I like to keep track of my mileage, but I'm not sure how to do this. I have around 1600 miles run since I started back in 2006. 99.5% (I'm guessing) are miles on the road. Non-machine aided mileage. I know people count treadmill mileage in their weekly total and I'm ok with that. But, do you count miles on other machines? Like the elliptical or stairmaster or some of the other machines? And is their mile really a mile? I'm at a crossroads deciding how to record these miles. Let me know what you think.
Book #2, 46 to go!
Adios to Tears by Seiichi Higashide is about a Japanese Purvian that was arrested and sent to the US japanese internment camps during the second World War. The US, in it's infinite wisdom thought that there were Japanese citizens of South American countries that might attack the US. So, we rounded them up and brought them to Texas. I knew about the internment camps and I even live close to the site of one, but I never knew we went to other countries and rounded up suspected Japanese and German aliens. Loved the book and if you get a chance to read it, I think you'll love it too. It was loaned to me by my mother in law, Cathy.
10 comments:
I count all miles run in my running mileage, including on the treadmill. I counteract the 'assistance' of the treadmill by always setting the incline to 1.0 for a 'flat' run.
I don't include mileage on any other machine in my running mileage log, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. Your body doesn't care what is in your mileage log, and if it is making you a stronger, fitter, better runner, than do it. But I don't try to convert those miles to running miles because it really isn't the same thing. I hope that helped.
I would have to agree with Chad.
I only count treadmill mileage. I don't use the elliptical, so I couldn't say, but it's not running if your feet aren't coming off the surface you're moving on, so it's not "running". Cardiovascular exercise, sure, calorie-burning of course, and muscle building definitely, but not "running". The stairclimber's not running, it's climbing stairs. And you can't even run up them, hehe.
That does bring up an interesting point though: miles on an elliptical machine. If the elliptical were somehow real-world, what would we be doing? A treadmill simulates moving forward, but what does the elliptical machine simulate? Running around the edge of a space station, like in 2001?
I ponder these things.
Dear Pat,
I'm pleased to see that you've been introduced to the U.S. Latin American program that ripped so many of us out of our homes--and our countries. "Adios to Tears" is a great book, one of the earliest about the little-known WWII deportation and internment of more than 4,000 ethnic Germans, 2,200 ethnic Japanese, and 280 Italians from Latin America.
If your readers want to learn more, the German American Internee Coalition, www.gaic.info, has a website with lots of information, including location of the camps in the U.S., reading suggestions, a high school curriculum, stories from former internees, etc.
There are other books by former Latin Americani nternees or their families, too, including Kimberly Contag's "Where Clouds Meet the Water" and one I wrote about my Costa Rican family's experiences, "We Were Not the Enemy." (My family ended up in Crystal City, TX.)
We are frequently contacted through our website about people who were taken from their homes; some of them were never seen again. We've been trying to get a bill through Congress that would establish a commission to look into what happened to us, but with no luck so far.
Good luck with your training, and thanks for letting me comment!
Heidi Gurcke Donald
Vice-president/Treasurer
German American Internee Coalition
I belong to a site where it allows you to log it all into it's own category. That way I have total miles/hours but my running is sorted out. :>)
Wow, that was a cool comment from Hedi.
Anywoo I am really bad about logging mileage anywhere. I write the date I get my shoes on the inside with a marker and that is it. I just do what is on my schedule then trash it.
Have a great Thanksgiving, Pat!
I count all running miles - road and treadmill. I don't count non-running miles. Crosstraining in valuable, for sure, but I don't count those elliptical and stairmaster miles. In the end, I guess it's all personal! =)
It all counts somehow. How to put it down in the log book is a good question. I think as runners we want to equate everything to running equivalent miles. I guess I'd just keep track of it the way you did it.
I've got all kinds of training logs -- paper and online. Most of them let you log different types of workouts. This lets me keep track of rowing and strength training, too. I'd say the miles you run on the road or treadmill are your running miles, and that the other machines are part of your cross-training effort.
Treadmill miles definitely count (or I'd be at 20% of my total, if that.) I think elliptical is a pretty close cousin. Toss up, I'd say.
Post a Comment