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.

The Long View

In her response to my last post IrunbecauseILoveFood said she needed a dose of my patience and pragmatism. My immediate reaction was: "so do I".

What I think and how I feel are not necessarily the same. Many times I can be clear in my understanding and come-up with good plans but fail to follow through because of conflicts between my emotional and rational selves. One part of the brain can be calm about accepting frustrations and know that all action should be based on recognising where you are any one time and starting from there. However another part wails and laments. It is ashamed and embarrassed at being slower, weaker, more sluggish, and heavier than it thinks is proper. It resents not being what it wants to be.

"How has it got to this?" is a question I keep asking as I compare myself to how I was when I was doing things better; or "how can they be so much better?" as I compare myself to others . I know these are questions from despair and I know they have to be put aside but in the dark moments, when you aren't doing as much as you want or feel you ought to do, they cling very tight.

It is particularly difficult with running because it is all about the process; all about keeping going. When a run has finished all that matters is that you get out the next day (whenever that next day is on your schedule). If you don't all the achievements and good work of your previous runs are quickly wasted as you cannot preserve conditioning. If you stop you degrade. So time of injury or prolonged periods of 'can't be arsed' are damaging.

However the wonder of running is that it is about renewal. You can always start again, build-up fitness and rediscover all of the pleasure. Those dark days will then be forgotten. It is like weather and climate. A few days of unseasonable cold and wet do not signify much; all that matters is the overall pattern

So the underlying philosophy of this blog is that if you are running long, take the long view.

Sports Bike/City Bike

At the moment I feel very sluggish. For every step forward there are two back; for every fresh start a new stop.

Having my jaw excavated did not really affect my exercise programme, as it was only one day off and my target is five sessions a week. However this week has been far worse, far, far worse: only one measly session. Pathetic!

The cause was my own carelessness. I was bending over in an awkward position, trying to undo a nut, when I twisted to stop something falling. There was a twinge and my back went. Although the pull itself was not serious the result was an inevitable seizing-up of all back and shoulder muscles to compensate and protect. I could walk stiffly but running was impossible and I did not fancy the crouched riding position on my bike. All that was left was a bit of gentle moving about. Sometimes it is hard not to feel that I am falling to pieces.

I know one of the preoccupations of runners (every runner?) is injury but it can become tiresome to dwell too much on the problems. I hate the thought of becoming someone who is constantly checking their state of health, as it is only a short step from that to becoming the sort of person who answers the question 'How do you feel?' in detail rather than with a simple 'Good!' Being one of the worried-well would be more than my self image could take.

So I tell myself, yet again, that sometimes you just have to ride with things and accept that "is is is and ain't is ain't". What ain't at the moment is me as a finely tuned athlete; what is, is the need to build back slowly and rediscover the fun. That is all.

This video is from an
Australian blog which promotes Dutch style city bikes as a way of encouraging urban cycling> It tells me something about my current situation. I should not worry about trying to be sporty (or pretend I am faster than I am). I should just get out there and tootle around. As the video says riding a sit up and beg is still riding a bike.

Reasons for Not Running No. 559

Teeth; or to be more precise a tooth; or to be even more precise an ex-tooth


It started a couple of Saturdays ago when, with all the morning available for a run, I getting ready in a leisurely way. After cleaning my teeth I started to floss when clunk - I pulled a crown clean out of my mouth. No longer did I have a morning for running, the time had to be spent waiting to see the dentist and the day was a dud.

I had hoped the crown could be stuck back on but some of the tooth had also come away. I was told that it although it might be possible to reattach the crown it was a bit iffy and there were no guarantees that it would last. The alternative was to have it taken out.

Yesterday was the day it happened and after my jaw was suitably numbed what remained of my tooth was cut up and removed root by root. After it was over my jaw felt tired and achy and I needed to buy some more ibuprofen so I went to Boots, picked out a pack and took it to the till, where it scanned at a higher price than was indicated on the shelf. Normally I would have pointed this out and either paid the lower price or not bought the item. This time I had a dilemma: there was a lump of gauze where a tooth had been and I was holding my jaw clamped shut. I really, really did not want to move it in any way and certainly did not want to speak . In my head I ran an economic calculation: were the tablets, at that particular time in those particular circumstances worth the extra 80p. Yes I decided - not speaking was far more important for me.

I left the shop with mixed emotions: on the one hand I was a bit irritated at paying more than I thought the tablets were worth but on the other I was quite amused by playing out a piece of economic theory and thought about how circumstances can change the way we value things.

After the anaesthetic wore of the value of the ibuprofen again increased.

It was definitely another non running day.

Nice Run - Not Much Happened

The house opposite has just been repointed and today the workman was finishing-off by putting back the fixings, including the name and number. It is No 99 and unfortunately he put it upside down. For some reason I got just a little bit more pleasure than I should from being helpful and telling him of the mistake - his sigh was a thing of beauty.

Other than that there is not much to say about my run. It was 11.5km at the slow, easy base-run pace. Every run at the moment is similar in intensity (i.e. low) but there is a certain amount of variation in route. Not a great deal as I tend to have some well trod paths but I always leave myself the freedom to put in extra loops or take out sections, depending on how I feel on the day.

As a runner I am not an explorer; I am remarkably content to go to the same places again and again. Perhaps I have the memory of a goldfish but I don't get tired of repeatedly seeing the same things. If boredom and weariness come it is not because of familiar surroundings but because I am tired within myself. Often the weather sets my mood (which is why I struggle so much in January and February) but today was clear and crisp - perfect for keeping moving. Everything felt fresh.

The stats for last week were: 4 runs, 1 cycle ride. Distance run 36km, cycled 29 miles. (Odd how I mix up the units but over the past couple of years I have started to use kilometres for running). Not huge totals but the aim is to gradually build up.

Heart Rate And The Time Of Day

So my current plan is base training- a period of slow easy running that leaves me fairly fresh at the end of each session. For this I use my HRM as a guide to exercise intensity and to tell me when me to slow down. So I have been paying close attention to my heart rate than normal and to my surprise have found quite a variation between morning and afternoon.

The past four runs have been at roughly the same pace but the average heart rates have been: 146, 156, 150, and 145 bpm. The middle two runs were in the afternoon, the other two in the morning. The morning runs were at a lower rate yet the perceived exercise level was the same. There has to be a slight caveat as they were four different routes (and the 156 route was probably a bit more hilly than the others) but they were similar enough to make comparisons . I can think of no other confounding factors as the time between eating and running was about the same in all cases and certainly temperature was not an issue (as it might be in the summer where afternoon heat can raise the heart rate).

Now four runs are not enough to draw any conclusions but they do indicate that there might be something going on. It is probably not important, just a part of normal diurnal rhythms, but it is of passing interest - not because it makes any difference to training but because it is slightly counter intuitive. The evidence point to the afternoon as the time of peak athletic performance (just look at the time of day records are set) and one would therefore assume that when the body is working at maximum efficiency, for any given speed would require proportionately less effort and hence need a lower heart rate. Instead it looks as if everything revs up a bit during the course of the day, including the heart for the same level of output.

Rootling around on Google I found a newspaper article by someone who had observed exactly the same pattern (the accompanying photos raised the additional question of why her dress sense was also worse in the morning). But there are also straightforward articles that describe the factors that can affect heart rate and include the time of day. From the world of running there is this from Peter Pfitzinger, and from world of professional football referees (not a phrase I thought I would ever use in this blog) this.

But the body is never simple and this very small scale study on cyclists found that although the time of day affected performance it did not affect heart rate. Now a sample size of 8 is not much larger than my single anecdote, nevertheless it does indicate that the diurnal effect might not be quite so straightforward.

The key point though is does it matter?

In practical terms No - the heart rate is a minor detail in the circadian pattern that makes no difference to when or how you should train. Even the larger circadian changes should not effect the time you like to train (as was concluded in  this paper). 

However it does show that using the heart rate as a proxy for the level of effort should be treated with caution. As a rough indicator, where a few beat either way are neither here nor there, it is fine but if followed too rigidly it could be misleading and give a false sense of certainty about what the body is doing. Almost all the articles I have read about heart rate training have treated the numbers as stable and reliable (eg you have a definite maximum heart rate for each type of exercise) whereas they not only vary at different times they fluctuate daily.

This page from the 'Physiology of sport and exercise' has an interesting table of the ways heart rates can vary. Never mind the time of day the most startling factor is sleep. The difference between 8 hours and six hours could be 10 beats - now that might well be something I should pay attention to.

The New Year Begins Here

A new month!

Oh boy do I need this marker; this excuse to say: start again - have a new beginning. So far the year has been rubbish - not just cold but unrelentingly grey. For two months there has been nothing but heavy skies and bleakness to weigh down my spirits and tip me into some sort of Scandinavian gloom (a thought that came to me when I watched Kenneth Brannagh playing Wallander). I have gained no running consistency and have only been ticking-over, just a few km a week, feeling heavy and sluggish.

But that is now gone, swept away by a new start.

I have a new plan - well actually it is the same plan of completing a marathon training schedule but the time has been shifted so that I will race in the autumn. Before that I will put in two months of base training to get myself into good habits and build fitness.

Today I ran for an hour, much slower than I have run for ages and felt happy to have remembered, the lesson I always forget, that slow is good. (Without a conscious resetting my runs always return to the mean - that steady mid pace that does not achieve too much). The sun was out and the water sparkled as it flowed over the top of the lock gates. Everybody I passed seemed that much more relaxed and there were a few smiled acknowledgements, whereas on bleak days everybody seems to hunker into themselves. So it was actually a fairly easy day to make a new start and mark my diary with 'DAY 1' in heavy capitals.

That does not matter. The important thing is it has been done and the year has now begun (again).