Welcome back! So… I need to be honest with you guys. I only ran two miles this past week. I also ran them on the treadmill, so I didn’t do anything super exciting.

I am really starting to love running on the treadmill though. Which is actually a lie, because I’ve always enjoyed running on the treadmill. It is just so nice to be able to run while also watching TV. Plus, usually no one is watching me when I’m on the treadmill, so I can really jam out to my music, while also focusing on my form and the pace that I’m running at.

It’s also a dangerous habit to be falling into, because I need to work on running hills. Oddly enough, you do not encounter too many hills on a treadmill.

This past week when I ran, I challenged myself to run at a slightly faster pace than I normally run on the treadmill. Again, I ran about two miles so it wasn’t a super long distance. I had to take two walking breaks though. I took one after I ran about 1.25 miles, and then another one at about 1.75 miles. I was still pretty happy with the run overall, though. It felt good to run a little faster than normal.

I Briefly Thought I Was a Time Traveller

I ran at a 6 mph hour pace, which is equivalent to a 10-minute mile pace. When I walked, I would take one minute breaks at 3 mph, which if you can do the math is a 20-minute mile pace. So, from my understanding, if I had run the entire two miles, it would’ve taken me about 20 minutes. However, I took two 1-minute walking breaks at a 20-minute mile pace. These two breaks only added one minute to my total time though.

After this run, I kind of thought I might’ve broken the laws of physics. I mean, as we’ve already established, if I had kept my original pace for the entire two miles, it would’ve only taken me 20 minutes to complete. However, I walked for two minutes. These walking breaks, however, only added one minute to my total time.

Now, I have a bachelors degree in Chemistry (I love saying that), and I’ve taken a couple of physics courses, so I know that if I did the math I could prove that I didn’t actually break any laws of physics. It still blows my mind that I took two minutes away from my running time, but it only resulted in adding one minute to my total workout time. I kind of feel like a time traveller.

*Several Moments Later*

So … I just did the math, and I’m not a time traveller. I just ran at an average of a 10.5 minute per mile pace.

Also, this isn’t even physics. It’s mostly just stoichometry*, which is basically algebra. Obviously it makes sense, because the math supports it, but it also makes sense because I didn’t run for 20 minutes. I only ran for 19 minutes, and I walked for two minutes putting me at 21 total minutes.

In my mind, I thought I spent more time at a faster pace than I actually did. This is why I thought I was a time traveller. In reality I just ran one minute less than I thought. I know from my chemistry courses that matter can neither be created or destroyed; I suppose the same is true with time.

Sorry, this is kind of a boring blog this week. I would say that I can’t believe I spent most of it talking about math, but I really like math and numbers so I’m not actually that surprised.

But, no, mom, I do not want to be an accountant. Although, in next week’s blog, I think I am going to talk a little bit about why I could’ve been a farmer — specifically a chicken and goat farmer.

Motivation Monday

“Think like a proton — always positive!”

– Unknown

That’s all I have for this week! I apologize for nerd-ing out about my non-time-traveling experience. I can’t promise I won’t do it again though. Well, I’m pretty sure I won’t think I’m a time traveller anymore, but I can’t promise I won’t nerd-out about something again.

I appreciate you all for sticking with me through this experience. I’ll try to do a little more running this week, and hopefully I’ll have more interesting experiences to share with you next week!

*So, I looked it up, and stoichometry is defined as “the relationship of between relative quantities of substances taking part in a reaction or forming a compound, typically a ratio of whole integers.” I’m not sure what I did would even technically be stoichometry, or if it’s just math at this point. It’s definitely not time travel; I can tell you that much!

Week 13:  
Miles run this week: 2.0
Miles run total: 52.0
Overall mood: Nerdy