Pacing it out with gadget
IF you’re a technophobe like me, then using the latest gadgets doesn’t come easy to you.
I’m the kind of guy who will do almost anything to avoid reading dull, tiresome instructions and prefer to “experiment”.
If that takes hours, so be it. Am I an idiot? Possibly.
But I’m not alone. While working out my latest gadget (a Fitbit courtesy of my wonderful girlfriend – you’re welcome for the plug, baby), I had some time to ponder how technology has affected the way we exercise.
Now, at the touch of a button (or many, many buttons) you can find out not just how far you’ve run, or jogged, but your heart rate, pace, weight, BMI, body fat and more.
That’s a lot of data, believe me.
The problem is it can lead people to become rather “data obsessive”, as I call it.
Fair enough, if you’re a professional athlete, check your heartrate variability by all means.
But if you’re Joe Blow, there is no reason, no reason, to be checking your heartrate variability every day.
It is like checking your weight every day. Just don’t do it, because it will vary, especially after chowing down on a delicious pizza from Domino’s.
Not that I’ve had cause to do that in the past ... let’s call it ... 72 hours.
However, the benefits of this technology is twofold:
a) You can keep yourself honest. Sometimes I’d run a circuit and say it was 10km, but in all honestly it was 8km. Still I slept like a baby, so no guilt.
b) Monitor your progress. It is nice to add up all the runs for a week and then average out the pace and distance. There is a much greater sense of accomplishment when you can track exactly what you’ve done.
It is also fun to wear a gadget and then marvel at how people “ever got by” without it.
I enjoy every superior feeling I get.
All in all, I am slowly embracing this new technological world. And yes, I will be posting all the gruesome details (read: data) from my Gold Coast Marathon effort to Facebook for all the world to see. Look forward to it!