I was glad I woke up early enough to get my C25K workout in early yesterday morning. The temperature was going to get in the low 90′s and the humidity was going to be close to 90%. A combination that makes even walking an uncomfortable exercise. It was about 75 degrees when I headed out the door at 6:15 AM.
I knew I had a busy day at work ahead of me so I was glad I was getting some endorphins released first thing in the morning. Being pressed for time, I didn’t cover the same amount of distance as I normally do. I typically put in a longer warm up and cool down walk to get into a better area to run.
I think the week four workout was a bit of a challenge for me. I don’t feel as wiped out as I did after the first day of C25K, but I can tell my body is getting used to a new level of intensity. I happy for that since the last couple of weeks have felt like a workout, but I haven’t felt like I was gaining any ground in terms of my endurance. It looks like weeks four and five are going to change that.
One of the additional goals I’m working on is losing some more weight. Last year, I lost 25 pounds using diet and exercise and I’d like to lose some more to get my BMI into a healthier range. I’ve been counting my calorie intake using the Lose It! Iphone/Itouch app. It’s a fantastic program and sure beats turning on the PC just to record the foods I’ve eaten. Now I’m working on getting a handle on the calories I burn so that I can be at the calorie deficit I need to be to lose a pound a week. My current heart rate monitor is pretty basic without any kind of calorie counting feature. It’s doesn’t even have average heart rate so that I could calculate the amount of calories are burning using a math formula.
I’m considering two models of Polar heart rate monitor watches. One is the model F4, and the other is the model FT7. The Polar Model F4 is an older model no longer manufactured, but still carried by a few online retailers. Since it’s not the latest and greatest, the price is less than the most current model.
What do you use for heart rate monitor? If you have heart rate monitor recommendations, please share them in the comments.
I’m glad to hear that you can feel your body getting used to the running. I hope I get there too.
I know the FT7 is more expensive, but I would go for that model. Have you looked on eBay, there were some on there a few days ago that were going for anywhere between $60 and $80.