Running Naked

Posted on Thursday, May 8, 2008 in Personal

After much procrastination, and then frustration - the nice weather arrives, I want to get out there and do things, and I go and get sunburnt effectively curtailing physical activities for a while - I finally dragged myself out for a run again this morning.

I thoroughly enjoy running, although I admit to being a bit of a fair weather runner, but actually gettting out to do it can be a bit of a performance. First I need to locate all my running gear, then my pedometer, then my listening device of choice which of course needs updating with new tracks or podcasts, and while I’m at it I might set up a new playlist or tweak an existing one. Before I know it at least 30 minutes has passed since I made the decision to go out and actually getting close to leaving the house.

This morning I was better prepared: I knew where all my running gear was, and I deliberately chose to forgo the technological accoutrements that I normally take. No X300 Sports Tracker, no iPod Nano, no Nokia N95. I didn’t even take a watch.

Without all that junk, I found the experience quite liberating. I wasn’t worrying about my current speed, or which track was currently playing, and without the phone there were no other distractions. I just ran, and I definitely feel I ran better for it. Obviously as a card carrying geek I love the toys, and I love tracking my stats and performance, but it is easy to forget that they really don’t matter.

I’m not saying I’m going to be running ‘naked’ everytime, but I will be doing it again and I thoroughly recommend you try it as well. Just grab your trainers and go.

Multimediocre

Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 in Linux, Listening, Viewing

Nik Butler put out a vlog, vodcast, video today commenting on the state of multimedia in FOSS. This is my response.

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Sixth (and final) attempt

Posted on Thursday, June 8, 2006 in Uncategorized

Bright blazing sunshine. Hour long lunchbreak. New running shorts. What else could I do?

This post marks the sixth and final attempt to go running. Why final? Because I’m enjoying it enough that I’m no longer attempting it – I’m just doing it.

Sticking to the shorter circuit is paying off. I know that I’ve done it, but I’m not dead after doing it. This meant that I could go the day after my last attempt. I know that’s not advisable, and I probably won’t be doing that when I’m onto the longer runs but I want to make the most of the good weather.

I ran the same direction as yesterday, and the pedometer claimed practically the same distance (just over 2½ miles) although I was quicker today. I still haven’t re-calibrated it – I’m going to drive the circuit (it’s all road based) to see how it compares before I do.

I’ve a now added a few additional items to my list:

Running/lightweight vest/t-shirt/top A (working) shower NIKE+iPod

Let me explain each of them.

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