December was my first month run commuting and I logged plenty of miles doing it. Check out this image of my month-long mileage log below. Add the total 47.81-miles of run commuting to some long weekend runs (not listed, but included a 10K and half-marathon race) and it’s clearly possible to keep up running skills over the winter months. Look at that Total Calories number – 4,751 calories burned. Pass the butter, please! With numbers like these, a runner can enjoy the outdoors while running and the indoor indulgences of tasty food.
If you breakdown the large monthly mileage into the individual runs, the small numbers really accumulate. The shortest run, 1.62-miles on December-16, helped add to a 4.17-mile day and a 9.08-mile week. That’s no small task when you think of all the holiday shopping and get-togethers we attend throughout December, a characteristically chaotic month.
To track these numbers, I use the iPhone iMapMyRUN app and that image was lifted from the MapMyRun website. The app’s GPS locates quickly in the morning, I drop the phone in my pocket, and I’m off running. On the weekends, I use a Garmin Forerunner 305 to track my running. TRC’s Josh uses a 305 too; check out his gear post. The 305 easily tracks heart-rate, pace, splits, grade, mileage, and probably other things I can’t remember right now. However, it can take 5 or so minutes to locate the GPS satellites. In the morning, when I have limited time or it’s just too cold, I don’t want to stand outside before a run and wait. So the app is really my go-to run commuter mileage tracker. It doesn’t track pace as easily as I would like and doesn’t log heart-rate, but I have found the simplicity of using the app works best for me during my daily grind. And here’s the outcome:
Here’s to logging even more run commuter miles in January-2012!
The numbers add up and being able to track and view through Garmin, a real motivator to run even more miles!
Cheers
Bearrunner – you’re exactly right. i’m a numbers person. i started with a heart-rate monitor and then graduated to the Garmin. all the data is fantastic! i have an Excel spreadsheet of all my races. it’s amazing to see the trend through time, effects of injuries, etc. i now understand how baseball stats became so involved. happy running!
Yes, the Garmin 305 has an annoyingly long satellite-find time. :) My remedy for that: About five minutes before I head out on a run, I turn the watch on and set it outside. By the time I’m ready to go, it’s all ready, too.
good trick, Josh! i may try it tomorrow.
I do the same thing with the Garmin – it goes on the balcony around 5 minutes before I do.
Hi Stephanie,
Great first month well done!
I’ve been run commuting since July, I’m lucky enough to have showers and changing facilities at work. I alternate bike to work and run home/run to work bike home by leaving my bike in the yard at work. This way I get around 27km/week running plus another 30km on the bike.
Colin – i’m equally lucky having showers at work and your biking is great cross training. you’re covering lots of ground!