Exercise Log Blog

I got a lot of questions about the Running Speakers, so I went to the home office of Jeff Streeter, the inventor, for a late evening interview last Friday.  He took time to show us the speakers, but there’s more than that.

He talked to us about the speakers and even what motivated him to get started.  It’s fun to hear his story about what prompted him to come up with the running speakers.

I’ll leave the rest of the story to the video, so click play and enjoy!  I think you’ll really enjoy the comment about my wife listening to them while doing the dishes.

 

 Late evening interview with Jeff Streeter [24:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

My interview with the inventor of the running speakers will be tonight at his home office.  I’ve gotten a few questions submitted for the interview, but remember that you can submit more questions if you have them.  Here’s the survey:

http://www.maintainfit.com/runningspeakers_questions.html

One of the questions so far have to do with how heavy, bothersome they are to wear.  I have to admit that I was really worried about that too, since I can’t even stand wearing a watch when I run, let alone a backpack.  I was so surprised that I didn’t even notice that the running speakers were on.  I’m not sure if the music was a distraction too, but it didn’t bother me.

I should also mention that the speakers have been around for a while.  The conversation I’ll be having tonight is about his vision and desire to make them truly useful for runners.  He’ll tell a little bit of his story and how he built the first prototype.

I’ll try to be quick and get the video up for you to look at.  Keep your eye on the blog…

So I mentioned my buddy Jeremy was putting together a little video about biking with my speakers.  He was in the foothills of Boise and I think he’s listening to AC/DC (nothing like some 80s rock).  This morning I found this video in my e-mail and so I wanted to post it.

He explained that what he did was attach his video camera to his bike helmet, and so the shot where he’s talking, he is actually holding the helmet out in front of him at arms length.  Then he puts it on and starts biking.

Remember, I’m working out the scheduling for and interview with the inventor, so think about your questions and suggestions.  I’ll send out a survey before the interview, but I’m not sure how much time there will be to get the questions in.  Keep your eye on the blog too, since I probably won’t send out an e-mail everytime I post something new.

Enjoy the short video of my buddy Jeremy biking with music.

 

 Jeremy mountain biking to music (helmet cam): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

When I first tried on the running speakers, I noticed that there wasn’t any way to attach my iPod.  I tried a couple of things, like this picture with it being held on with clothespins.  Ultimately I came up with a few ideas as I was running and listening to my music.

Well, the follow up for this story is that I just got of the phone with the inventor and discussed a small diagram I had sent him with my idea for a universal strap that would let me attach my MP3 player to the harness and have an all-in-one running music gadget.

Well, he actually liked my idea and is looking at incorporating the change into the harness before mass producing them.  I mentioned the idea of doing an interview with him and he said he sure would, but needs to make sure he can work it into his schedule.  I’ll call him tomorrow and see what his schedule looks like later this week.

Jeremy should have some video for us to look at with him using it on his bike today or tomorrow, so keep checking the blog.

And, in the meantime, keep running!

I was just talking to a buddy at work that ran in the Wasatch Back Relay over the weekend.  His group included some runners from Idaho and others from Utah.  Overall it’s a gruelling race covering 180.5 miles with some crazy elevation gain.  There were 12 people to a team.

The website (linked above) has information about each leg, and I’ll have to ask him to tell me which legs he ran, but he said he had a great experience doing it even though it was a super challenging experience.  He did tell me that he had a brutal climb for his last leg of the Wasatch Back Relay, covering almost as much vertical distance as lateral.

I’ve asked him to send me some photos and I’ll get him to tell me a little bit about it for those of you that are interested in trying out something like that someday.  Race teams are starting to assemble for next years race, so if you think you’re interested, start talking to people about it today.

The Wasatch Back Relay starts in Logan Utah and meanders through the Wasatch range ending up in Park City Utah, which takes you through some of the most breathtaking scenery in Utah.  I might even succeed in getting him to do an interview with me telling me more about his experience (I’ll see what I can do).

Meanwhile, here is a map of the Wasatch Back Relay race course.

If you’re on my mailling list then you already heard the story about how I got a prototype pair of speakers for running with my MP3 player.  They let me run with music by reducing the risk of getting hit by a car or surprised by someone or something.  Well, I said that I would try to put up a video showing the speakers, so I asked my buddy Jeremy to be the videographer and help me out.

I did a quick couple mile run in Boise and had him meet me on my usual route, which happens to be a pretty busy street during the morning commute with no sidewalks.  The music I chose for my run was Simple Minds (yeah, I love 80’s music).

Each time I run with music I understand a little better what others say about the motivation and increased energy that seems to be part of the run.  For example, when I started my run I felt physically crappy, but the music kept me going until I got into a groove.  When I had to stop for the camera I was a bit disappointed:(  I really got into  the run and the music gave me a good pace

OK, stop talking already and show me the video!  I know.

Enjoy! And after you watch it, post a comment telling what you think about the video (and the speakers)…

 

 Safer Exercise Speakers for your iPod or MP3 player: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’ve been swamped since my Running Shoes guest expert interview with Rich Harris last week.  I already posted the recording of the interview for those that couldn’t watch it live, but I’m trying to find time to make a sort of highlights video to post on the blog.

Among other things Rich shared a really great story about running in a race with a Gold Medal olympic athlete where at the end of the race this great runner came over and gave him a compliment.  I think you can imagine how that would feel, and it was a fantastic high point for him in his career.  While it didn’t specifically talk about the running shoes, it was really motivational.

And I think we all know that no matter how great your running shoes are, if you don’t get out the door and push yourself, then you just don’t reach your goals.

I also wanted to post a link to Rich’s website for his specialty running store, Bandanna Running.  I’ve had a few people say that they were planning to make the four hour drive from Utah up to his store just to make sure that their next pair of shoes is right for them (and I can’t blame them).  After talking to Rich and making the video that we did in his store, I’m weary of trying to buy shoes any place other than a specialty running store.

While I’m not sure that every store is as competent as Bandanna Running, you’re probably a lot more likely to find experienced runners and the shoes you really need at a specialty running store.

So, the next time you think that you’re too old to run because you come home complaining about your knees or ankles, do yourself a favor and go find a specialty running store in your city and ask someone who really knows something about running shoes, which brand and type will work best for your feet.

And keep an eye out for the highlights video that I plan to put together from out Running Shoe web conference.

As it turns out, there are a lot more people than I would have guessed that listen to music while running. I say this because I usually don’t listen while running, but the survey results show some really great reasons. Since the results are a bit too much for an e-mail I decided to post them here.  Here they are:

1. Do you listen to music while running?
Yes 85.4%
No 16.7%

2. What is the biggest benefit you get from listening to music while running?
Rhythm and Cadence 46.7%
Entertainment 51.1%
Other (please specify) 31.1% (see select responses below)

- Able to run faster when listening to hard /heavy rock music !.
- gives me a way to time my run.
- Music motivates me and gives me that extra push when I need it.
- Sometimes I run to get away from things and it helps me to do that.
- I just love music anytime.
- just enjoy music. keeps me going.
- as a distraction of the hundreds of things I should/could be doing
- motivation! and it distracts me from the ickiness of the hill i am climbing, or from worrying about how much distance i have yet to go.

3. Where do you do most of your running?
Trails 20.6%
Street 67.6%
Track 0.0%
Park 14.7%
Treadmill 32.4%

4. Do your headphones/earbuds stay in while you run?
Yes 76.1%
No 23.9%

5. What are your thoughts on running while listening to music? Is it safe/dangerous? Is there something that would make it easier/safer?

There were a lot of great responses to this question about running with music, but I can’t include them all here (just too many responses). But an overwhelming theme was that music helps to motivate, focus and increase workout intensity.

Let me say that one more time: music helps to motivate, focus and increase workout intensity.

Thanks to Maintain Fit members that took the survey. I’ll send a little more of a summary out to the list.

If you missed the survey and want to tell me whether or not you listen to music while running, you can answer the survey here: Do you listen to music while running survey.

The Sawtooth Relay was held this weekend putting running teams of 6 members up against a 62 mile relay race over the top of Galena Summit as the runners made their way from Stanley, ID to Ketchum, ID. The relay is split into 12 different legs along highway 75 that passes through the heart of Idaho aside some of the most breathtaking scenery that someone would be lucky to see in their lifetime. I even heard that a guy decided to run the race all by himself this year! I’m sorry, that’s just insane.

The race has several grueling stages, including the monster stage 6 with 1,331 elevation gain to reach Galena Summit! But even though its a challenging race, the atmosphere is more like a big party, with runners dressed up as girl scouts (you guessed it, these were guys), brides, 80s pop stars, and I’m pretty sure I saw a guy wearing a US Flag patterned unitard, and almost all of the chase vehicles were decked out with the team names and appropriate (and some inappropriate) sayings.

There were friends of mine on 6 different teams in the race, and everybody was having such a good time. I think most people just run the race to be able to hang out and party afterwards…

And when you talk about having a running partner and the social obligation to keep up with running, this is such a perfect example, even the other teams are cheering everyone else on as they are running by. Its easy to see that runners are such a close knit community. Here is a team of racers including my friends Phil and Becca that are running across the finish with the runner finishing out the last leg of the relay.

I was able to catch the bike to run transition in the inagural Ironman 70.3 event held in Boise, ID last weekend. The swim was in Lucky Peak Reservoir, continued near Sandy Point Beach and ended up with the bike/run transition in downtown Boise. Every time I am around a triathlon, I always get motivated to do one someday. It would definitely be an advantage to be able to use the course from this year to train (the bike section blows right by my house).

Here is the end of the bike section, where you can see the Boise Depot in the background.

Here is a shot looking into the huge number of bikes in the bike racks at the transition. You can see the Grove Hotel on the left at the end of the transition, and the Capitol Building in the backdrop.