Stairs - Running Equivalence

Stairs for 50 minutes today, more than 200 trips (2800 steps) up and down at a little over four trips per minute, leg turnover at least 120 footfalls per minute, finishing heart rate 143. That heart rate corresponds to a running pace of about 8 minutes per mile. At that running pace I burn about 938 calories per hour (125 calories/mile * 60/8). Round down to 900. Today, if that rate of caloric burn is correct, I used up 750 calories in the 50 minutes. Divide 750 by 50 = 15 Weight Watcher points. That’s also 15 calories per minute. Is that math correct? Hope so.

Bottom line:

• Stairs at 4 trips/min up & down = 900 cal/hr, 3.75 cal/trip.
• Running at 8:00 min/mi = 938 cal/hr, 125 cal/mi.

I weigh 150 lb; these calorie values would be higher for a heavier person, less for lighter, roughly proportional to weight.

Good news is: NO HEEL PAIN. The last time I did stairs for cross-training, my left heel with plantar fasciitis began to ache after a while, but today it’s entirely quiet. Nevertheless I’ll ice it a bit. The bad news is my right knee does hurt a little, the same one that hurts when I bike, and in the same place. But I’m not as worried about that little pain because it doesn’t hurt at all when I run, though it’s about time for that pain to go away - it’s been hanging around since before Grandma’s Marathon, June 16.

Too many food pictures in the queue again, so here goes a day’s worth of meals:

Breakfast:

Organic oatmeal, organic milk, blueberries, organic strawberries, organic apricot. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 3.

Lunch:

Cold roast free-range bison, 100% whole-grain bread, organic pickle relish, organic yellow mustard, organic nectarine, organic plum. Estimated Weight Watchers points = 8. Nice post-run recovery lunch.

Supper:

Roast lamb, Jim's cabbage roasted with caraway, organic carrots with Jim's onion, roast organic sweet potato, Jim's beet roasted. Virtually eveything is local. Estimated Weight Watcher's points = 4. Cat in background is forever optimistic about a food accident.

Fruit-yogurt dessert:

Banana, organic red seedless grapes, blackberries, blueberries, organic plum, organic nectarine, organic fat-free yogurt. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5. While most treats are gone in five minutes, this big bowl can entertain for twenty or more.

160 Flights of Stairs

At 14 steps per flight, that’s 2,240 steps up and the same number down, in 40 minutes. Definitely not running, it’s actually only four round trips per minute. Nevertheless it got my heart rate up to 140, and breathing was similar to running 9-minute miles. For Weight Watcher purposes I calculate 12 points (600 calories) per hour, but that may be a bit low. I wore running shoes for cushioning and grip.

The left heel with plantar fasciitis ached a little; I’m icing it now and using the P.F. Arch Brace that Mary gave me. The jury is still out on the brace, though it does feel good; I'm still doing the stretches and wearing the Strassburg Sock. The right knee, which hurts under the kneecap when I ride the bike long enough, started to hurt early on but settled down.

Years ago I did stairs quite a lot, as cross-training, but stopped because it put too much pressure on the hip flexors when combined with running and other cross-training. More running worked better then. Now, though, since I’m not running at all, stairs are a very convenient aerobic exercise. All I really need are shoes and a sweatband, though modesty demands more.


Bottom up: Organic oatmeal, organic milk, blueberries, blackberries, organic strawberries, organic plum, pistachios. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5.