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Nike+ Touching the Sound of Silence

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When the Nike+ system came out a few years ago I had a hard time buying one for myself since I had just purchased my second Garmin Forerunner. But clever me, I magnanimously bought one for my wife, also a runner, for our 10th anniversary.

I like to run with music, but early-on Nike announced the Nike Speed+ which allows you to use the Nike+ system without the iPod and simply displays your run data. Expected sometime in April, the SportsBand will be available. This slimmed-down model has a rocker/runner look but also a practicality in it’s construction using materials that will hold-up well to sweat and grime.

SportsBand

The same Nike+ sensor in your shoe relays pace, distance, time and calories burned to the easy-to-read LCD on the SportsBand. A detachable USB built into the band’s face can store up to 16 hours of run data and be attached to your computer to upload data to Nike+.

Posted by: Lawrence

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iPhone & iPod Touch: Thank You Sir May I Have Another?

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For a company as secretive as Apple, it has to be frustrating for Apple that the Cindy Brady of the Web, the US Patent Office, makes it fairly simple to find and view patent filings online.

AppleInsider did a little digging and revealed Apple’s patent filings to develop a digital lifestyle fitness companion. Plans include four distinct components that comprise the system, ‘including an iTunes-like software application, hardware-based heart rate and physiological sensors, a rewards tracker, and a component to facilitate synchronous group activities.’

The system asks a series of lifestyle questions; what your fitness goals are, personal and family health history (HIPAA are you listening?). Once the data is collected a fitness regimen specific to the user is created. There are plans for one or more integrated physiological sensors. These could be built-into headphones or in a ‘sling’ which may not only read heart rate, but hold the iPod/iPhone during a workout.

There are a number of interesting screen shots on the AppleInsider Web site; a fitness model demonstrating proper technique, a tick list of exercises for a particular workout and others.

Source: Apple Insider

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Spring is in the Air

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With Spring around the corner and very little winter training under my Fuel Belt (I run some maintenance miles but I’m not a fan of the treadmill), it’s time to think about getting back into running shape.

As a long time Runner’s World reader, I’ve read numerous articles on training and performance that assume I know details about my pace (what my 5K race pace is, pace for a tempo run, easy run, etc). I run very few races a year and they vary from 5K to 10 miles. For a 5K I can turn-it-on and feel wiped-out, for a 10 miler I seem to always hold back (to ensure I can make the distance!) and finish regretting I didn’t go out harder.

In order to pace myself for each race I need to know how to train properly; when/how to run intervals, when to go easy or when to simply rest. McMillan Running offers a great calculator that lets the user enter a recent race time for popular running distances and calculate optimal training information.

Now when I read Runner’s World I can actually apply real numbers to the articles that refer to tempo runs, steady/long/easy/recovery pace and hopefully achieve real results!

Posted by: Lawrence

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Worst-case Scenarios: Extreme Survival

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It’s been a while since we’ve written a survival post. To be honest, it’s been a while since we’ve written any post, but that’s the price we pay when working for the man.

Shark Zones Survival situations are essentially wort-case scenarios. How you play them out is often times a matter of life and death. A site called Worst-Case Scenarios provides step-by-step, how-to’s for everything from fighting off a shark to landing a plane.

So you thought bopping a shark on the nose was your best bet? Wrong – quickly and repeatedly jab it in the gills or eyes – use your dismembered leg if you have to, but man keep fighting! If you find yourself in a position where you need to land a plane, the first step is to “…push, pull, carry, or drag the pilot out of the pilot’s seat.”*

A Cardinal Rule in survival situations is to not panic. The more prepared you are, the less likely it is that you’ll panic in one of those worst-case scenarios. That includes jumping 5 stories from a building into a dumpster or how to wrestle free from an alligator.

* Please note that the pilot should already be incapacitated.

Posted by: Lawrence

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