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Running With Technology

February 6, 2012 in Mobile, Running, Running Gear, Running Tech | No comments

I took up running seriously about a year-and-a-half ago. Though I’ve been running regularly during that time, it’s only been in the past few months that I’ve really begun to feel like a runner. I’ve made some real strides, so to speak, in distance, duration and, importantly, my mental approach to running. I’ve also begun to rely much more heavily on technology. I use tech to track and recognize my progress, and to challenge myself. Gadgets for running have become much more than musical accompaniment.

If there’s a downside to carrying a lot of tech, it’s that, well, I’m carrying a lot of tech. For every run, I’m wearing or carrying:

  • iPhone 4
  • Wahoo Fisica ANT+ iPhone key
  • Garmin FR60 heart rate monitor watch
  • Garmin ANT+ heart rate monitor chest strap
  • Garmin ANT+ stride sensor foot pod

I also rely on tech to dissect the data provided by all the hardware. I’ve been a longtime Runkeeper Elite member. I’ve recently begun using FitBit to track nutrition and weight. I’ve also installed the GainFitness app on the phone to craft and track core fitness workouts. I use the iSmoothRun app to track the pertinent details of each run: heart rate, distance, cadence, steps, time, and mapping. I’m now also using the Pedometer Ultimate app to track steps during the day. Finally, I record sleep with RK Sleep. FitBit, GainFitness, iSmoothRun, Pedometer Ultimate, and RK Sleep are all connected to the Runkeeper account to feed the advanced fitness reports. As if that’s not enough, I also have a Garmin Connect account receiving auto-uploads from the FR60 when a run is complete, and a DailyMile account that’s fed by the Garmin Connect data.

It starts to look like a fitness Frankenmonster when I lay it all out. But, hey – I’m an engineer. I love my data.

The upshot of carrying and using all this technology is that the gains in my health are visible in almost every critical area. That’s highly motivating. My mile pace has come down by 45 seconds per mile in the past few weeks. My resting heart rate is down into the low 50s. I’ve lost 17 lbs since I began using the FitBit site in early January. I’ve increased my long-run duration to 55 minutes from less than 40 in December. I know the proper pace to maintain my heart rate in zone 4. I can correlate caloric intake with activity, both normal and fitness activities. I know my strong and weak running days and times. Virtually all the patterns that can help improve my overall fitness or point to weaknesses in my plan are visible. It’s an approach to fitness for an everyday guy that only would have been available to elite athletes as recently as ten years ago.

In the end, the availability of the technology makes it possible to extend lives, and to extend them with quality, my own included.

What’s your experience with fitness technology and tools? Share in the comments.

What are you training for?

December 19, 2011 in Running, Sports | No comments

That’s a question I was asked at work last week when talking about my running. It’s interesting in that it shows just how competitive and goal-centric we’ve become. Or, maybe it’s just my work environment.

In any case, I’m not all that attracted to the competitive side of running. I don’t want the pressure that comes from running to a training schedule. I don’t really want goals that are driven by an outside event. That’s not to say I don’t have goals – I do. But, they’re internal. I’m finally starting to enjoy the little moments in my runs, to stay clear enough through the exertion to catch them as they occur. And, I’m seriously starting to look forward to that time in the week when I’m just running, feeling a sense of accomplishment I wouldn’t have imagined at 50.

So the short answer to the question was and is, “To live into my 90s.” That’s training enough for now.