Running Watchpocalypse on the Bethpage trail

On September 18, 2016 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Somewhere on that path sits half a Garmin.

Today’s run (Bethpage bike trail): 5 miles (estimate)
Yesterday’s run (track): 3.5 miles

On November 18, 2008, I published my first post on Emerging Runner. Today, almost eight years later, I’m publishing post number 2,100. I’ve covered many subjects over that time, and my tag cloud on the left lists well over a thousand of them. This blog has definitely accomplished my initial objective, serving as my training journal and an outlet for communicating with the running community. Writing 2,100 posts took a lot of time and effort, but it’s been worth every minute. If it wasn’t for this blog I wouldn’t have met my Runsketeer buddies who I both adore and admire. Don’t tell them though. It would only go to their heads.

Running is a simple thing, but it has its nuance. One aspect that fascinates and frustrates me in equal measure is the technology we use to gather running data. I’ve been through three Garmins over the past eight years and most of that experience has been good. My original Garmin, an FR 50, served me well until I accidentally destroyed it while replacing its battery. I replaced it with an FR 60 that improved on the 50 and has a far better battery replacement system.

About a year after buying the FR 60, I broke down and bought my first GPS watch, a Forerunner 210. It was big step up from the 60. I liked it a lot, despite occasional issues capturing a signal and the need to replace the data cradle after a while. Recently, the loop that secures the strap broke so I took the intact loop off my retired FR 60 to replace it. Soon after that, the FR 210’s strap broke off making the watch unwearable. I returned the loop to the FR 60 and resumed wearing that watch on my wrist as a stopwatch while I secured the FR 210 to my SPIbelt using a keyring loop. That worked fine until today.

Yesterday’s run – the FR 210’s last map

Yesterday, I went to the local track to get in 14 laps before the sun came up. I had to be somewhere at 8:00 AM, so that was the best way to get in my miles. I ran well and have really taken to the NB Zante 2’s that did great on the track. It was a typical track experience with the usual personas walking, running, sprinting and one guy who was throwing a medicine ball around.

This morning I headed to the Bethpage bike trail. My plan was to run about five miles, which I think I did. I’m not sure, because the god of watches decided to mess with both my Garmins today. My run started fine and I was in a great mood. The clouds hid the sun, but not the humidity. I made my way south from Haypath Rd and ran through Bethpage Park almost to the Parkview Court crossing. There were lots of walkers and it looked like a large group had come out together because many were wearing tees that said, “Move It.” Early in my run, when I was halfway up a short steep section of the path, a runner coming north shouted, “I hear that hill is pretty steep today.” I laughed because it was true.

I ran well despite the humidity and was about a half a mile to endpoint when I reached down to my side to look at the FR 210 and see how much distance I’d covered. There was nothing to grab and I discovered that my Garmin had fallen off the SPIbelt. It was probably sitting on the side of the path somewhere. I doubled back about a quarter mile, but was unable to find it. I was upset, but I’ve been planning to replace it since using it that way was fairly awkward.

Without a GPS map of my run, I figured I’d look at Gmaps when I got home and use the time from my FR 60 to calculate my pace. Annoyed, I ran the final half mile and about a hundred feet from the finish, my FR60 started to beep and the display blinked, “Scale Not Found” and then “Scanning.” I couldn’t turn off the message or get back to the timer (or turn that off for that matter). The watch would not respond to the buttons when I pressed them.

So in the space of five minutes, I went from having two functional running watches to none. When I got home I removed and replaced the FR 60’s battery. That got it working, but I lost all the data from today’s run. Before I could declare even partial victory, the watch started flashing “Scale Not Found” again.

It’s time for a new watch, so my search begins in earnest. I doubt I’ll have a replacement in time for next weekend. Until then, I’ll rely on Gmaps and my $15 stop watch to capture my distance and pace. That should give me something to write for my 2,101st post.

Running blind to time and distance

On August 14, 2016 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

One lacks GPS, the other lacks a strap

Today’s run (street): 3.75 miles
Yesterday’s run (street): 4.5 miles

They ran the Dirty Sock this morning and I cannot imagine how those poor runners managed through 6.2 miles of hot and steamy air. Make that wet air. Air that you can feel without a breeze. The humidity today and yesterday could only be described as brutal. Despite that, I did get out Saturday and today, although there was nothing about my running that could be mistaken for a racing level effort.

Yesterday was the first time I ran without my FR210 on my wrist since I bought it, and it was disconcerting not to be able to monitor time or distance. I put the watch in my SPIbelt and tried to listen for the chirp that indicated mile splits, but I was unable hear them. Without that information, I had to guess my mileage based on the route I was running. I was surprised at the end to see that I’d covered 4.5 miles in sweltering conditions. I got home and jumped in the pool wearing my running clothes. Learning from past errors, I carefully removed my phone, Garmin and Fitbit before diving in.

This morning I’d planned to get out before the direct sun added to the already hot day. Unfortunately, I didn’t actually start until 7:40 AM. By then, the air felt like a steam bath. After yesterday’s experience running without either distance or time indicators, I decided to put a new battery in my old FR60. At least I’d have a stopwatch to reference.

Equipped with phone, Fitbit and two Garmins, I set off into the heat and humidity. I still couldn’t monitor my distance progress unless I pulled my GPS watch from my SPIbelt, not an easy thing to do while running. I felt like I ran more than 3.75 miles, but in this weather, that was more than enough.

Running with 1 1/2 watches is going to get old real fast. My FR210 wristband has further disassembled past the point where I could repair it with this cool hack. I should probably buy another GPS watch, but that seems wasteful because both the watch and GPS part of my FR210 still works. I’m open to suggestions.

In term of this weekend’s running, my paces today and yesterday were glacial. Still, I enjoyed the fact that I’m getting through every run without worrying when fatigue will kick in. Even though conditions were suboptimal, I never once wished these runs would end. If I had run the Dirty Sock today in this weather I would have gotten through it. But not very quickly.

Short and sweat

On August 12, 2016 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

All the kings horses and all the black tape…

Today’s run (street): 2.6 miles

So very hot and humid this morning. I probably should have stayed indoors, cranked the AC, and set the treadmill and floor fans to max. Instead, I decided to brave the mid-August swelter. I can usually endure any type of weather for three miles (or in today’s case, something less to that) and would have done 3+ today, but I had very little time to run and shower before my first meeting of the day.

Gimme swelter

Despite conditions, I was eager to get outside,. When I picked up my Garmin, the bottom half of the strap separated from the top, despite the awesome repair work I’ve been doing with electrical tape. My sister-in-law told me about some material that will fix rubbery plastic like this wristband, but I fear it’s too late to save the FR210.

I ended up taping the watch all the way around and that secured it well enough to get through 2.63 miles. I really don’t want to do that every time I want to take it on a run. The watch itself works fine so I guess, for now, I’ll stick it in my SPIbelt. There is a hack to fix a Garmin that suffered wristband failure, but it requires that the first two loops that connect to the watch case be intact. One side is beginning to rip, so maybe not.

So what to do? I can continue carrying it with me or I could buy another watch. I’ve had this Garmin for about five years and it has served me well. I don’t like replacing technology that still provides utility, but in this case it wasn’t the technology that failed me.

Unfrozen and back on track

On June 19, 2016 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

You’re pushing it Garmin

Today’s run (track): 3.4 miles
Yesterday’s run (street): 3.2 miles

It’s almost the end of the school year and there’s a lot going on. My daughter is graduating from high school on Wednesday and it also happens to be her birthday. With that conflict, we decided to celebrate her birthday today. Due to those plans, I had to get out early for my run. Even with that, I was pressed for time and decided to run laps at the high school.

Last night, after I’d downloaded Friday’s run from my Garmin, the watch froze and it wouldn’t respond, no matter which buttons I pushed. I tried to shock it back by hooking it up to the USB and then the wall charger. Neither attempt worked, so I left it for the morning. I figured I could run with a stop watch if the Garmin failed to respond.

When I got up, the Garmin was still frozen and I began to entertain the idea of replacing my six year old FR210 with a newer model. Things are starting to break on it and I noticed one side of the wrist band is beginning to separate. Before giving up on it, I looked online and found a video that showed how to unfreeze my watch. It worked.

The track was almost empty when I got there. Just me and a guy who spent a lot of time stretching while I circled the track. I was eventually joined by another runner who circled the track much faster than I did. I was prepared to count the number of times I got lapped but the guy quit after a couple of times around.

Lapping it up

The stretching guy eventually made his way onto the track. He was wearing one of those elevation training masks and started doing intervals. Or should I say, one interval. I ran four more laps before he did his next one. By then I was finished with my workout.

We had a great birthday celebration and I managed to get in a lot of Fitbit steps throughout the day. Tomorrow is Father’s Day and I’m going to try to get out early again to maximize celebration time.

An entire post about a little rubber loop

On May 30, 2016 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

If you look closely you can see my perfect repair job

Today’s run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

I’ve had my Garmin FR 210 for over five years and I’ve been pretty happy with it. Sure, it sometimes takes more than five minutes to grab a GPS signal and a close look at the GPX file on Google Earth shows why there’s always a margin of error in the reported distance. Those things can be managed. It’s why I Gmap every run I do for exact measurement. However, there’s one thing about Forerunners that gives me pause. If the strap wears out, it can’t be replaced.

There are hacks I’ve seen online that address this flaw, but they’re a little complicated. So far my strap has held up, but the retaining ring has broken twice. The first time it happened I was able to fix it with electrical tape because it broke down the middle. Today it broke again, this time along the edge where it’s harder to wrap tape or otherwise secure it. I did my best to repair the loop, but it looks ugly and I worry that it will break and I’ll lose my watch.

An online forum had a poster who suggested using a plumbing O-ring. But I’d have to go to Home Depot for that! Amazon sells one for $4.49. Maybe I’ll make the investment, since they’re offering free shipping. Based on all the posts about these things wearing out. I’m wondering why Garmin doesn’t include a replacement.

I suppose I could go super low tech and use a small rubber band, but anyone looking closely at my watch may realize that I’m not quite the style icon they thought I was. For now, it’s being held in place by a whole lot of tape. If it breaks, I’ll have an excuse to buy the Forerunner 630 with a color display.

Knight sighting on my run

On October 4, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

This jacket is actually neon bright

Today’s run (street): 5.25 miles

While it wasn’t a great week for running volume, I was glad to get a couple of decent runs in over the weekend. Yesterday’s treadmill workout was the right way to go. For some reason, the running experience on our Life Fitness machine is much better than on our old Sole F63. Today I had the opportunity to get outside and was rewarded with perfect weather conditions.

Rain wasn’t expected but the skies were low and cloudy with 55° temperatures and a 9 MPH wind. That was a chilly combination, so I decided to wear my new running windbreaker. Its high visibility orange color would stand out on a dark morning. I was concerned that the jacket’s lack of venting would build up heat as I progressed through the run. I managed to stay comfortable by opening up the front zipper and letting in wind-cooled air.

I wanted to cover at least five miles today and that meant running on almost every street in the neighborhood. Not much to report, although I did encounter some guys dressed like Templar knights running around inside a small park with an un-costumed guy following them. I assumed they were filming their own sequel to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I was tempted to stop and take a picture, but I was moving along well and didn’t want to stop.

I received my replacement charging clip for my Garmin F210 this week and was able charge my watch without having to precisely position rubber bands to attach the broken unit to the watch. As I mentioned yesterday, my work schedule is getting a bit tighter. I’m committed to getting back to at least four workouts a week and will need to do one or two before my work day — or after. Easier said than done.

Garmin design failure no excuse for a new watch

On September 25, 2015 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Mis-connection

Today’s run (street): 3.25 miles

Having a day off on Wednesday certainly made my work week go by quickly. Before I knew it, Friday had arrived. Yesterday was an interesting day. Some organizational changes meant that I had a new team to manage. I was fine with that, although I only found out about it that morning. I was thrilled not to have to drive to my office today, and that allowed me to do my usual Friday morning, pre-weekend run.

I work from home most Fridays, and the lack of a commute gives me plenty of time for a run. I had an early meeting happening via Google Hangout that put pressure on me to run and get back in time to look presentable on camera. That meant getting my procrastinating butt out the door early. On the positive side, the recycling trucks had not yet made the scene. On the negative side, our quiet neighborhood was already being overrun by cars and buses speeding their way to the middle school.

It was 64° with a little more humidity than on Wednesday, but it felt cooler. This was likely due to wearing short sleeves this time. The middle school traffic eventually disappeared and I thought I’d caught a break. But right on cue, I saw a stream of cars and buses heading to the elementary school. I avoided those roads and finished up my run.

Later in the day, I took a break to download my Garmin data and discovered the charging-data connector had broken since its last use. The design of the FR210 is a step backward from my old (non-GPS) FR60 that connected to my PC wirelessly and downloaded data automatically. The FR210’s connector has a set of copper pins that match up with contacts on the watch. The connector is held in place by a spring driven clasp. It’s a terrible design and, now that it’s damaged, I’ll need to figure out a way to keep it connected for charging.

Although this would be a great excuse to upgrade to a more contemporary model, I really have no need for a newer GPS watch. A quick search on the web showed that I can replace the connector for $15 through Amazon – so that’s on order. I have my issues with the FR210, but after almost five years, it continues to be a very reliable unit.

Cramming in my workouts

On August 7, 2015 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

The Dirty Sock route

Today’s run (street): 3.75 miles
Yesterday’s workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

During yesterday’s drive home I realized that I’d missed my morning workout window. I was facing another week with all my activity crammed into the last three days. I’m not likely to return to 4 AM weekday neighborhood runs, but I could run on the treadmill before getting ready for work on weekdays. And yet I don’t. As I crawled along the Cross Island Parkway, I made the decision to do a workout when I got home.

I took little time changing into workout clothes and considered both the treadmill and the elliptical for my workout. My thought process went like this: 1) “The treadmill is real running and the elliptical isn’t.” 2) “The treadmill gets my heart rate higher. I can change elevation and even simulate downhill running.” 3) “I hate the treadmill so I’m going to use the elliptical.” With that, I turned on the big fan and had a surprisingly enjoyable session.

This morning I was determined to get out earlier than I have done on previous Fridays. At 6:00 AM I told myself I’d go out at 7:00. At 7:00 I said 7:30. By the time I changed for my run and put on sunscreen it was 8:00. By the time my Garmin acquired a signal, it was almost 8:15. So once again I found myself in the prime hour for dodging recycling trucks.

The weather was promising, not too hot and hardly humid. I felt good from the start and that continued throughout the run. About halfway through my route, I saw a car coming from the other direction around a tight curve. I tucked in behind a landscaping truck until the car passed by. Coincidently, it was my landscaper’s truck and he was standing right there. We had a brief chat about how running and working in the heat kinda sucks and then I was on my way once again.

The rest of the run was relatively vehicle-free and the time went by quickly. I ran a little faster than I usually do, but it was still nothing to brag about. Tomorrow the Runsketeers will be taking to the trails to run the Dirty Sock course. It’s been over a year since I’ve run that route and I’m excited that my friends will be running it for the first time. I hope conditions will be cool and the path will be dry. It gets very humid around there in August and muddy trails are why the race is called the Dirty Sock.

Turkey day morning run

On November 28, 2014 By Emerging Runner7 Comments

Today’s run (street): 4.3 miles

Happy Thanksgiving! It’s so nice to be on break from work and being able to spend time with friends and family. It’s also a treat to have time to go out for runs (weather permitting) every day. Yesterday’s running plans were disrupted by the freezing rain, but this morning’s conditions were much more favorable.

It was 33° and cloudy when I got my gear organized. My daughter decided to join me for the first part of my run and I was excited about that. We waited outside in the cold while my Garmin locked in on its GPS signal. It has been taking longer and longer to acquire a connection and I hope that doesn’t mean that I’m going to need a new watch. Actually it would be great to get a new toy, but I’ve been very happy with the FR210. Once the display came ready, we were off the driveway and on the road.

Our route was a clockwise loop around the roads adjacent to my house. We moved along at an easy pace and chatted away. Once we completed the circle I left my daughter at the house and continued on to complete my run. A few minutes later I began to notice some snowflakes fluttering down and I loved the effect. That, combined with the crisp air, the scent of wood burning and the aroma of Thanksgiving cooking made for a very pleasant experience.

There weren’t a lot of people out at 8:00 AM, but those I saw were in a friendly mood. I wasn’t the only person in the neighborhood who was trying to get in a holiday run. I crossed paths with three other runners by the time I wrapped up my workout. The rest of the day has been filled with holiday activities and LOTS of food. Still more fun to come on that.

I plan to get out tomorrow to burn off the all these calories. I’m not sure what I’ll do, but the weather is supposed to be sunny and cold. Congrats once again go to TPP who put in yet another great race effort today at the Town of Oyster Bay turkey trot. One of these days I’m going to return to the track and work on speed. Maybe tomorrow will be that day.

When running watches use German syntax

On October 25, 2014 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Don’t not not change to Yes

Today’s run (street): 4 miles

Things started off badly this morning. I failed to think through a question that was asked by my Garmin running watch, preventing me from tracking my progress. Garmin is a German company and they seem to use German syntax (subject before the verb) in their menus. So instead of saying, “Use GPS?”, my 210 says “Use indoors?” with the default of “No.” All that double negativity caused me to incorrectly change it to “Yes”, which disabled the GPS function.

All attempts to cycle through the menus or otherwise cajole it to turn on the GPS were fruitless. Unless I was willing to do a full reset of the Garmin, I was stuck with nothing but a stopwatch. At least the HRM synched up. I decided to make zitronen into limonade and do the run by time rather than by distance.

My run went pleasantly through the first 20 minutes, but despite maintaining less than a 75% of max heart rate, I started to feel tired. My legs were feeling heavy and it reminded me of how I had some surprising struggles last winter, even on some shorter runs. While I was dealing with that, I crossed paths with a woman who came onto the street a block ahead of me. I couldn’t tell how fast she was running, but I tried to catch up to her.

I made up some distance and remained close until she cut over to another road. Pushing speed when I felt like slowing down added to my fatigue, but I managed to recover after a few minutes. I started feeling stronger and was able to increase my pace for the remainder of the run.

Since I ran by time and not distance, I needed to Gmap today’s route to get my mileage. I would have liked to have GPS enabled so I could see my splits, but I lost my chance by telling my Garmin, “Keine GPS für mich danke!” After 700 or so runs with this watch, I guess that was going to happen eventually.