Map My Run+ App

I love my Garmin GPS watch, as you can tell by my glowing review earlier on. However recently I have started to become annoyed by him. The battery has been playing up (only lasting an hour at a time) and it takes a long time to find the satelites, which results in me standing around like a prat for 10 mins before I start a run.

So, given what happened on marathon relay day when I had to quickly download the Runkeeper app for my phone and realised I really liked it, I have since flirted with the idea of selling my watch and using my iphone as my main running tool...controversial eh?

Runkeeper is ace, but nowhere near as ace as Mapmyrun+, a fantastic app filled with features. I donwloaded it last night and had a wee play about, so thought I would share my thoughts incase you too were looking for an inexpensive way to log your runs.

Firstly, there are two versions, one is free but doesn't have ipod controls built in and is filled with ads, so I opted for a blind testing of the mapmyrun+ app for only 69p.

Before having a fancy GPS watch i used map my run all the time to figure out how far I had ran, and I realy like the functionality of the site. So when I saw the app I already had a good idea it would be of a decent standard.

The app is laid out incredibly clearly and has some amazing functions. The main function is "recording" your runs which tracks your progress in real time. You can set this up to give you prompts as to your pace,distance, time etc. at any given interval, I like this about the Runkeeper app and found it allowed me to enjoy the run more rather than constantly looking at my watch.

They have a cool, and possibly slightly creepy feature, which is "Live Tracking". This brings up a map and shows where you are on the map in real time. This is cool because you can also sync it to twitter so it tweets a link to a live map so people can watch your progress...Live! That's exciting, so the lovely Chars will know where I am on my run home without having to call me so she can get the dinner on (I am joking of course, but you get the idea).

There is also a brilliant Routes section of the app where you can store your routes, but even cooler than that, you can check for nearby tried and tested routes based on your location. So if you are somewhere unfamiliar, check this section and you will have a wealth of information on where to go for a run.

The nutrition section of the app is great too. I know a lot of people are using My Fitness Pal app where you can log your foods and count calories, but Mapmyrun+ has this built in and syncs with your runs giving you a more accurate description of your calorie expenditure for a day.

I know it is early days but I think this app is great and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking to get started with running. It will give you tonnes of information and if you are a stat/tech geek like me, you will love following your progress.

Let me know if you have tried it or indeed if you have found a better running app, would love to know your thoughts.

Barefoot Running Evening - Run and Become

Last week my lovely mother gave me a leaflet for a Barefoot Running Clinic taking place at Run and Become in Edinburgh. After reading Born to Run I was dead keen on finding out more about barefoot running, so this was perfect! Thanks Mum!

I booked my place and excitedly went along to the shop. The session was led by Matt Wallden, who is the UK distributor of Vibram Five fingers, those funny looking thin running shoes that have space for your toes.

The first part of the evening was Matt giving a lecture/presentation on the benefits of running barefoot and the perils of running with heavily cushioned running shoes. Now, throughout the evening I couldn't help but think "This guy sells Vibram Fivefingers, and coincidentally they are also the best possible thing for you to run in"! But with the cynicism to one side, the presentation and the points he made were extremely persuasive. The key points I took from this are as follows:

• Humans are the only Animal on earth that wear shoes (and yes I know horses do but that's because we put them there).
• Padded, supportive shoes have only been around since the 70's when Nike invented them. What were we doing beforehand? Running in a minimalist style.
• Your body has anti-pronation muscles, which cannot be engaged as effectively with big supportive running shoes on.
• Running barefoot will encourage forefoot running as opposed to heel striking. Hell striking ever step is an inefficient way of running and will increase the risk of injury. Try jumping up and down landing on your toes and forefoot, then try jumping up and down landing on your heels, you will see what I mean.
• Oxygen consumption is at least 4% less in five fingers than when wearing running shoes! So in terms of running economy there is a clear winner! 

There really was so much, and so many statistic s and figures that I would not do it justice, but the main point was, running with shoes is bad, running barefoot or minimalist is good.

One of the points he made that stuck in my mind was the construction of an arch, and how engineers have tried to replicate the arch found on the foot. Of course by design, arches can support huge amounts of weight (think of a bridge). There are several ways of supporting an arch, but one thing that would never happen would be to support an arch from below, as this jeopardises the strength of the construction. However this is exactly what we are doing with arch-supportive shoes.

Another interesting point he made was that barefoot/minimal running has now taken 25% of the market share. It clearly is not a flash in the pan fad!

The second part of the evening was practical sessions out on the Street. Matt watched our running style and tried to give us tips on how to make the transition to barefoot. I was part of the group of inefficient runners, because I run with a lot of power in each stride. He said this is what makes us fast at short distance running but for longer distances we are not running to our potential. He encouraged a quicker turnover of feet, and suggested at running at 180 BPM. This felt very odd, but the theory is, that using less power per stride, and relying on the elasticity of my feet and legs to propel me forward will mean I can go further and faster.

The evening actually blew my mind! I am a complete convert and will buy a pair of barefoot shoes as soon as I can. The one thing is the shoes are quite expensive, however the provide excellent value as they can keep you going for about 3000 miles, compared to 500-800 miles which is recommended for a normal pair of trainers.

Yes I will look weird, and yes it will take a long time to fully convert, but I am up for the challenge and hopefully it will help my running style. Keep checking back for progress.

New running shoes - review

My new shoes (I got two though!)

I would argue that a decent pair of running shoes are the only essential piece of kit for a runner. I know there a people out there who couldn't live without their fancy water bottle or compression tights, but all you actually NEED is a nice pair of trainers.

As my current running shoes were almost dead, it was therefore essential for me to buy a new pair this week (at least that's what I told myself). However I am getting married this year ( in 6 months in fact) and I just simply couldn't afford a pair that cost £100.

I had about £50 I could happily spend, and had a rough idea what I wanted. Something light. Something that looked nice. Something that was discounted. I found a pair that ticked all the boxes.

The Adidas Flyby trainer is a lightweight shoe for the natural runner. I am a normal pronator when I run so I don't really need a specialist shoe. I also wanted a trainer that was not too heavy, something really light that I could just lace up and forget about, not feel like they were weighing me down.

The trainers feature a synthetic mesh upper section which means that your feet remain incredibly cool throughout your run, which is nice and comforting.

There is also a continuous zig-zag tred on the sole, which supposedly reduces and naturalises impact on your legs (sounds like a gimmick to me, I just liked the look of them).

Zig and Zag

I have now ran two reasonably long runs in my new shoes and the verdict is...they are great! My feel are cool, they are super light so I don't feel I am carrying any extra weight, and they look really nice. If you are looking for a pair of running shoes on a budget I would look no further than these.

What shoes do you have? What would be the minimum you would spend? Am I a cheapskate? All feedback welcome!



 

 

Garmin Forerunner 305 - A runners best friend

Last year, for my birthday, I got the Garmin Forerunner 305. I am a complete gadget fiend and love anything that is powered by electricity and beeps. So it was not a long, drawn-out decision to buy myself a GPS watch when I started running more regularly.

Ever since buying this watch, my running experience has transformed. I now know enough stats about every run I complete to satisfy my inner stats geek. Life has never been the same.

Comfort

When I was researching the watch, I heard that one of the drawbacks was the size. This was not enough to put me off (evidently) and I am glad. The watch is actually very comfortable to wear. It is a bit big, but I like that, it allows me to see all the important information when running, and I think if it was any smaller, it was loose some of its functionality.

Functions

There is a nice review here which shows you some of the functions in action. I will just go over the functions I use and like best. The beauty of this watch is the fact you can personalise the screen you see when running to suit you, so whatever functions you like best can be on display.

The watch does everything you would expect (Monitors heart rate, speed, distance, pace, and calories burned) but the virtual partner is the function I use most, it really is amazing.

I run home from work fairly often, and the virtual partner keeps me going. It is really easy to set up, you just save a run the first time you run it (e.g a run home from work), then the next time you run set up the virtual partner and it tells you how you are doing against your best run on the course.

The watch tells you how far ahead (or behind) you are from your best time. I love this function and it really helps me get faster (I am very competitive - especially against myself).

The other function I use regularly is the Interval training option. As I keep mentioning, my goal is to become a faster runner, and Interval training is great for this. You can set up the watch to help you with your intervals, by entering either distance or time you would like to run, and time you would like to rest. Once you hit start your watch bleeps and tells you when to start and stop running. This is great, and really helps motivating you through the gruelling Interval sessions.

Mutli-sports

If like me, you enjoy several sports, the watch comes in very handy. Unfortunately it is not waterproof enough to allow you to swim with the watch on, so triathlons are out of the picture (at least while wearing the watch).

I do however enjoy mountain biking and there is a great attachment for you bike that allows the Garmin to be mounted on your handlebars.

Heart Rate Monitor

The watch comes packed with a Heart Rate monitor ban that you wear around your chest. Again this is very comfortable and I got used to wearing it very quickly. I still need to figure out exactly what I am meant to be doing with the monitor and what my heart rate sold be (any tips on this would be greatly appreciated).

Cons

The only major draw back for me with the watch is the time that it takes to find satellites. This can take up to a few minutes depending on where you are. However if you plan it right you can turn the watch on 5 mins before your run land out it on the window ledge, this works a treat for me every time.

All in all I love the Garmin Forerunner 305, it has revolutnised the way I run and my training would be incomplete without it. If you are not planning on swimming with the watch then I would definitely buy this watch over the more expensive models, it does everything I need to very efficiently.

Hello Running World

My name is Jude Moir, I have been running for a few years now but have made the decision to really start seriously trying to get faster! That has always been one of my primary goals when running. I enjoy competing against others and that is a big driving force.

The reason I have started writing this blog is to catalogue all the hints and tips I discover about how to become a faster runner. One of the things I will be struggling with is IT band syndrome. I have weak knees and will be trying various ways to overcome the fact that my knees are made of glass!

I also now want to set myself the challenge of running a 10k race in under 40mins. To date, my personal best is 43mins and 39secs which was ran last year at the Fourth Road Bridge 10k.

Running is going to be a big part of my life over the next little while and I hope you can keep me company through the process.