iPhone, iRun

Run 351
Average pace: 5:10/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Distance: 5.05 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 24-20ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 374
Total distance to date: 2948

Tonight I got all wacky and decided to use my iPhone and the Nike+ app to track my run instead of my iPod because why not? I grabbed my spibelt, slapped the phone in and headed off.

It was a little warmer than the previous run starting out but because I also started later it cooled off quickly and felt quite comfy. Assuming the GPS wasn’t a dirty liar, I actually started out fairly strongly and maintained a consistent pace up until the last km, which is where the course twisted all over the place (including over the dam) and also went up a steep (for Burnaby Lake) trail.

The phone defaults were a bit off, so it credited me 20 more calories burned than reality (it had my weight set to 170 pounds instead of 159) and it was set to not only call out distance but also time, giving me a km by km estimate of my pace. My pace was improved, so this turned out to be encouraging rather than discouraging. I’ve since turned that part off.

My planned route was to go clockwise to where the main trail splits, then turn left and loop back around on the longer Freeway trail. My ability to calculate distance is apparently really bad, as I neared the end of the route with about another km to go. I decided to keep running, headed over the dam and back up the trail counter-clockwise. After a bit I was thinking I should have heard the 400 m warning but that doesn’t seem to happen on the phone app, so I just sort of guessed where to turn around, doubled back and hoped I would complete 5K before ending up out in the street.

I was successful in not needing to run into the street.

Overall the run went fairly well and my pace was a much-improved 5:10/km.

I think I’ll keep using the phone for awhile. Seeing the route drawn out on a map afterward is kind of neat.

The next big test comes on Sunday when I go back to a full 10K. I vow not to sleep in and run when it is Africa hot. Really!

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