Pear Pimples for Hairy Fishnuts

It struck me this morning that I could convert how many steps in my laps to figure out the circumference of the track. (Yes, sometimes it takes your genius Cap'n a while to think up his brilliant ideas.) Or at least estimate it. At least estimate the outer perimeter of the track, not any of the running lanes.

In one lap, I walked 454 steps. If we assume my stride is approximately one yard (which it is) -- not one meter (which it isn't) -- then I walked 454 yards, or 1,362 feet. If a mile is 5,280 feet long (which it is), then I walked 0.257954545 miles in one lap. Thus, for my seven laps this morning, I walked approximately 1.8 miles. On cardio-only days, I walk twelve laps, which works out to about 3.1 miles.

Hmm, it appears that a "standard" quarter-mile running track measures from the outside. That is, a six-lane running track (which this one is). I presume someone using an eight-lane track would have to walk/run the line between the sixth and seventh lanes to approximate a quarter mile.

Then again, maybe the difference isn't so great if I count my steps along the inside perimeter of the track. Maybe my conversion is just wrong. I'll have to try that after football season, when the benches, tables, and protective mats are taken off the track.

"But, Cap'n," you say, "fish don't have nuts."