DalyDose of…Running

“I am NOT an 18-year-old Marine in bootcamp anymore.”
I was reminded of that today by a phone app.

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Today was the second day of my new running program.  We all know how the BIKING program went, so let’s see if we can get this running thing going.  I hafta say that day #2 was WAY harder than day #1.  My legs felt heavier and I’m sure I ran slower and for less distance.  Well, I’m not **sure** because I wasn’t tracking my progress.

Enter SportyPal.

I was on Facebook this morning and saw a friend on there and he was using some GPS/Tracking software to keep track of his running, but his was iPhone only and I am a proud iPhobe!  So, I looked around and found an awesome, free app that runs on just about any phone, called Sporty Pal.

I didn’t think to track on the first day and I wish I did.  On that first day, I was motivated and excited and my legs didn’t really know what was happening, so I just ran.  This second day was a bit more labored and my legs weighed down my pace and my motivation.  I knew I was tracking myself, so I refused to give up completely.  I did take a couple of breaks and hit PAUSE on the software and then RESUMED the software when I resumed running.  I’m not sure if this is the way that I should do it or not.  Should I let the clock keep ticking when I stop running?  I also forgot to hit RESUME before one of my sprints uphill.

Using SportyPal

Well, I signed up for an account via their website: http://www.sportypal.com and then I downloaded the app to my phone and installed.

The app uses your GPS, so it searches for satellites when you fire it up.  After than you have a screen where you can choose to do a “New Workout” and from there you have choices of activity including running and biking.  Once you’re all set up, all you have to do is hit START when you’re ready to go.  When you are done with your workout, you hit END.  It will then ask if you want it uploaded.  Say “yes” and your workout is sent to your SportyPal profile.  You can also choose to broadcast the results and stats of your workout to Facebook and Twitter.  Nothing like social networking your stats to say “Hey…I’m out of shape but at least I’m working on it”!!

While you are running, you can watch the stats in real-time and maybe that will motivate you.  I kinda did that for me.  I mean, when you watch the average pace creep slower, you might want to get those feet moving along a bit quicker.  When you feel tired, but see that you’ve only gone so far, you might buck up and keep going.

OK, so here’s the 2.58 mile course that I ran today, complete with stats.  SportyPal kept track so I didn’t have to remember!   WordPress wouldn’t let me embed the iframe so you have to click on the link. Booo WordPress.

So, if you see me running ‘round West Hollywood or anywhere else for that matter, the odds have just decreased that I’m running from the law.  I could just as easily be just running and speeding up to impress the little application on my phone.