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Running for Geeks
ptorrone writes "It's certainly possible to geek out while you run and there are in fact running geeks. I started a new resource for geeks who like to jog, or who like me, are training to run a marathon. This month's features: Getting the right shoes and socks using technology, the Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS watch (also using the XML files for mapping), using the iPod/iTunes, with audiobooks as a training aid and lastly videos and photos of the 'Geek Gym' as well as the portable version for checking email, RSS feeds and IRC on the go as well as at home while exercising." If you're having trouble getting motivated, there are people who can help.
I had to give up on running a couple years back due to a chronic knee problem. No problem finding other things to geek out in, though, such as bicycling, which is my current passion. I've got a cycling computer which has temp, cadence, heartrate, etc. and tracks it for later download to my computer (it's a Cyclosport HAC4) With advances in bicycle construction technology and cycling computers it's a natural to explore and push limits beyond the sweat.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Holy shit! This is such a great idea, I can't believe it was posted to slashdot!
I'm not a serious runner, but I do have a fairly geeky workout. I have shoes tailored to my feet from roadrunnersports.com, a pretty serious ride computer on my bike, and I used to record my workouts on a PocketPC (I stopped when I reached a "stasis" point, when I adjustment my workout to the point that my lifting and endurance graphs intersected).
It's great to see somebody bucking the stereotypes that claims all geeks are fat and lazy. A lot of us are outdoorsy types in better shape than our peers.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
Does anybody else reading this think of running as something you do only when something is chasing you?
[Disclaimer:except for 10 winter pounds that will be gone soon I'm fairly fit]
For me running is painful on my feet and back. Strangely, it always makes me feel like I need to go "#2" on the toilet. Also, it's more boring than folding laundry. So I mtn. bike, do wilderness hikes, swim a bit, etc. Roller blading I can do pretty well! But I can't stop on them. Not much fun using a bridge abutment as a braking device.
Does anybody have any other ideas for cardiovascular excercise for the warmer outdoor season? Or how to make running less awful?
Does vigorous running make anybody else feel like they have to poop? What's up with that??
Operator, give me the number for 911!
Who do you get to be an expert to tell you something's not obvious? The least insightful person you can find? -J Roberts
I do this all the time. There are so many things I'd like to read, but don't have time.
If I put the audiobook on my Nomad Muvo2 4GB, and run/bike it makes the time fly by. I also feel as though I'm not wasting my time. I'm increasing my knowledge (listening to informative audiobooks) while I'm exercising.
I highly recommend this.
I've been moutain biking with my Garmin eTrex Vista for a couple of years now. The best way to create trail maps with your GPS is to bike after the leaves have fallen to get good reception. I upload my tracks to TopoMap 4.0. (Worst. UI. Ever.) Get a GPS with plenty of memory!
The experience is fun and challenging.
Set your GPS to collect current position every 1 sec if biking and every 5 seconds if walking/running. You can get going pretty fast on a mountain bike and long collection intervals make the track on your map seem jagged.
There are helmet cams you can buy from pricepoint for about $200.00(US) as well as lighting systems to light your way in the dark.
No affiliation, just someone who has used it in the past. I know there will be those who say "Just Do It (TM)", but for me, it helped to have a bit more structure than that.
"If I am such a genius, how come that I am drunk and lost in the desert with a bullet in my ass?" --Otto (Malcom ITM)
The advantages of biking:
- infinitely much easier on your feet, knees and back.
- you can spend much more power, and you have more flexibility in choosing a suitable power level
- you can cover a larger area so it's less boring
- more flexibility in duration. Biking 8 hours a day is no problem for an untrained person, but running is.
- you can carry some luggage easily (iPod, phone, gps, book to read while pausing, drinks)
- you don't need to wear silly clothing (although you certainly can)
- a modern bike is way more interesting technically than running shoes.
Disadvantages:Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
isn't the mini ipod using a harddrive? doesn't sound like a good idea to me to use it while running.
As I ease into middle age, I am forced to lower the distance I've been running, and biking is a great alternative that I recommend at every opportunity. Despite my increase in cycling, I still long for the meditative state that jogging induces in me. I find it kicks in almost immediately. Cycling requires all-day 70+ miles treks to get me in the same zone. The post workout high of even a short jog is much better than cycling. And I also feel more a part of the environment I jog through, as opposed to when I'm breezing through on my bike.
I know a nubmer of people who have been injured on a bicycle, some severely. I don't know anyone who has been injured while running.
My Karma: ran over your Dogma
StrawberryFrog
Heart rate is really important to getting a good aerobic workout. I've been running for almost a year now, and a lot of the people I run with use heart rate monitors, so when my mom wanted to get in shape I got her one. It's really helped her to stay motivated because she knows when she's hitting the sweet spot without hurting herself and regretting it later. She recently join a gym call Curves for full figured women and they have their participents use excersize machines for 30 second intervals, then switch, and in the middle of the switch everyone takes their pulse rate and shouts it out. It keeps every one motivated to have a good heart rate, plus the trainers can monitor that everyone is in a healthy range.
PS - one of the coolest geek toys for running is Timex Bodylink. It combines heart rate monitor, gps tracking, and data recorder which all display wirlessly on your wristwatch which keeps track of your miles, split times, and distance. I run with someone who has it. My only compliant is that it sucks for checking your current pace, it'll give you an average, and try to get your current pace, but usually is too far off to be useful, so you can just use the gps to locate your mile marker and time your splits.
I got into running into 1974 for health reasons. I was 28 and wanted to lose a few pounds around my middle.
It worked like a charm. In less than two years I went from a very flabby 155 to a very trim 139. I later on went up into the 140s. Yes, my build is very thin. Most men should not try to get down to my weight unless they're much shorter than I (still about 5'10").
You don't need to be a marathoner to get real benefits from running. In fact some people claim that running a marathon can actually be bad for your health. I finished the DC area Marine Corps Marathon in 1996 -- and wound up sick in bed with the flu a little over a week later. But running 36 miles/week (6 days of running 6 miles a day) can be very good for you.
I will give some suggestions:
You may not like running after giving it a try. It may also be bad for your joints. If this happens, quit running -- but try something else. I might have to quit running when I'm 85 -- but I'll still be able to swim.
When I started running all those portable techie toys weren't available. How did I cope with the boredom? Well, to be honest about, sexual fantasies really helped. Just thinking about the woman I was dating at the time certainly helped pass the time. Other kinds of thinking also help pass the time.
You might try joining a running club. Some of them are pretty good. They help provide friends with the same interest -- and companionship for long runs.
Today I look forward to my daily run/swim.
"Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy." -- B. Franklin
I have an idea that could transform the unseen masses of geeks, hackers, and chunky FPS addicts into a very fit, but still no less geeky, version of their original form.
Figure out a way to hook up a treadmill so that the speed at which you run is the speed at which your charecter can run in a FPS. And you play the FPS as you run... perhaps using some sort of alternative input device (because using a keyboard while running just isn't cool).
After implementing a graduated program so we don't all get heart attacks, we'd be ready for a marathon in no time.
Seriously, can somebody do this and get a a product to market? I'd pay 2K for something like this. It's the awesomeest traning corossover i've ever imagined.
What is more, I see folks spending hundreds of dollars on fitness gear before it is really justified.
I mean, come on, some guy who has never ran in his life spends all this money on gear before he even goes out running for the first time. Or cycling. Or anything. This isn't limited to geek gear though. You'll see guys who "run" 13 minute miles with a couple hundred dollars worth of Nike gear on.
Personally I believe that you put your money where your mouth is, or however the cliche should be worded for this. In other words, grab a good pair of shoes like you said, put on some old shorts and a T-Shirt, and if you're still running after 2 months, consider buying the geek gear if you think you really need it and you think it may help motivate you.
It takes more to motivate someone long term to get healthy than an iPod, or a wedding they want to look good for, etc. It has to become part of your life, part of your routine, and something you enjoy. Personally, I don't see what it is so hard for people. I mean, sit in an office cube all day. Go home. Decide to do something other than sit at a PC or TV for hours. Go to gym/running/etc. Look better and feel better. Repeat. If you're lucky you'll even quit LOOKING like a geek and maybe get a girlfriend to match!
Ok, a little off-topic, but I took sailing lessons last summer and have fallen in love with the sport. I now have a little Laser 2 boat to race in local races, and have found that there are good boat clubs and sailing associations close to most areas (and not necessarily yacht clubs costing big $ to join). It is easy to apply your geeky tendencies to sailing optimizations and racing strategies. I'd highly recommend getting a lesson or two to see if it works for you. At least you'd get out in the sunshine and water for a few days. Also good for people with knee problems, like me.
I've found these guys to be really helpful. There's plenty of advice on all things running... choosing the right gear, where to run, how to run, how to deal with strains & sprains... how to avoid strains & sprains. There's also a nice community of people there for advice and support. I started their beginner program last year... aptly named the "Couch to 5K" program. I've dropped 20 pounds, and I'm still going down. Good stuff. As pointed out in another post, the hardest thing for me to learn for me the right pace to run. I run significantly slower than I originally thought was optimal. After a while, you learn to listen to your body and keep a pace you can maintain. Running 30 minutes at a pace you can maintain does you a hell of a lot more good than running 5 minutes at a pace you can't.
Well, you're partly right about calorie burning. Building muscle creates the infrastructure necessary to burn calories. But it's the cardiovascular exercise (ie, 30-40 minutes *in your target heart rate!*) that actually burns the calories. The key thing to realize is that it's the muscles that do the burning... so, more muscle == more calories burned.
Everything else you said is bang on, though. Resistance training is an important key to good health.
The US Government and a few other non-profit organizations has gotten a site together called America On The Move, where you can keep a step log and get some really good basic info about getting active. Here's the link: http://www.americaonthemove.org/
There is a downside about wearing a pedometer. One, you have to turn it off when you get in a vehicle. Sometimes you forget, and you then wonder why you got in way more steps than you thought you did. Two, you have to turn it back on after you get out of a vehicle or you cheat yourself out of some steps. Three, if you are wearing a particularly high-waisted pair of pants, you might not get a proper reading at all. Four, it can get physically annoying to have a little plastic box attached to your pants all the time.
I don't wear my pedometer anymore, but wearing one taught me what a proper amount of exercise feels like for me and gave me a feel for what I need to do to stay healthy. It is a truly geeky way to kick-start your exercise plan...it's like playing a video game where you are constantly motivated to beat your high score.
Here are a few other elements of my food and exercise plan. I wrote this journal post in November of last year, and I am still more or less sticking with it. I haven't lost a huge amount of weight, but I feel healthier and I'm capable of doing more physical activity than I used to when I was strictly sedentary.
It's a good start, Mr. Seigen. Keep going with it.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
My feeling is that the technology isn't 100% there yet. The device logs your position every few seconds and these can be viewed as a map or uploaded to the PC. But at three positions the GPS tracking had clearly failed. For them to be correct I would have had to have dropped 2,500 feet and travelled at 80mph. I don't mind the hardware failing to track accurately because it's easy to fix in software. But with all the experience of this stuff Garmin have they didn't think to filter the data and they provide no way to manually delete the bad data points. Luckily you can export the data to XML and I can write my own code to clear the data up. But it's kinda disappointing because without writing my own code the total distance it thinks I've run is likely to be way off. And their logbook software looks like it was written by a junior developer over 3 or 4 lazy afternoons. Not being able to delete erroneous points is just so dumb. And yet clearly, in order to get a GPS device to work at all, they must have at least some developers who know what they are doing.
So overall I have mixed feelings about the device.
BTW Anyone know what CPU these devices have? I was trying to disassemble the firmware (which you can download in apparently unencrypted, uncompressed form) but I can't tell which disassembler to use. Doesn't look like an ARM. What else might be used on a device like this? Atmel AVR? Something else?
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
I'd like to know how good I am at running. The only way I know to assess that is to compare with other people. Are there published percentile running speeds so that I can tell what percentage of the population I run faster than for any given distance?
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
http://www.employees.org/~bozceri/training
and the link to the Polar heart rate monitor data download project:
http://daveb.net/s710/