It is my new toy.
A lot of people swear by running apps and I used to track my runs using a Strava app which would give instant updates of how far I’d been etc – much to the annoyance of Facebook friends, I imagine.
Are you a Strava/Map My Run spammer?
But I’ve had to live without Strava since switching from a Sony to a Microsoft phone (long story, don’t ask), and since I never got on with MapMyRun and most of my running of late has been around where I live in Hellesdon, the maps had got, well, a bit boring and unnecessary.
So now help is at hand – I hope – in the form of a Tom Tom Sports ‘watch’.
Actually, it’s been at hand since last August when I was given the watch as a gift from colleagues as I left my job of 16 years to work for myself.
But it had stayed in a box on the top of the chest of drawers, a piece in a curious game of chess between my wife and I – she putting it away, me taking it out again, because “I’m going to use that”.
Couldn’t move on, eh?
Nah, I still had a Pulsar watch my sister got for me years ago, which I’d take out for runs instead. I mean why not keep using it, if it still works?
But about 10 days ago the battery ran out, and so it was time to take out the Tom Tom at last.
Checkmate!
And here’s what I learned.
My typical morning run is about 4.9km and I burned 757 Calories with an average pace of 9kmh, or around that, I think (need to double check I’ve got that right)
And unlike the Pulsar where you had to strap a monitor around your chest (I said it was old) to find out your heart rate, this one seems to be able to do that itself – clever stuff!
Yeah, it can probably tell me a lot more than that too, but I need to get my head around how it works – I wasn’t even sure how to switch it off when I stopped running.
And there must be a map or something I can share?
Everyone will love that…though I can’t seem to sync it with my phone.
But hang on, aren’t there a load of studies now saying that this sort of tech actually encourages us to be less fit, ie by rewarding ourselves with more crisps and chocolate after we’ve been for a run?
Actually, I think it’s going to encourage me to venture a bit further afield, put a bit more miles in my legs and get a bit of focus. And it’s given me an idea to try out the TrainAsOne app I’ve heard about too.
Though the warmer weather might also have something to do with it, too.