Technology

I love my Garmin 405 watch. It is just amazing how much technology can be stored into such a small device. It's able to calculate your position by GPS, by locating satellites that circle above us hundreds of miles up in the atmosphere. From a reading off these satellites every second, it can calculate the movement in your position, hence your speed and the distance that you have run. A small programme in the watch means that by inputting your weight, gender and age that it can then calculate the calories you have burned in running a distance at a certain speed. You can programme the Garmin 405 to set your interval session for you and determine whether you want to run a defined distance or a defined time and how many repeats you want to do off how much recovery time or distance. It is a condensed piece of technology that is able to do all of this in a piece of kit the size of a watch.

Basically, it is the stuff of dreams; the sort of equipment that would be used by James Bond when Sean Connery or Roger Moore were still playing the role.
"Well Moneypenny. Fancy a long, hard session with me tonight ?"
"Really James !!"
Q would have presented it to James in his underground cellar, and we would have been astounded that such a small device could be capable of so much.
For today's runner, it is almost indispensable. It's better than a personal coach, with a capacity to store data that far outreaches human capabilities.

I used mine on Tuesday to record my early morning run. 10.3 km in 45:38. I felt tired after Sunday's efforts and I deliberately held back so as to avoid over-stretching myself. I saw Andy in the park at 6:30 am but we were both too tired to have a long conversation. I was concentrating on getting back by then. I was actually surprised by how many runners were out at that time in the morning, as I saw about 6 or 7 already jogging around the park in Maisons Laffitte.

I got back home and showered ready for work. I left my Garmin, that jewel of technology, with Laurence as she's on holiday at the moment for half-term.

She lost all the data while transferring the run from the Garmin to the PC. Modern technology thwarted by the female touch. What would Q have said ?

Change of direction

"A change is as good as a rest", as the saying goes. Well, I've changed job inside the company and am now looking after the sales and marketing side of the business. I don't seem to be getting much rest at the moment though. So I'm writing this blog late in the evening and have almost forgotten about this morning's run, it seems so long ago now !

As I got up at 6:45am this morning, the first thing I noticed was that it was still dark outside. This is utterly depressing since it means that the Summer is almost over before it even began. Second thing noticeable was that the ground was all wet. Damn, not only dark but raining too.

I slipped my kit on, left the house and started up the Garmin. The rain had just stopped, the first glimpse of daylight had appeared and the temperature was moderate - perfect for a run. I started off down the road and was surprised at just how fast I was going. This sounds ridiculous, I know, but when I start running most mornings, my legs determine themselves what speed to go. This morning felt fast, even more so compared to usual since it was dark too. It was no surprise therefore to see 8:18 on the Garmin as I went through the 2km point.

I seemed to slow a little from there on through the park, but when I glanced at my watch on leaving the park it showed 27:26 which isn't too bad. I ran to the corner of Blvd Pasteur and I was only just outside my PB at this point. I stretched away then but didn't force the pace too much and just enjoyed the end of the run. All up in 46:26 and 11.0 km showing on the Garmin. This, I don't understand as the Garmin previously showed 11.1 km and then 11.04km for exactly the same course. Must be to do with the accuracy of the positioning to 7m from the satellites and the combined errors that this can create. Gmapped at 11.1 km so I'll stick with that. This gives a time of 4:11 per km which I'm pleased with and only 21 seconds off my personal best.

Uphill struggle

I asked yesterday at the tourist information centre in Taninges if it was still possible to enter the Taninges - Praz de Lys hill race, half hoping that the inscriptions were closed.

No problem. Just bring a cheque and a doctor's certificate tomorrow before the race and we'll sign you on. So that was settled, I was going to take part in the race, and had to get up early for the first day of the holiday, something which Laurence very much regretted.

I arrived at 8:00 am in Taninges and sized up the competition. There were about 100 people in all of whom 50 would be taking part in the run. There were a large proportion of women runners which surprised me considering the difficulty of the course and my experience of races in the Paris area. Everyone looked very fit, well equipped and I began to wonder what I had let myself in for.

Ten minutes before the start, we had our last race instructions. The running course was over 11.6 km with a total uphill of 1164m, exactly 10% average gradient over the course. All the climbing was over the first 6.5 km with the last section either flat or downhill.

The barrier was lifted and we set off. I stayed well to the rear, happy to take it easy over the initial sections, knowing what lay ahead. My plan was to keep it steady over the climb and then stretch out over the last section and to pick up as many places as I could then. The plan was very theoretical and the reality totally different. I managed the first kilometre in 7 minutes but my performance went rapidly downhill. The steepness of the course over an old paved track used by the Chartreux monks in the 16th century was too much for me. I walked a large part of this as when I ran, there was little or no effect on my speed but it was far more tiring. I spent this section battling it out with a determined runner who ran steadily up the whole section. When I ran on the less steep sections, I would catch him up and overtake him, and when I walked he would come past me again.

Photo of the race in 2005 (Thanks to Serge: http://serge.courseapied.net/billet.php?idbillet=399)


The path eased at Le Pontet and I was able to trot again. We left the trees behind now and began the last climbs to Le Belzic and then on to the Chalet du Roy. The places were virtually static for the moment with runners walking in the same section and on the flatter sections, running at similar paces. Towards the end of the uphill a runner came past me and I focussed on staying with him as he showed some reasonable speed down the hills. Together we passed around ten runners and soon the last signs were posted showing the distance to the finish: 3km, 2 km. I profitted from a slight uphill to push the pace and to drop my "pilot fish" and he never caught me after. We hit a last section of road and the 1 km sign appeared. I was pushing the pace now and running at around 15 km/h. A final flat section and I saw the arch for the finish, a last burst and I stopeed the watch: 1h27:40 for 11.6 km. An average speed of 7.9 km/h for what must be one of the most tiring runs that I've ever done.

Talk about an uphill struggle.

To cap it all I had to get back down to the start where I'd left the car. I ran for a while and then hitched. Who should stop to pick me up but the runner I'd dropped over the last kilometre !! Thanks Patrick for your help; it was great to meet you and your wife !

Forest run (and more on cars...)

Alarm rang at 7:00 am this morning, calling me to fulfill my duty by putting on my running clothes neatly laid out beside the bed. I turned it off and curled up back in bed next to Laurence, telling myself that I was too tired to be bothered this morning.

So much for duty then. However, being the well-disciplined chap that I am, I came back from work at a reasonable hour and put on my running kit and left for an evening run in the forest. It was hot; too hot for me at 30°C but I had no choice as the cool morning air had disappeared at least 12 hours ago. I put on the Garmin 405 and set out slowly along the road in the general direction of the old centre of Le Mesnil le Roi.

As I turned the first corner to head up the hill towards the forest, a quick glance at my watch confirmed that, not only was I running slowly, but at the mere pace of 5:15 per kilometre. This was clearly unacceptable and I immediately pushed on up the hill to increase my speed so as to attain at least a speed faster than 12km/h. I was pondering on my pace, my stride and the heat when I arrived close to the church in the town centre to cross the road. I didn't want to slow down, having sped up for my watch and so it was with some satisfaction that I saw a car pass in front of me, having arrived at the T junction. I ran across the road, only to see a second dark grey car following the first and bearing down on me rapidly.

It's not true that your whole life passes before your eyes before an accident, but a number of things happened very quickly:

i) I put out my hand to cushion the blow against the car. What good this was supposed to do, I really don't know but this is what a million years of evolution has left as a reflex instinct in a human.

ii) I realised that I couldn't avoid being hit by the car and moved to the left in order to avoid being hit full on.

iii) The female driver hit the brakes very hard and managed to reduce her speed before the impact.

The final result was a brush against her offside wing mirror and a very startled driver asking if I was alright. In the shock, I carried on running and shouted back that I was fine. The adrenaline levels now reached an extreme and the next few kilometres of the run went very quickly as I reached the half-way point in 25:15 for just over 6 kilometres despite the heat.

The run back was more sedate with a consistent pace until the end, when I sped up down the hill to finish.

12.4 km in 54:08 so every kilometre in 4:21. Not bad for an evening run in the heat.

New toy

I took my new toy for a run this morning: a Garmin 405 Forerunner. What a fantastic piece of technology.

Having had 2 days rest since running in Aurillac, I was very motivated this morning when the alarm rang at 7:00am and I leapt out of bed. I threw on my running gear, grabbed my new watch and ran outside. I had spent the previous night configuring my new toy so that it knew everything about me: my date of birth, my weight, my sex and even what I'd had for breakfast that morning. I'd studied the instructions very carefully, and already set the pace at 4:24 per km for my virtual training partner. It was therefore a little disappointing to wait for 2 minutes outside the house gates while the machine spoke to the 6 satellites in the sky necessary before I could set off. Fully synchronised, the watch informed me that it was ready and so off I trotted.

Having benefitted from 2 days rest, I was keen to see how well I'd progressed over a flat course following last week's hill training. A quick glance at the watch at the 2 km mark, as I pressed the lap time to record my position, showed that I was running at 4:09 pace and had been running for 8:30. The pace indicator was a little ambitious as my time showed. Others had already warned me that the speed or pace indicated is instantaneous and can vary significantly over a course due to the positioning error of up to 6 or 7m. I carried on regardless, just thinking that all of this technology was fantastic but that it actually didn't help my legs to move any faster.

I carried on through to the park and took my split at 6.5km: 27:45. I was feeling fairly good and the watch encouraged me to accelerate a little every time I thought I was slacking slightly. Next split at 8.3 km in 35:12 and I knew that I was a little behind my fastest time. Another acceleration and the downhill stretch before the final straight and the rise back home to finish in 46:39 for an average time per kilometre of 4:12 or speed of 14.2 km/h.

The watch is fabulous: 762 calories burned, height gained is wrong at 495m (I must need to set the parameters somewhere), splits with average speeds, etc. The options are limitless. I've even seen a section on setting up interval training with warm-up and warm-down, number of intervals and rest periods - just need to get the legs going to use the functions!

I'm now the running statistics king and have all the graphs to show you. What, you're not interested... some other time then.