Stuff

ORN: Today, I sleepwalked through six miles in 59'11". My legs were crampy for about a mile, causing me to shuffle along sadly. Once the kinks got worked out, though, I brought it up to a moderate speed. Then, around halfway through, my willpower and energy just died. I kept running, but my kiai had left me. I was glad to stop. No more six milers.

The propellerheads at The Runners' Lounge pinged us to write on the subject of gadgetry this week, and I oblige.

When I started running, all I had to run with is a Polar A1 heart rate monitor. It was both my ideal gadget and a nuisance. On the plus side, it was simplicity itself -- one button, one function. All it did was record time and your heart rate. At the end of your workout, if you were lucky, it spat out your average heart rate and total elapsed time. I also had a basic Timex chronometer, but about half the time I'd get the buttons mixed up and inadvertently reset it in the middle of a run. We'll call these the Dark Times.

Then, I got a Nike+ Sports Kit to go with DJ Nano. It was cheap but comparatively feature-rich. I could track my pace and distance, see graphs, and crunch my data in a number of different interesting ways. Long-time readers will recall that I majorly geeked out once I got this $30 wonder working [the first two I got were defective.] One of my favorite features was the little voice that told you "Halfway point" so I knew when to turn around on my out-and-back runs -- or about 70% of my workouts. The Nike+ kit was everything I could want in my price range, but unfortunately, it didn't have a feature I started desiring for no good reason.

As a geek, I want the most data I can get. At this point in my running career [1-2 years ago] I wanted Complete Running Awareness, and so I went on the hunt for a gadget that would collect as much as possible. Naturally, the Garmin line of products were the gold standard, but due to a lack of gold jangling around in my pocket, they were out of reach for me. After researching my options, the Polar RS200 seemed to be the best choice. It would allow me to gather data on speed, distance, pace, and heart rate. It would also allow me to set training zones so that I could be sure to work out at my optimal intensity. The only downside was the foot pod, which required calibration every time I switched shoes. But that was a small price to pay for everything I was getting.

It didn't take long for me to discover something about myself that disturbed me. My heart is weird. Due to wiring irregularities in my ticker, the standard heart rate zones don't work for me. Most often my heart rate runs high, so I'm frequently working out in the 80-90% range for regular, routine runs, not working hard. Intervals or hills push me up over 100%. I asked my cardiologist about it [he runs too,] and his professional opinion is that everybody's different. So using my heart rate as a training metric has gone out the window. It's now in the realm of "too hard for me to figure out." I don't even wear the chest strap anymore. Of course this means that my RS200 is essentially an overpriced pedometer.

My current outlook on gadgetry is simple is better. I am in serious declutter mode. I've given up on my desire to own the one true gadget that would provide me Total Running Awareness and would be pleased as punch to know how far I've run and how long it took me. The ability to lap/split times is good too. Yes, friends, I am not lusting after a Garmin 405 anymore. [Though if one landed in my lap, I'd surely use it, even though I've heard they are buggy.] I've even stopped using LogMyRun as a training journal. I am content to use my RS200 as a glorified stopwatch that tells me when to head back. Then, I write down the results in my Moleskine day planner. With a pen.

It's a strange state of mind to be in. On the one hand, I am a huge geek and have all sorts of gadgetry lust for other kinds of consumer electronics. But on the other, I don't want the hassle of 3 or 4 different places where my data resides and 2 or 3 gadgets hanging on me as I run. Besides, I feel like Darth Vader or Batman when I run with too much gear.

Where I am now with gadgetry: Simplicity. And constantly, mercilessly refactor.