It’s been almost two months since my last post.  One of my last posts was something along the lines of wanting to write more.  Well . . .

Actually, I’ve been working a lot the past few months and in my spare time I’m doing a lot of running.  I finally got through the London Marathon ballot this year, so I’m trying to take that pretty seriously.

Last week, I did two 9-mile runs during the week before work (and three mile runs on the other days).  On Sunday, I ran 21.8 miles.  The marathon is two months away, but I wanted to see if I could run that far. My distances have been gradually increasing each week, so I’m confident I should be okay on marathon day—at least, if i keep from injuring myself.

My long run on Sunday was the farthest I’ve ever run without stopping to walk.  I ran a marathon when I was 22, but after 18 miles I started to walk and did a half-run, half-walk, for the rest of the race.  They say the important thing is being able to finish, but I’ve always been disappointed in myself for walking.  This time, for my second marathon 18 years later, I will do a lot better.

I’m enjoying the really long runs. A short run (and I consider the 9-mile run to be short these days) are usually over tried-and-true paths which I’m very familiar with.  But the long run has become like a trip.  A few weeks ago, I ran to the next big town over.  This week, I followed a bike path that went through several villages in the area that I would probably never drive through. It was nice.  It took me 3 hours and 8 minutes.

I started experimenting with different things while running.  I tried those sport gels for energy, and they worked pretty well –but they cost a pound a pop.  The first week I tried to eat some of the gel I thought I was going to be sick, but the next week I knew what to expect and, after an hour and a half of running, thought it was tastiest thing I’d ever eaten.  This last week, I shoved a hot-cross bun in the pocket of my running jacket and ate that after an hour.  I never would have thought I could eat and run and the same time, but if someone could—it would be me.

While on the long run the other day, I passed an older guy running.  I thought my pace was slow, but I passed this guy really quickly.  It was in the middle of no-where (no towns nearby), so I assumed he was going a good distance.  I said good morning to him as I passed, but then became very worried about my pace.  I thought I must be going too fast and I would be stuck miles from home limping back.  But it was fine—I completed the whole distance.

I listen to a lot of podcasts and audio books when I run.  The biggest problem with marathon training is keeping your mind occupied.  When you get into a rhythm and stop thinking about the running, it gets almost like a long car trip.  If you can stop from thinking about your legs or how tired you are, you’re fine.  But when you do focus on the pain, it’s difficult to continue.  Music is nice for the shorter runs, but the long distances need something a bit more engaging.

One thing I noticed about these long Sunday runs (I only passed 10 miles about 6 weeks ago), is that once I stop, my legs seize up.  I’m fine while running, but as soon as I finish, within 5 minutes my calves will tighten to where it’s difficult to stand.  Usually, a hot bath seems to loosen them up just fine though.

The half-marathon is a month away.  The London Marathon is two months away.  If I can keep from injuring myself, I should be okay.

I’m a big believer in New Year’s Resolutions.  Having said that, I hadn’t really thought of any.  Sure, there’s the resolutions that could be carried over from last years—all that diet and exercise stuff—but nothing new.

At this time of year, I feel self-conscious about running. Tomorrow morning will the the worst.  The sidewalks and pavements are always packed with runners on the first of Jan.  Since my long career in running has not done much to reduce my weight (imagine if I didn’t run!), I always look like a novice when I’m out there.  I look like a New Year’s runner.  But still, there’s nothing wrong with being someone out on a run because they made a resolution.  Good for them!  They probably feel self-conscious too, but they do it anyway.

This time of year, if you talk about resolutions, 3 or 4 people say the same thing– “My resolution this year is to not make any resolutions!”  Hah!  Get’s me every time!  How clever.

The problem I always had with resolutions is that I fear being mocked if I don’t carry them out.  I felt the same way when I started running or earlier this year when I started going to the gym.  I felt that if I start, I could never stop because that would be failure somehow. 

If I go for a run on 1 January, for example, I feel as if I have to run every day after that.  If I start going to the gym, I need to go for years.  But the truth is, this kind of fear stopped me from doing lots of things.  If I go to the gym once, it’s one time more than never going.  If I see it as something I need to do today rather than a commitment to something for the rest of my life, it makes it much easier to handle. 

My most famous resolution with my family is the time I decided I would become a vegetarian.  It lasted 7 days.  But that burger on January 7th was fantastic!

My parents quick smoking on New Years when I was a kid.  They never took it up again.  Resolutions are not always broken.

There’s nothing magical about a New Year’s resolution—it just gives you an excuse to make a goal.  An it’s easier to tell people how long you’ve been keeping it up.

I’ll spend today thinking of a good resolution.  It seems a waste of a calendar change if I can’t come up with one.

Happy New Year and I wish you a wonderful 2010.

A couple of years ago (in 2006), I started using the Nike+ iPod sensor while running. I’ve written several posts about it here.  I’ve written about how to attach the sensor to your shoe without buying Nikes special shoes with pockets in the souls and I’ve written an api to retrieve the data from the Nike+ site with C# to use in other apps.  I love the little device and it works perfectly with my iPod nano—it gives me music and a measurement of how far I’ve run (roughly).

But there are some things I really hate about the iPod Nike+ sensor.

First, it’s not as accurate as it could be.  The transmitter is attached to my left shoe, so it works like a pedometer.  I’m not a treadmill runner, so my self-pacing is terrible.  My stride is based on the terrain or my mood.  It’s not consistent—but it’s close enough.  It’s cheaper than shelling out for a Garmin Forerunner.

Second, it’s wasteful.  The transmitter in the shoe has a battery that can’t be replaced or recharged.  You have to buy a new one when it dies.  I’ve been through two of them now.  Last week I found that my standard three-mile run was registering as two and a half miles.  The battery in my shoe transmitter was running low again.  I really didn’t want to throw this into a landfill somewhere and buy a new one for £20.

Third, I can’t get to my data easily.  Nike has a website that stores all your run data.  It’s possible to get a feed of the data, but not officially.  Some people out there have found ways to tap into this data (Running Tracker, Ear-fung.us, and myself) —but they do this using an unofficial api into the Nike services (which sometimes changes).  Nike wants to build their own running community (we need another community?).

So, I started looking for an alternative.  A few months ago, a friend at work told me about an iPhone app which uses GPS.  I looked into it and started using RunKeeper, an iPhone app with an online service.  I’ve used it on a few runs, and I will never use Nike+ again.

RunKeeper is better than Nike+ for the following reasons:

• It uses GPS instead of a pedometer sensor
• It maps your runs for you on Google maps and Google earth after the run.
• I don’t have to buy a transmitter every twelve months.
• I can track bike rides as well as runs.
• I can still listen to music while running.

There are some things I would like to see in the application.  I still can’t get to my data except through their interface (that I know of) so an open API would be nice.  I need to turn off wifi before the run—which is not difficult, but the only awkward step (this is due to the way an iPhone works).  And, I’m not too crazy about the idea of taking my expensive phone out on runs with me.  But aside from this, the application works great.

If you are a Nike+ user, and you have an iPhone too.  Try this app.  You won’t go back.

One of the highest traffic posts I get on this blog is the brief post on accessing the Nike+ API with C#. I’m pretty proud of that post, but I don’t keep up with how the API works.

The Nike+ API is not published, so it’s not public.  It can change at any time.

If you are interested in the Nike+ iPod API, there is a much more up-to-date blog you may want to have a look at.  It’s called Running Tracker.  I’ve been subscribed to the RSS feed of this site.  They’ve created a cross-platform desktop application to examine the data stored with Nike.  I know about their API changes through Running Tracker.

If you have come to this site about the API, by all means, use the code if you can– but also check out the Running Tracker site as it is more up-to-date on the subject than I have been.  Their application doesn’t use C#, but it might be able to help you out with more information.

photo credit: marksteelenz

So, Nike has this nice little animated video.  Like most things that Nike seem to produce media-wise (I’m not talking about the sweatshops), it’s more inspirational than anything else.

It’s a nice little video so I thought I would share it here:

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo.

Training for the half-marathon is going well.  This morning, I woke at 3:30am.  I dressed, synced up my iPod, and hit the road by 4.  I ran 13.25 miles.  It took me 1 hour and 50 minutes.

I now don’t have to doubt whether I can run the half marathon in 12 days time.  I know I can.  The only question is how well will I do on the day.  And can I keep from injuring myself until that time?

This morning’s long run was interesting.  Although it’s getting lighter earlier, at 4am, it’s still pitch dark.  This morning, while running through a long stretch of road with no traffic lights or buildings, I heard something rustling in the bushes besides me.  You never seen someone run so fast!  I was hoping a car would drive past so I would have the benefit of some headlights instead of my small wind-up flashlight.  Whatever it was, it didn’t chase me.  I made it through the rest of the run pretty well.

I’m on the train home from work now.  The run was ages ago. I think I found every opportunity today to casually mention my run this morning to anyone I could.  Like, I’d stand up and my legs feel very heavy, so I’d say “Yeah.  Went for a long run this morning so I feel a little sore.”  But no one would ask “How far?” So I just add an unsolicited “Yep, 13 miles.”  It was shameful, really.

But my biggest problem today is my nipples.  Back when I first ran a half-marathon at age 20, I was surprised how my sweat-soaked shirt bounced up and down and basically rubbed my nipples raw.  So, I used to either tape them up or cover them in Vaseline.  Well, the same thing happened this morning.  I didn’t noticed how bad it was until I got home and jumped in the shower.  I yelped at the stinging sensation.  There’s blood on my running shirt.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been doing ten mile runs with no problem, but today they chafed at 13 miles.  My nipples have a 10-mile limit.  Who knew?

But, it’s nice to know that at age 36 I can still run the distance I did at 21.  Not as fast, of course, but I could endure it.  So as I sit here, trying to restrict my movements so my shirt doesn’t rub against my chest, I can be satisfied with what I’ve achieved.

I’ve uploaded my Nike+ API to a new SVN repository. Previously, I used Google Code, but it required people to register with Google and I couldn’t find the way to open it up to anonymous users.

So, here it is again. I have it on my own server in a repository:

https://svn.overpass-software.com/svn/nikeplus/trunk

I didn’t run (or go to work) at all last week because of the heavy snow and a bout of the flu. I should be ready to head out this morning, but I think I broke a toe yesterday. I walked right into a door jam barefoot in the house and now they are starting to swell up. I sound like someone who is always looking for excuses, but he Reading Half Marathon is 7 weeks away, and I’m already registered.

Update 12 Oct 2009: Since this post was written, I have moved the code to the Google Code repository at https://nikepluscsharp.googlecode.com/svn/trunk. Use your Google username and password to access it. It is not a complete working app and will require some C# knowledge to see what it does.

I’ve been messing around with the Nike+ api and C# for a while now.  It’s one of the projects I play with to keep my skills up before heading off to work.  One of the big influences of this project is the WordPress API developed by Mark at www.ear-fung.us.

Since moving back to WordPress from Dasblog, I havent’ been able to get this working because of my windows host.  Now, after a few weeks of migration, I’ve finally moved to a Linux VPS.  You can see my 3 most recent runs on the right-hand menu.  Thanks Mark.

A lot of people are emailing me with problems they are having downloading the Nike+ api code from Google Code.  In order to access it, you need a google api login and password.  This sucks, I know.

I will try to find a more open svn repository for this.  I use some for Overpass, but don’t really want to mix my pet project with it.  For the meantime, here is the project as it stands now.  If you are finding this post at a day later than 28 January 2009, you might want to look for a future post where I give more up to date source code. 

The is mostly the API, so don’t expect a nice GUI.  However, I have included a windows app which I use for quick tests.  I also have some unit tests, but these need to be maintained a little better.  My plan was to work on this a bit more before releasing it, but a lot of people seem to be looking for something like this.

http://www.wroolie.co.uk/files/Nike+.zip

There is no rocket science here.  The only difficult bit is connecting to Nike+.  You can lift the code from this project if you want to.  Ideally, see if you can access the SVN repository.  If you add anything cool to it, please let me know.  I mostly work on this when I have a few spare minutes here and there (and I don’t have much of those), so it would be nice to see it grow or see if it is used anywhere interesting.

I’ve been in the habit of going for a morning run nearly every day for the last three months (excluding weekends).  Usually, it’s just 3 miles, but I try to add in a few longer days.  It’s difficult to get out of the house at a quarter past five to run three miles.  It’s even more difficult to leave at a quarter to five to run for six.

I used to run at night when I got home from work, or take my stuff in during the day and run at lunch time.  But these runs usually get delayed by some problem or other.  There’s no predictability so there is no routine.  I’ve brought my running kit to work for days at a time, but would usually be delayed by a meeting or a server problem or (most likely) my hunger.  So the morning runs are proving easier.  At least there is routine.

Running in December is difficult.  It’s really dark and often icy.  I’ve slipped once or twice, but no major injuries.  I run even if it’s raining, because I sweat so much that it doesn’t matter after a few minutes how much it is pouring.  If it’s coming down too hard, I pull down the visor on my baseball cap to keep the rain out of my eyes.

It’s cold when I step outside and sometimes it really hits me when I open the door.  But, if I can just get started, I won’t notice the chill too much.  If I can get past the urge to close the door and go back inside, I’m okay.

Running through the town, I look for streetlights to follow.  I have one or two routes with limited darkness.  Occasionally I carry a wind-up torch with me, but this often is too much to carry.  I don’t like the torch because of the shadows it casts on the trees and bushes when I run past them.  I also feel like a choo choo train and should be panting “chugga chugga chugga chugga, choo choo!”

I see very few people out on the roads– most of the time I just see old people out walking their dogs.  I try not to let the idea of muggers creep into my head as I’m running.  I admit that on rare occasions I start to think about alien abductions I’ve read about as a kid and that just makes me run faster (I don’t believe in alien abductions, but when it’s dark and you are outside, your mind tells you that it’s better to be safe than sorry and better head home quick).  I once saw a fox running across the road and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I listen to my IPOD nano.  I have a playlist which hasn’t varied much in the last six months.  I constantly skip through tracks, telling myself to update my playlist next time I’m at the computer.  I’ve occasionally listened to audiobooks or podcasts, but music works best for me.  My mind wanders too much when I’m running and it’s difficult to rewind audio books for a few minutes while trudging forward.

The nice thing about running is that, aside from the music, it’s just me and my thoughts on the road.  As much as I would like to say that I was very observant and “in the moment” in a zen-like way as I run, I really just daydream or think about the day ahead.  While on runs, I’ve come up with technical solutions to problems I’ve had the previous day at work or replay things in my head that I’ve seen on tv. 

This is why I like running.  I was never very good at team sports as a kid and I still consider sport as more a source of emotional scars than a source of good times and glory days.  I’ve tried the gym thing, but I don’t fit in there.  I could never understand how someone who works all day, could talk about spending their evening at the gym– like they were going to the cinema or something.  I don’t like the exhibitionism of the gym.  People watch you–either because they are waiting for the equipment you are on or because they want to tell you why you are using it wrong.  With running, no one watches you– and you are not self-conscious about how you look while you are doing it.

The hardest part of running early in the morning is getting dressed.  Seriously.  Each morning, I get up and have a cup of coffee and maybe surf or research some of the technologies I’ve heard about the previous day.  I have my running clothes nearby, but I just need to put them on.  Once they are on, I’m committed.  It’s too much to take them back off again instead of spending 25 minutes for a quick 3-mile run.  I admit that there are times when I’ve looked at the clothes and justified to myself why I wasn’t going to run that day.  “I probably need a rest.” “The weather is pretty bad out there.” “I’ll run for longer tomorrow.”  However, if I can just get through the getting dressed part, I’ve practically run already.

So, right now I’m sitting at the pc and my clothes and shoes sit by the door.  I’m going to wrap this up and put them on.  It’s 3 degrees outside right-now according to the weather widget on my Google desktop sidebar.  That mean’s it shouldn’t be icy, but it will be cold.  In 40 minutes, it will be over and I will feel better for having done it.