Wearable gadgets can be a big help
Wearable devices can help runners a lot. It’s good to know where we are, how fast we’re going and how far we’ve gone. The watches have also slimmed down a lot from their earlier, bulky versions. Here are some recommendations/suggestions:
Watches
Erin Smith, race director for the Lakefront Marathon, and Chris Ponteri, executive director of the PNC Milwaukee Running Festival, wear the Garmin Forerunner 220. “Tells you how far you ran, what your pace was and your pace at any given moment as well,” said Ponteri. “I use it while running at the Pettit Center, too, to keep track of laps. The Garmins these days look like watches, so mine never comes off except when I shower. It doubles as a watch as well.”
There are also high-end versions that give heart rate or are waterproof.
“It has an accelerometer so it will tell you how many steps you take, what your cadence is, the speed at which your feet are moving back and forth,” Smith said of the Garmin 220. “It’s for people who like data, or like to analyze their runs after. It’s not the most expensive watch, it’s not the cheapest watch — but it has a lot of really cool features. And it is pretty easy to use.
“I’ve gone through this progression of watches; the more I run, the more expensive and data-driven my watches become,” said Smith. “When I ran my first marathon, I just had a watch with a timer. Running can be very expensive, but it can be very simplistic as well.”
Then there’s the Fitbit Surge, or more modern versions. It gives me distance, GPS, heart rate and pace, and it’s been pretty reliable (my first Surge didn’t endure the 95-degree temps and high humidity at Ragnar Relay last summer).
Music
The iPod. Any version. I run with an iPod Touch in my armband and tons of music playlists. I also download podcasts. If you have Wi-Fi you can listen to Pandora or Napster.
Sean Osborne, director of Silver Circle Sports Events, likes the iPod Shuffle. “I see people running around with iPhone 7s,” said Osborne. “It seems weird to me to be running with that heavy chunk of metal. Plus there’s the distraction of texting and calling. I like to get out and get away from all that stuff. You can’t do that with an iPhone.
“An iPod can have just as much stuff and you can clip it to your hat or butt belt. They last forever. I even did a half Ironman and then jumped in to the lake after — and it still worked.”
Apps
Ponteri hooked up his Garmin to Strava. “You can see your friend’s runs on Strava,” said Ponteri. “It shows you your pace per mile and your route. When I plug in my Garmin in to my computer, it uploads to my Strava so my friends can see my run. It’s kind of like a community.” People can hit like buttons and comment. “It’s getting really popular, especially with cyclists and even with runners.”