I envy those runners
The reason I'm taking up inline skating is that I badly strained my ankle about 6 months ago. I've been doing physio for most of those past 6 months, trying to get it to heal well enough that I can get back to my running. My physiotherapist finally admitted that I'm not going to be doing any more long-distance running. He said I could do 10 or 15 minutes of running with the brace on, but anything longer than that would start to cause more permanent damage to the ankle. Something about the joint being too loose and sloppy because of the damage. Or maybe it was the scar tissue in the way.
Since the only reason I run is to become more healthy, now that running is officially unhealthy for me, I needed to find a new exercise. It has to have a few key attributes:
1) Simple. I live close to the False Creek seawall, so when I want to go for a run, I change into running shorts and shoes, take the elevator down, and start running. It takes me less than 1.5 hours for a 1 hour workout, and that includes travel time, changing time, and shower time. Every 6 months to a year I buy new shoes, that's the entire maintenance effort required.
2) Interesting. There has to be something to look at, to take my mind away from the fact that my body is exercising. Jocks and exercise nuts actually enjoy the feeling of their bodies doing work. I don't.
3) Hard to cheat. With a treadmill, if I plan to run 10 km, and I get tired after 5, I can get off the treadmill and cut my workout early. With a real road, if I stop after 5 km, I'm 5 km from home. And since it takes so long to walk home, I may as well run. When running, if you stop putting out effort, you stop. And it's really clear that you've stopped. With a bicycle (or, I'm learning) skates, if you stop putting out effort, you can coast for a few moments.
You see, I exercise primarily because I need to, not because I want to. After a bit of research, I've discovered that running is the least unpleasant of ways to exercise. So it's been by preferred exercise method.
I managed to get what I call "the full loop" of False creek on the inline skates today. I went down past Science World, up the south shore to the rowing club near Vanier park, up that road to Burrard bridge, across the bridge, down to the seawall on the north shore, and back to where I started. It's about 15 km. When I was in good running shape, I would run it in around 1:10. I skated it in about 1:10. I didn't get nearly as good a workout as I did when running.
I kept passing runners going both directions, and I envied them. They were really working, with sweat pouring off them. They were going slowly enough that they didn't need to stop exercising just because there was someone else on the path. They were maneuverable enough that they could detour off the path to get around strollers. They could stop whenever they wanted. They could go up or down stairs, and weren't terrified of any grade greater than 2%.
The thing that makes running such a good exercise is that it's so inefficient. You put out a lot of energy, and you don't go very far or fast. So if the goal is to get (and keep) your heart rate up and burn calories, it's perfect. As soon as you put wheels under you, you become 5 to 10 times more efficient as a machine. Which, ironically, makes the exercise much less useful.
Since the only reason I run is to become more healthy, now that running is officially unhealthy for me, I needed to find a new exercise. It has to have a few key attributes:
1) Simple. I live close to the False Creek seawall, so when I want to go for a run, I change into running shorts and shoes, take the elevator down, and start running. It takes me less than 1.5 hours for a 1 hour workout, and that includes travel time, changing time, and shower time. Every 6 months to a year I buy new shoes, that's the entire maintenance effort required.
2) Interesting. There has to be something to look at, to take my mind away from the fact that my body is exercising. Jocks and exercise nuts actually enjoy the feeling of their bodies doing work. I don't.
3) Hard to cheat. With a treadmill, if I plan to run 10 km, and I get tired after 5, I can get off the treadmill and cut my workout early. With a real road, if I stop after 5 km, I'm 5 km from home. And since it takes so long to walk home, I may as well run. When running, if you stop putting out effort, you stop. And it's really clear that you've stopped. With a bicycle (or, I'm learning) skates, if you stop putting out effort, you can coast for a few moments.
You see, I exercise primarily because I need to, not because I want to. After a bit of research, I've discovered that running is the least unpleasant of ways to exercise. So it's been by preferred exercise method.
I managed to get what I call "the full loop" of False creek on the inline skates today. I went down past Science World, up the south shore to the rowing club near Vanier park, up that road to Burrard bridge, across the bridge, down to the seawall on the north shore, and back to where I started. It's about 15 km. When I was in good running shape, I would run it in around 1:10. I skated it in about 1:10. I didn't get nearly as good a workout as I did when running.
I kept passing runners going both directions, and I envied them. They were really working, with sweat pouring off them. They were going slowly enough that they didn't need to stop exercising just because there was someone else on the path. They were maneuverable enough that they could detour off the path to get around strollers. They could stop whenever they wanted. They could go up or down stairs, and weren't terrified of any grade greater than 2%.
The thing that makes running such a good exercise is that it's so inefficient. You put out a lot of energy, and you don't go very far or fast. So if the goal is to get (and keep) your heart rate up and burn calories, it's perfect. As soon as you put wheels under you, you become 5 to 10 times more efficient as a machine. Which, ironically, makes the exercise much less useful.
posted by Wade at
10:55 AM
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