my husband.

Walked: 38 minutes
Distance: 2 miles