GPS Visualizer

Spent too much time playing with GPS Visualizer which is a VERY COOL site.

Here's my very cool trail from yesterday (note the small oops in the bottom-right corner), which is *completely* meaningless without a map underneath. Not quite sure how to do this. I'll try scanning the orienteering map tomorrow and hopefully just overlay the track on top. One of the guys (gals) at work is really into 4WDs and GPSs, so I'm hoping she'll bring in a raster(?) map of the area.

[[image deleted from gpsvisualizer site]]

Bunjil Dreaming

Bush orienteering event @ Bungal State Forest. Course 5: W35A. NAILED IT! Very happy. Had the Gizmo in tow to record 8.5 km. Nice open runnable forest, not too steep, and no stuff ups.

Sore quads after yesterday's run, and they're still sore now, but they didn't slow me down at all today. I haven't had my knee taped all weekend, and that's okay too.

Street-O @ Deepdene

Cold, miserable morning spent painting on undercoat on all the windows and wardrobe trims. Weather cleared up about lunchtime with a glimmer of sunshine in time for Street-O. Windy and cold.

Did course A, for 9 kms.

Entertaining moment at the first control. This was on a walking/bike track which passed under Mont Albert Rd. So we all scrambled up the bank to get to the road level, and were then faced with being fenced in! There was a gate onto the road - closed and padlocked. So, being orienteers, we simply climbed up and over it. Only some orienteers aren't too good at climbing fences (deprived childhood perhaps?). Very funny watching some of the more "mature" runners struggling with upper body strength and hip flexibility. I'd like to report that I got myself comfortably up and over without assistance. :-)

>hic!<

Japanese Slippers at lunchtime are really not conducive to a productive afternoon! We've just had a farewell BBQ for one of the guys at work, and his speciality is Midori-based cocktails. We'll miss you Chris!

can I go to sleep now...

Street-O @ Heathmont

Cold and drizzly (which cleared) making for pretty good running weather. Took the Garmin, but realised very quickly that I also needed a CLOCK so I could get back at the right time. Hah! I noticed one of the other Garmin-wearers had the FR on his arm, and a watch on his wrist. Hmmm, overkill perhaps? But easier than switching modes to get the actual time.

Note to Garmin: could we have a clock as an option in the Custom display?

Felt sluggish during the first 20 minutes, and I don't think it had much to do with the first km being uphill. Am I overloading perhaps? Observant readers will have noticed that I've upped my mileage this month beyond the recommended 10%, but I'm not really doing *that* much. Perhaps I'll skip the Foggy Friday run, which should leave me fresh for Saturday's Street-O. Sunday is State Series bush orienteering, so a definite chance to totally exhaust myself.

7.5 kms, and back 2 minutes late after I decided to "just nip down and get control 4". Only problem with nipping "down" is that you have to nip back UP again, and it just wasn't happening!

Got very cold afterwards, with teeth chattering on the drive home. Is this "normal" or am I coming down with something? Arrgh, hope not! But no one else seemed quite so cold, with some still in their t-shirts during drinks (tea, coffee, soup) afterwards. I don't have a hot drink, mainly because I don't like anything that's on offer, but I had plenty of water and a muesli bar.

Two-hour commute? no thank you

Headed out the door a bit earlier this morning at 6:20am to get a slightly longer run in. Running in the dark, on unlit, unsealed roads proved interesting, especially over the rough bits! Lucky I took a torch. Pity the batteries were nearly dead.

Man, I can't believe how much traffic was on the main road - why would people live in the Valley if they have to leave home before 7, just to get into the city by 8:30 - 9 o'clock. Work 'til 6, then spend another 2 hours on the road getting home again. No way.

Caught me by surprise, because I wanted to cross Warburton Hwy. Headlights coming in all directions. Ended up doing 5.6 kms - and reasonably slowly too. I wanted to stay out of Zone 5 on the HRM - not easy running hills.

Busy day at work (NOT)

Cruising the web for Forerunner/GPS stuff. It appears that I can't actually import maps into the Training Center? Bummer. I'm hoping I can print my route off at a specific scale - so I can overlay it onto a 1:15000 orienteering map, for example.

Worked out my max heart rate on one of those websites - 184. Which means that my "running" zone (zone 3) should be 139-154 and my "going hard" zone (4) should be 154-169. Oops, I generally sit in my "going hard" zone for most of the time. Does that mean I should slack off a bit? I noticed the forerunner saying my heartrate zone was 5.2 after an uphill part of the run on Friday. I guess that's in my "all out" zone.

Will have a play with the toy tonight, and venture into the heartrate menu.

Busy, productive weekend

You know that tv ad where the guy goes into the hardware store with his glasses covered in paint? Well, that's me tonight!! Did several coats of paint in the reno room this weekend, and have just finished painting the ceiling. I hate painting ceilings - they're so hard on the neck and shoulders. But at least all the horrid pink and cream is well hidden. AND... the framework for my walk-in-wardrobe is up - had the builder in on Friday. Not long now... :-)

Did a Metr-O run at Endeavour Hills this morning. A fun course set by the Fox-O guys - they always set something interesting. Took the Forerunner, wrapped around a sock cuff on my wrist. Very comfortable. 7.28 kms. Didn't run particularly well - too hot, I think. Not hydrated enough.

Garmin - the verdict

Took the Forerunner for its first run this morning.

My 4.6 km route is really only 4.4 kms. Oops. :-)

The satelite thing is amazing! The self-adjusting map showing where I ran this morning is way cool.

Kept switching between Pace and HR, still can't decide which I prefer. I think HR while I'm running hills, and use Pace when I'm running at a reasonable one.

Here's my hill:



Turned the unit on inside before heading out, and it couldn't find the satelites. So I had to stand outside in my garden, in the cold, while it contacted its mates in the ozone. I thought it was supposed to do it quicker after the first time?

Found the unit awkward on my wrist. If I fastened the strap at a comfortable tension, it slid down towards my hand while running. If I tightened it, the buckle tended to grab skin. In the end, I put my sleeve (long-sleeve top this morning - 8 degrees) under the strap, and that worked well. But as I don't wear long sleeves very often, I'll have to find/make(?) a wristband of some sort. Sweatbands are too thick - perhaps I'll sacrifice an old sock.

The HR strap and transmitter is comfortable - a lot smaller and neater than the Polar unit that I've had for years.

The "weather cap" is a bit suss - it doesn't want to stay in.

Overall though, it's going to be a fun toy to play with.

New toy

Oooooooh, guess what just arrived?!?!?!?!!!

My Garmin Forerunner 301 from Al's. US$265.99 incl p&p.



It's charging off my USB port while I'm reading the manual. :-D