Today, we move to a new phase of my run training for this season. I did my first outdoor run today at 6pm. That's the time the university recreational running club meets on a daily basis.
So far I've only been running indoors on a treadmill: the simple reason being that even at 6pm it's still 37C (100F) outside at the moment.
6pm has its advantages though. The sun sets as the run proceeds. And this Friday's run is special: the club has decided to do one of my favorite runs on campus, namely the Parking Garages Run at the university. The idea is conceptually simple and beautiful in its implementation.
We run from multistorey parking garage to multistorey parking garage at sunset. These are dotted around the university. At each garage, we run up and down the stairs and across the rooftops. And if one is not in too heavy an oxygen debt to notice, one can catch a good view of the sunset and its colors at each location.
Here is a "bird's eye view" of the loop. Starting from the university Rec Center, we trace a clockwise route around the main campus visiting the 6th St garage, then Tyndall and the Main Gate garages, cut across campus and tunnel under Speedway to do Park Ave and Highland garages, then tunnel back under Speedway and finish with the 2nd and Cherry St garages. Oh, plus down and up the ILC (Integrated Learning Center) steps which - strictly speaking - is not a garage, and actually descends underground. Total distance is about 2.7 miles but that doesn't include running up and down the stairs at each garage twice. My iPod nano reports 400 kcal and and an optimistic total of 3.7 miles in just under 35 minutes.
Running in 100 degree heat is quite a challenge, not to mention the motivation of trying not to get totally left behind by the running club students. As a result, my max heart rate (HR) hit 170 bpm by the end. I must admit I felt quite out of shape. Still, it's a great run and as beautiful as one can get on this large and crowded campus.
(picture, courtesy of Luise Betterton)
Some runs are just flat out gorgeous with spectacular scenery, exotic locations or weather. Running outdoors becomes a little easier. Time passes a little faster than on most daily runs, not to mention treadmill workouts.
I've been searching for some way to retain those moments, so I've been interested in capturing video footage of my favorite runs.
The main problem is that it's rather difficult to run and carry a video camera at the same time. Running requires coordination, and the counterbalanced swinging of arms. With a video camera, attention is diverted from the mechanics of running, and additional unsecured weight is likely throw a runner off his/her stride. And even if I could pull off pointing a video camera while running, the footage is likely to be unusably jerky.
Solutions include driving the course or mounting the camera on a bicycle, since vehicles have air-filled tires and in some cases, suspension, that would mitigate against bumps. But it's not always possible to drive the same course, and especially when one is traveling, limited time and opportunity may preclude revisiting the same location.
(I've attempted to film a course while holding the camera in one hand while riding a bicycle. But I wasn't so happy with the results, see my youtube video Along the Corniche in Doha, Qatarhere.)
With another trip to exotic Doha on the horizon, I decided to pick up a GoPro HD Hero video camera (pictured above). It is designed for the action video market and thus is available with a large variety of mounting options. The chest harness is what got me thinking it might just work for running. It's waterproof (well, at least sweat resistant) and very small and lightweight. Also it comes equipped with a wide angle lens, another essential feature. It doesn't have image stabilization, but iMovie 9 can import and apply post-hoc stabilization at the cost of a slightly narrower angle of view.
I decided to test it back home in Arizona first. Here is a one minute (accelerated) video of my first test run around the Mall at the University of Arizona's main campus. (The loop is 1.3 miles long, so it actually took me 9'55" to run.)
(Direct link here.)
As you can see, despite the HD (High Definition) label, the quality is definitely not as good as my HD cameras. And the glare from the sun on the return part of the loop is a big problem with the wide angle lens. Another unanticipated problem is that chest-mounting means that the arms intrude into the video frame. I will test head mounting next.
I'm very much a wannabe athlete. Compensating perhaps for a sadly unathletic childhood. For instance, I like to think I can run. But the sad fact is, although I keep running marathons, I'm too stupid to realize I'm never going to get that last 15 minutes I need to make Boston. I underachieve at swimming too. I swim like the Titanic after an unfortunate encounter with an iceberg. It's perhaps just as well that I have a AOW PADI scuba diving license. I used to be into long distance cycling: Boston brevets, a couple of BMBs (57 hours best time), a Pactour Elite Transcontinental, a NJ Hillier Than Thou winner's jersey and an El Tour Platinum pass. Even qualified for solo RAAM twice. All eons ago. I am trying to reclaim my old 2174 table tennis rating but I fail to see I'm mired in mediocrity despite acquiring a reverse penhold loop. I'd like to improve my nascent skiing. My day job? I'm a professor who loves linguistics and computer science. I write programs. I'm an Apple fan: Macbooks, iPods, and iPhones. I read Iain (M.) Banks. Love hiking, (spherical panorama) photography, a taste of Maudite and a good Bordeaux with music. I'm partially deaf in one ear. You have been warned.
Today, we move to a new phase of my run training for this season. I did my first outdoor run today at 6pm. That's the time the university recreational running club meets on a daily basis.
So far I've only been running indoors on a treadmill: the simple reason being that even at 6pm it's still 37C (100F) outside at the moment.
6pm has its advantages though. The sun sets as the run proceeds. And this Friday's run is special: the club has decided to do one of my favorite runs on campus, namely the Parking Garages Run at the university. The idea is conceptually simple and beautiful in its implementation.
We run from multistorey parking garage to multistorey parking garage at sunset. These are dotted around the university. At each garage, we run up and down the stairs and across the rooftops. And if one is not in too heavy an oxygen debt to notice, one can catch a good view of the sunset and its colors at each location.
Here is a "bird's eye view" of the loop. Starting from the university Rec Center, we trace a clockwise route around the main campus visiting the 6th St garage, then Tyndall and the Main Gate garages, cut across campus and tunnel under Speedway to do Park Ave and Highland garages, then tunnel back under Speedway and finish with the 2nd and Cherry St garages. Oh, plus down and up the ILC (Integrated Learning Center) steps which - strictly speaking - is not a garage, and actually descends underground. Total distance is about 2.7 miles but that doesn't include running up and down the stairs at each garage twice. My iPod nano reports 400 kcal and and an optimistic total of 3.7 miles in just under 35 minutes.
Running in 100 degree heat is quite a challenge, not to mention the motivation of trying not to get totally left behind by the running club students. As a result, my max heart rate (HR) hit 170 bpm by the end. I must admit I felt quite out of shape. Still, it's a great run and as beautiful as one can get on this large and crowded campus.
