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| Forerunner 110 |
Anyway, I got a Garmin Forerunner 110 as a gift from my husband last month and so far it is pretty cool. I can easily see the route if I upload the data to MapMyRide, which I had been doing before manually and sometimes it would take quite a bit of time to remember where I had gone. The Garmin works for both running and biking (that I have tested) but all my workouts seem to upload with a "run" default setting and I have not yet figured out how to change that. Other than that it beeps at me at each mile. That's kind of encouraging. I track my workouts under the username fb.KayK.679. Then I can see if I'm overtraining in one area or another (biking/running/aerobics). Also I can track my weight and mood and how that corresponds to what I've been doing. At least that's what I use it for. I used to post my workout stats to a Leaderboard with another club member, to compare things like distance, calories, pace and weight, which was also pretty motivating. Supposedly you can swim with the Forerunner 110 too, as long as you don't dive.
So should I retire the Nike+ device (see prev posts RE: elation, frustration, realization, and commiseration)... Well the watch/USB fob logged 89 miles, the shoes have 231 miles. So it worked about 38% of the time, give or take my accuracy in uploading workouts manually. The Nike+ system seems in retrospect more geared to Apple users and I am not one of those. No iTunes for me, but for those who do, it has the potential to coordinate your playlist with your run. So I guess I may give in to my Garmin. Especially since the Nike+ was not compatible with cycling. MapMyFitness has all kinds of features besides cycling, so overall I am happy with that platform, even though most of my profile is cycling-related and I access it through MapMyRide. I know they have a good iPhone app, but I use my Sanyo SCP-2700, which is just as good for me. Speaking of triathlons, I dropped my phone in the jacuzzi in La Jolla, took it apart, let it dry out for 3 days, put it back together and it is still working fine. The Nike+ wristband has been a handy watch even when it didn't work for uploading run data. I don't think I'll trash it just yet.
While I'm doing a technology review, [ahem, avoiding writing my dissertation] I might as well tell you about my Shell Eee PC. "Easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play" (Eee) is the company motto and I think they did a good job. I've had it since before I went overseas (over a year). It has been my video phone for Skype (low-cost international) calling and videoconferencing. I've written my dissertation on it, thanks to a large hard drive (250GB). I am addicted to multitasking and the Intel Atom processor has yet to overheat like my previous Tablet PC. Which my dad and I tried to fix like this, and then had to take it in for service to get a new mother board put in. I installed Google chrome for browsing and use pretty much the entire Google suite of cloud computing solutions. And just now, I had forgotten to save the entire above writing and it restored itself. It weighs less than 4 pounds with AC adapter and I can take it everywhere on my bike. Obviously I use it to track my wellness activities. Also I use it to back up photos taken with my phone. All this technology supported my husband and I while living apart for the past year and a half. I tagged this post "green" because the Eee PC's annual electrical consumption is less than $3.
I tagged this post "weight loss" because I am back in a size 8 for wedding season. Hurrah!
Note: The Nike+ watch fell off at Knott's Berry Farm and I actually felt compelled to ride my bike to the sporting goods store and buy another one. I found out that the shoe-thingy and the watch need to be purchased together in order to work properly. I have one set now, and one useless shoe-thingy.
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