Thank goodness I have a website, my personal online diary.
The last time I jogged was 14 years ago when I was training for my Mount Kinabalu hike. I had always enjoyed jogging. After the hike, I injured my knees. I left my injury unattended and since then, I was not able to jog or walk the stairs for too long. The situation is manageable. In the past two years or so, I don’t recall having knee pain. Today, I remember what my college tutor Dr. Wood in the UK shared during one of the Christmas parties at his home – and he was into mechanical engineering by the way – if you can walk, don’t run and if you can sit, don’t stand. That is pretty much the only lesson I can remember from my university days. This is pretty much the lesson that only makes sense after I get older.
Today I have this sudden urge to jog. I dug up my 4-year old Garmin watch from the storeroom, charged it up, though the strip was somewhat broken, and it still works. I jogged from my neighborhood to the one next to mine. I could jog around my area in loops. But I reckon I may give up halfway. What I didn’t enjoy was the traffic lights, construction sites, and smoking area next to the police station. Next time, I may drive to Gardens by the Bay or the Botanic Gardens. I reckon it is more pleasant to jog.
I have covered 5.28 km in 38 minutes crossing no less than 12 traffic lights. My average heartrate was 149 bpm with a max recorded as 179 bpm. As for my heartrate, 30% of time spent in zone 5 (>158 bpm) and 43% in zone 4 (141 to 157 bpm). My average run cadence compared to other runners is pretty bad at 160 steps per minute (5 to 29%). 180 steps per minute is a common target.
Then again, it has been 14 years since I jog. I shouldn’t push myself too hard on this. What I can say is that jogging outdoor is so much more satisfying than exercising in the gym.