Without Technology (Day 25)

Run - 9.5km, time unknown

A day of technological failure.

I have recently started to run listening to music. Not always;  I still like the idea of both letting my mind wander freely and still be aware of the moment. Without the isolating effect of the music I also feel more connected with the world around me and that is a benefit. However sometimes, especially when I am finding it  hard to motivate myself, I get myself going by reversing the polarities and listen to some music to the accompaniment of a little running.

This morning I woke up tired and even getting ready felt wearisome. The prospect of a run was not enticing but I had promised myself that I would run for an hour - and there could be no reneging on the deal. Music would help, I thought, now where did I put that iPod?. Damn! No idea!. I looked in all the usual places and then (as you do when you are looking for something) went back and looked again (because you are convinced that is where it should be, even if you have just discovered it is not). Bugger!  I could either faff around all morning or go ... I went.

That was OK and in all honesty it didn’t bother me much as music is only an occasional option. So close the door, switch on the watch, and gradually ease into the run. It was a little hard in the beginning but nothing too serious and gradually I started to feel better and once the first hill was out of the way, everything clicked into place and I started to feel good. Except I was no longer running by my heart rate. There figures on the watch had gradually faded away as the battery gently died, and with it all records of my run. That is why I don’t know how long I took. I don’t precisely know when I started, or when I finished and so cannot compensate for the lack of a timer but  as I wanted to run for an hour, that must be how long I took.

So today I ran without any technology and the news is you don’t need it. Everything went well and I returned feeling much more content than I had done when I left, which is, after all, what it is all about. 

The Uses of Technology

There was a letter in this week's Amateur Photographer from some old fogey bemoaning the fact that modern cameras do everything.Where's the skill? Where's the fun? he was asking. If the camera made all possible decisions what do you do?.

To an extent I can understand: he wants to feel he is the master of a craft and is practising a skill. If the camera makes all the decisions where is the credit?. However the letters editor had a perfectly reasonable response: if you don't want to use a feature then don't. There is nothing to stop you using manual focus or setting your own exposures.

When I look at running technology I sometimes feel like that man. Why do I need all that information or all the rigidity of different zones? But then the other, more intellectual open, side kicks in and tells me just to use what I need - and anyway aren't all these functions amazing? Who could have imagined, but a few short years ago, so much cool stuff would be available. In so many ways I am in love with the modern world.

But the grumpy old man still lurks and an alert about a Motorola fitness aid brought him out. I have no idea whether the device is any good or not but the blurb for the music player tipped me over the edge.

"Training is serious work. You need a soundtrack. MOTOACTV's smart music player learns what songs motivate you by tracking your performance against your music. It determines which songs help you perform better and then compiles them in a high-performance playlist."

Instead of thinking Wow! How great! I need that! I found it slightly creepy and sinister. The association with work made me think of all the monitoring in soulless call centres and the regimentation of production lines. The attempts to pen people in and systematise their effort. Science fiction has long warned of societies that suppressed all individuality and free speech with rigourous regulation and I thought of that rather than an aid that would help me achieve more.

Four simple words: "training is serious work" put me in the opposition camp. This is not what I think about when I think of running. For sure I am serious and treat it with respect but it is not work. Instead it offers the opportunity for freedom, play and the satisfaction that comes from effort. That is the heart of it and I don't want to be nudged into thinking of it in any other way.

Adidas micoach

The highlight of my running week was being invited to test the latest piece of running technology from Adidas.

It happened at the Battersea park running track and in itself that was part of the pleasure. I have rarely run on a track and never under flood lights, doing so this time made me feel as if I was engaged in a proper athletic activity (which is not always the case). A slight illusion of course because the session involved running a few laps to get used to the equipment, but nevertheless it felt good. I now know I should use my local track to add variety to my running - a useful lesson

It was also a pleasure to meet a couple of bloggers who appear on the sidebar (Warriorwoman and Big Runner). In addition I had an interesting conversation with Michael Nicol from the The Running School about technique and the changes that can be made. Also we wereall introduced to Andy Vernon, an elite athlete who was just off to the world cross country championships, where he achieved his target of finishing 44th. So congratulations to him.

So irrespective of the kit it was an interesting evening. But I really should be talking about the Adidas micoach.

The Concept
Most existing devices are based on a watch, which has constantly available visual information on your progress, whether that be pace, heart rate, distance, or time. You can choose what you want to look at and it feels quite natural (because most of us are used to wearing watches). In essence they are monitoring devices that can be either acted upon or ignored; but either way it is comforting to know the information is there for a quick check at any time.

They are a tool that can be used intensively or lightly, as part of a highly structured training regime or to make an informal programme more interesting. The runner decides what to do (through reading, a club, or from a coach) and the watch is a useful aid but to get the most out of it you need a certain amount of knowledge.

Adidas have taken a different approach. They reason that most runners are not members of clubs (in England membership is 5%) and will not have easy access to advice and encouragement . For sure there are books, schedules, Runners World and forums but it is still difficult to keep on track and know you are doing the right thing. There is therefore a need for something that supports a training regime and gives real time information on what you should be doing.

Their approach is based on well established principles of heart rate training, where a schedule comprises sessions targeted at different levels of activity, to systematically build both endurance and the CV system. They have a number of pre-set schedules on their website which prescribe these sessions based on your goals (whether you want to prepare for a race or just keep fit) and these are synched into a little micoach pacer, which can then be clipped onto your shorts or an armband. When you are running there is a audio feed which will tell you what you should be doing. If for example you are scheduled for intervals it will give the message "move to the yellow zone for 1 minute" followed by "green zone for 2 minutes", etc. (The heart rate zones are colour coded: blue = v. easy; green = steady; yellow = threshold; red= v. hard).

Other than that you just keep running until you get a new instruction. You can get an update of your progress by pressing a button but as this is a bit more cumbersome than looking at a watch I tend to forget it. At first I found this disconcerting because I am used to quickly glancing at my watch to keep track but on reflection I think Adidas might be onto something:
○ When you are out you don't want to become obsessed with checking
○ You can concentrate on running but know you are doing what you are supposed to
○ An audio instruction for intervals is so much better than a watch that beeps
○ It is better to analyse data after the run; during the run you need only concentrate on how it feels

So although I had previously thought visual information on a watch highly desirable, now I am not so sure. Over the next couple of months I will report back on how I think it works in practice.

The Kit
The footpod and heart rate monitor look as if they are made by Garmin. The footpod is tiny enough to fit into a cavity in both Adidas and Nike+ shoes but also a plastic cradle that can be clipped onto the laces . It amazing how the size of these things have shrunk; it is less than half the size of my Garmin 50 pod.

The pacer unit is the distinctive to Adidas. At first I found the controls fiddly and non intuitive, e.g. the start/pause button is not obvious (I wanted to press the central button, which gives you an information update) but you get used to it and now I think it works fine.

There is however related piece of equipment I would thoroughly recommend. Sennheiser have made some Adidas branded sports headphones that will shortly be available from John Lewis. The best running earphones I have ever used.

The Software
This is the area that has the potential to mark out the micoach as a rich running resource. They already have a good selection of their own training schedules that can be loaded onto a calendar and into your pacer but I think they have a chance to extend this by collecting a library of training programmes from other established coaches. For example I think the micoach is ideally suited to a Jeff Galloway run/walk programme. It would be good to have a range of options from those that emphasis slow distance to those that concentrate more on quality.

As a record of your runs it is seems perfectly competent. I haven't explored it fully but the datalog, graphs and calendar look good.

Accuracy
We were told in the introduction that the footpod is 98% out of the box and would not need calibrating. This is not necessarily true. I have just run a route using both my Garmin and micoach footpods. The Garmin measured it at 10.57km, the Adidas at 9.59. The distance according to Google Maps was 10.13km, which, as that splits the difference, I will take to be the most accurate. A 6% error is not so clever. It will have to be recalibrated (as will the Garmin)

Conclusion
I think this has potential. It has already made me think about the information I need when I am actually running, and whether the habit of regularly looking at my watch is helpful. An audio feed is a good way to give training instructions and is perfect for intervals based on time.

I will start to use it from a couple of months and report back on how I have got on.

More Than Just Socks

I was looking for a new pair of socks on Wiggle and clicked on the 'Nike elite run cushion socks' and read this description of their properties:

Enhanced Stability-Nike Sensory Enhancement Technology heightens awareness of foot to help pronation and promote neutral landings

"Nooooo" I cried "you are socks, you cannot do these things. You cannot heighten my awarenes of my own foot. This is gobbledegook! How can I buy something that makes such a ludicrous claim?" So I clicked through to the 'Bridgedale X-Hale Speed Demon Socks' only to see:

The hard-working feet of distance runners taught Bridgedale how to create a sock that offers the best of two worlds: the feel of an ultralight, rapid-drying synthetic sock and the cushioned comfort of a Merino wool sock.

Hard-working feet taught?!

I must stop this and get a grip. I must not worry about the way marketing people fulfil the rquirements of their job by talking nonsense. It is what they do and I am only buying socks. It really shouldn't be complicated. But it is.

This is because everything concerned with running is sold on its technical properties and the promise of superior performance yet there is not one of those claims we can test in any meaningful way. Only a textile scientist can judge the comparative virtues of the different materials used by the different manufacturers. The rest have trust that at least some of the claims are true and that products from trusted manufacturers will do their job. Then we somehow make a choice.

I have no idea how I make purchasing decisions. I am pretty random and perhaps more influenced by image and style than I would like to admit. Am I influenced by the performance claims? - Probably quite a lot. But am I put-off by inflated claims and stupidisms? - Almost certainly.


P.S. As a complete aside (but related to the use of language). I recently listened to someone talking about the disappearance of the Russian cargo ship after it had passed through the English Channel saying that it might represent a modification of the pirate business model.

"Pirate business model!!" I spluttered "They are PIRATES" I then remembered a comedy sketch from the 1990s, from the Million Pound Radio Show, about pirate training days. You can listen to it here if you want