This thing conquers treadmill boredom

Hope there's no virtual bears in that tunnel

Today's run ( street): 2.5 miles

Yesterday afternoon, my friend KWL suggested that I download an app on my iPad called Virtually Active. It was a great recommendation and the answer to the question I've had since the day I took up running: How can you make the treadmill experience less boring? This app certainly has the potential to make my treadmill sessions much more entertaining.

The premise of Virtually Active is simple. You place your iPad on top of your treadmill's display and the application provides the experience of (virtually) running through mountains, woods, countrysides or cities. I had my kids try it last night and my wife tried it this morning on her run. I haven't yet tried it, but I will this weekend. If I like what I see with the 7 minute sample, I'll gladly pay the $7.99 price for one of the packs that offers six runs with durations between 10 and 60 minutes.

The weather was cool and dry this morning, so I did my run outdoors. I was surprised that I could see vapor when I breathed, because the reported temperature was close to 60°. It felt cool, but not cold. Certainly not that cold.  I enjoyed my run and thought I was making good time through my regular route.

I ended up covering the course in my usual time, despite a focus on speed for the last half mile. I must have started slower than I realized. I'm hoping to get out for a distance run tomorrow. The long run training I did for the half marathon was hard to do every Saturday,  but it did improve my overall performance. I need to get back in the groove - seven miles may a good target. Perhaps I'll also do a run in the Pacific Northwest, courtesy of Virtually Active.

Emerging Runner meets emerging technology at MIT

Fascinating group at the Media Lab this week

Tuesday's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles
Thursday's run (street): 2.5 miles

I'm back to NYC after three days in Cambridge. Normally I'd have run my favorite loop along the Charles River and over to Boston and back, but my schedule at the Media Lab was just too tight. That, plus the early morning weather was chilly and raw and I only packed running shorts and short sleeve jerseys. The events at MIT were great, and I got to rub shoulders with people like Peter Gabriel and Reid Hoffman, among other high profile artists and techno-geeks. But I did miss the experience of crossing the Longfellow Bridge at sunrise.

Virtual meets physical

There wasn't much new stuff that related to running, but I did see a couple of interesting projects that connected physiology to technology. One demo showed a way to train or do physical therapy using an animated virtual trainer. The subject performs tasks like kicking a ball towards a target. The closer the ball comes to the designated spot, the better they have performed the movement.

Much more than a fashion statement

Another technology that caught my eye came out of the Affective Computing Lab. It's called the WristQue, a sensing device that goes far beyond the capabilities of wrist-based devices like the Nike Sports band and the MOTO wristband. It captures the usual metrics as well as bio-indicators like galvanic response. It can even respond to your environment, changing ambient lighting as you move through an area. Cool!

I was pleased with my treadmill run on Tuesday morning. I seem to be able to sustain much better paces on Life Fitness treadmills than on my home unit. I covered 3.1 miles under 9:00/mile and felt strong throughout the session.

Wednesday morning was a washout, I didn't have the time to run (plus I had a pounding headache) in the morning. Today I got outside and covered my route in around my usual time. I was careful to notice my form and how I felt. I'm hoping that I can maintain a credible pace over 12 miles this weekend, my last long run prior to the LI Half. I'm still undecided on which running shoes to use for the upcoming race.

It's been a very busy week and it's only Thursday! Tomorrow morning I'll go out again and finish my training program this weekend, as I start my taper.