Please do contribute, no matter what music you’re into and feel free to use the image above on your own blog post/sidebar!

I’ve been using the playlist with Spotify Premium on my iPhone and putting it on random for my last few runs. Great stuff!

I’ve explained many times on this blog about how great running is for your whole system of productivity. The trouble with running, though, is that it used to difficult to set yourself goals and targets. With the advent of Nike+ and GPS-enabled devices, however, all that has changed.

I first started GPS-tracking my running with my Nokia N95 a few years ago. I still haven’t found anything better than the Nokia Sports Tracker for ease-of-use and useful feedback, if I’m honest.

Since switching to an iPhone, I’ve tried a number of applications that can GPS-track my runs. Most recently I’ve been using SportyPal which I found pretty good and at a nice price (free!)

A few months ago, Mike Schoeffler, the developer of a new iPhone running app called Roadbud started following me on Twitter and reading this blog. I ended up joining the mailing list for updates and a free copy of the app upon release. After some delays, it was available in the App Store earlier this week.

For reasons only known to Apple, the free codes Mike generated are only available in the US (see the end of this post to win one for yourself!) Mike very kindly reduced the price of the UK version from £5.99 to £0.59 so that he kept his promise. Very noble and much appreciated (but this review remains impartial!)

Review

Given that SportyPal, my previous iPhone running app of choice, is free and Roadbud Pro is £5.99 it had better do something special. Fortunately, it has go some unique features. Not least:

• Integration with iTunes music library
• StrongSong (Nike+ style motivational track you can nominate for one-button access)
• Audio feedback on distance covered, time and pace
• Google Maps integration as you run
• Weather information
• One-button access to phoning a friend or emergency services (if concerned about safety)
• Twitter integration (option to tweet your run straight after workout)
• Auto screen-lock

There is a free version (Roadbud Rookie), to be fair, but to my mind that version doesn’t offer anything over-and-above SportyPal. It’s six and two threes…

Whilst I can only give my opinion about Roadbud and my particular running regime, there’s some things I really liked and some things that I thought could probably do with some improvement.

The good:

1. Integration with iTunes music library is a real bonus.
2. I love the one-button access to my ‘StrongSong’ for when I need that extra boost.
3. The Google Maps implementation is seamless and shows at-a-glance whether your iPhone is locked-on to the GPS signal.
4. The audio feedback is useful for focusing on running instead of having to keep looking at the screen.
5. You can choose a workout length (time or distance) with your progress then being shown as a bar underneath time elapsed. Nice!

Room for improvement:

1. Track information of the song currently playing.
2. Feedback when you’ve lost GPS signal.
3. Lower power consumption (25 min run took 40% of my battery life on iPhone 3G)
4. A website, like SportyPal to develop more of a community.
5. The ability to export data to Google Earth.

From my contact with the Mike, the first three of the above are already in development for the next version of Roadbud.

Of course, people have different concerns and needs than me. For example, when my wife gets my iPhone in a couple of months, she’ll no doubt want to use it for running. I’ll then be really glad of Roadbud’s one-touch emergency call facility.

Conclusion + free codes

Would I recommend Roadbud? Yes.

Do I think it’s worth £5.99? At present, probably not.

I’d expect it to be more of a £2.99 app. I certainly think it’s got potential to be worth the higher price, though! I’m looking forward to seeing how it improves given that the developers keen to make it the best it can be.

Want a free version of Roadbud Pro? I’ve got 3 free copies* for those who reweet this post (using the button below) before midday on Sunday 2nd May 2010!

*US residents only, I’m afraid, for reasons given above…

CC BY-NC-SA el patajo

As those who have joined me in the #uppingyourgame project will know, I believe it’s important to get a ‘virtuous circle’ of productivity started. One of the best ways of doing this is by doing more exercise and, more specifically, running.

But running without music is like Laurel without Hardy, or Batman without Robin. And it’s important to get the music you run to right, as it makes running that much more motivational and enjoyable.

Recently I’ve been listening to one of two albums whilst running:

Morning run

My good friend and collaborator Nick Dennis pointed me in the direction of De La Soul’s Are You In? Nike+ mix on iTunes (£7.99) a few weeks ago. It’s great. The reason it’s perfect for running in the morning is that it starts off nice and gently with mention of getting up and ‘reaping what you sow’. Then, after some quality beats, around the 17-minute mark, steps it up a gear with exhortations to “Pick up the pace”. Awesome.

Evening run

Being a big fan of mashups, I visit Mashuptown and The Hype Machine regularly. A couple of months ago I stumbled across The White Panda, a couple of guys mashing up hip-hop and rap with all kinds of stuff. The mashup album entitled Versus that they’ve released for free features NSFW language but is fantastic. I’m a massive fan of Passion Pit vs. T.I. What You Know About Little Secrets? Did I mention it’s free?

Do you have runningmusic that you find motivational? Share it in the comments below!

10 kilometers doesn’t sound like much. It’s not. But it’s twice the distance I usually run…

I’m going to be running the Great North 10k in Sunderland on 18 July 2010. It’s the first step on a planned road to world domination:

• Half-marathon (second half of 2010)
• Sprint triathlon (first half of 2011)
• Marathon (second half of 2011)

…and now that I’ve put it on my blog I have to do it!

When I mentioned my entry on Twitter, some people suggested I might want to run for charity. I chose UNICEF because of the great work they’re doing in Haiti. So, if you want to, click below.

(This post is mainly going to be of benefit to UK-based readers of my blog. I’m not affiliated with PruHealth in any way!)

Hannah and I are big fans of the Money Saving Expert website run by Martin Lewis. He’s a minor celebrity in England, having his own TV programme (albeit on Five). If you haven’t already signed up for his weekly newsletter, I really would.

Last year, one thing he recommended was PruHealth. It’s a private health insurance scheme which rewards you for becoming, and remaining, healthy. We looked into it but really couldn’t afford it at the time. Also, with Ben having just been born, time wasn’t really something we had in abundance. Now, however, things are different. Life with Ben is a bit more calm and structured now and with my new position next year we’ll have (slightly) more disposable income.

Just to give you some idea of how good a deal this is for us in particular, it would cost £42 each to join the gym we’ve just signed up for. With the PruHealth scheme, our premiums are £27 each per month and we get the gym free! Granted, for the first 3 months it’s slightly more whilst they assess your usage, but if you average 2 or more sessions per week, all you pay is your health insurance premium from then on. If we do the health checks every 6 months and average around 2.5 sessions per week our premiums will more than halve. Yes, that’s right: next year we’ll probably both be going to the gym and have private health insurance for less than £25!

I went for my initial PruHealth check and gym induction today. Much as Steve Dembo is doing with Wii Fit, I’m planning to post my fitness levels every so often. I used to post details of the GPS-tracked runs I did via my Nokia N95. I stopped that as soon as I realised people would be able to pinpoint exactly where I live (or used to live – we’re moving this month!)

So, what follows is my baseline. Please bear in mind that I haven’t exercised more than about once per week since Ben was born (16 months ago), that I’m mildly asthmatic, and that I had a huge cup of coffee this morning! The latter probably explains my high blood pressure reading (hopefully…)

• Weight: 81.4kg (171 pounds)
• BMI: 23.2 (should be 20-25)
• Blood Pressure: 139/89 (should be 120/80)
• Pulse (after 3-minute step activity): 106 (lower = better)
• VO2* Test: 38 (should be 42+)
• Cooper’s Run**: 2.51km (further = better)

There’s a selection of gym’s to choose from, but our local one is Cannons Health Club in Doncaster. Alongside the gym, there’s a studio for various classes (I like the look of Body Attack – a combination of boxing and keep-fit), and a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, etc. We’re all going after church tomorrow – Ben’s going to have weekly swimming lessons from his Daddy (I used to swim for my county many years ago…)

With the advantages PruHealth gives us and with the requirement to go at least twice per week, this is a long-term deal which could just revolutionise the life of the Belshaw family!

*VO2 Test = volume of oxygen you can consume whilst exercising. This was tested by using a treadmill to walk for 3 minutes whilst measuring heart rate and taking into account age, height and weight.
**Cooper’s Run = the distance you can cover by running on a treadmill for 12 minutes.

Image: Quick Start by akeg @ Flickr

3.74 miles, 27.03 mins (I’m out of shape!)

The past few times I’ve used it I’ve had a bit of an ordeal getting the GPS signal to work with the excellent (and free) Nokia Sports Tracker application on my N95. Now, though, I think I’ve got it sussed. Here’s what I do:

1. Turn off positioning via Bluetooth and Network by going to Settings/General/Positioning/Positioning Methods (only ‘Integrated GPS’ should have a tick next to it)
2. Go outside to start my stretches/warm-up.
3. Start the Nokia ‘Maps’ application with the keypad showing (the GPS chip is located behind the keys).
4. Wait for GPS fix whilst stretching and warming-up.
5. Whilst Maps application is still running, start the Nokia Sports Tracker application.
6. Whilst both the above programs are still running, start ‘Running’ playlist on random in Music Player application.*
7. Go back into the Nokia Sports Tracker application, press ‘Start’ and begin your run.

* You may get an ‘insufficient memory’ error at this point. Just persevere!
If it’s working, you should see your location as a blue dot on a black screen and the stats should start changing. Also, if you don’t move much it should automatically pause.

Whilst I’m running I keep the keypad showing (i.e. the multimedia keys hidden) to retain a good GPS signal. When I want to change track I simply temporarily slide the screen down to show the multimedia keys, then slide it back again!

(click to enlarge)

When I get back into the house, after I’ve warmed-down and got some liquids onboard, I export the data from my run to Google Earth with the ‘Altitude Mode’ option as ‘Relative to ground’ and the ‘Altitude Data’ as ‘Speed’. This means that I get a nice picture like the one at the start of this post when I bluetooth the file to my Macbook and load it up in Google Earth.

I went for my first GPS-tracked run today. What does that mean? It means that the built in Global Positioning System on my Nokia N95 smartphone collected data as I did one of my usual circuits. I have to say I’m impressed: miles better than the data collected via the Nike+ system…

Not only does the free Nokia Sports Tracker application show where you’ve been (via a KML file exported to Google Earth), but it gives you altitude and speed data as well:

(click on images to enlarge)

Apart from the obvious error of my maximum speed being 32.mph (I’m not that fast!) it worked a treat. I think this glitch was due to me turning a sharp corner when the communication satellite communication would have been obscured by some overhanging trees. It certainly gives you something to work towards and beat – average speed, minutes per mile, distance travelled… Great stuff!

(oh, and in case you’re wondering – yes, I stopped up short due to a combination of not pacing myself properly and a very poor night’s sleep courtesy of Ben!)

…is the name of a great Daft Punk track, but also my aim in getting fit for this 10km (6.4 mile) ‘dash’ that I’ve signed up for in June. Today I went for a run and, to my surprise, went further than I had anticipated going. According to Google Earth, I went 5.01 miles! Now to many people, I’m sure, that’s nothing, but for me on a Sunday afternoon at my current level of fitness, that’s pretty good.

Just imagine how far I’ll be able to go when I finally get the Nike+ system up-and-running…

I’ve been for a run this morning, twice round the circuit illustrated above – which is around 3.3 miles altogether. I’m kind of in training for a 10km (6.2 mile) ‘dash’ in Leeds in June.

As those who know me well will testify, I’ve never been one to shy away from using technology for its own sake. It will come as no surprise to those who know me that I’m using Google Earth to measure my runs and Nike+ to ‘tune’ my runs. On this occasion, however, it’s actually useful and not simply frivolous…

Using the ruler tool on Google Earth is easy and, for those places (such as Hannah’s parents’ locality) where the resolution of Google Earth sucks, you can create a path in the ‘My Maps’ feature of Google Maps and import it as a .KML file.

I haven’t gone the whole hog with the Nike+ system – yet. I found some trainers in the Nike factory outlet at Royal Quays near Newcastle last week reduced from £90 to£25, which was a bit of a bargain! All I need to do now is invest in an iPod (probably a version 1 from the Apple Refurbished store) and the iPod Sports Kit. Then I’ll be able to use the Nike+ website to do the following:

• Track my time, distance, pace, and calories burned
• Receive real-time, spoken feedback that can alert me to milestones throughout my run
• See my performance history, set myself goals, and challenge other runners to a virtual race

Ah… the wonders of technology!

I have to say I am impressed with the idea and execution behind Podrunner. However, it doesn’t really suit me that well. The music is a bit house-y for me – I like my uplifting, euphoric trance for running to. The music provided on the Podrunner podcasts would be great for working out in the gym, and probably for running on a treadmill in the gym. But running outdoors – ‘in the wild’, as it were – is different. There’s hills and bits of ice and cars and wind. To get you through this you need what I would call the ‘hands in the air’ moments you get when you go to clubs and the beat stops but the vocal keeps going. It’s the cyclical, rhythmic, yet differing nature of these tracks that keeps me going.

So if anyone knows of any specific trance-based podcasts suitable for running, please let me know. Until then, I’ll keep plugging away with my own custom mix and scouring the iTunes Music Store…