As I alluded to at the end of last year, I’ve bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS fitness watch which has now been in possession for a couple of dozen workouts. The thing is brilliant. Combined with a heart rate monitor (included), it will log every important facet of your running, cycling, or other distance-vs-time workouts.

Here’s some assorted statistics from my workouts so far:

Running:

• Workouts: 15
• Total distance: 89.36km
• Average distance: 5.96km
• Average speed: 11.27km/h
• Maximum speed: 24.9km/h
• Average heart rate: 156.33 beats per minute
• Total elevation gain: 3484 metres
• Average elevation gain: 232.27 metres

Cycling:

• Workouts: 7
• Total distance: 93.6km
• Average distance: 13.37km
• Average speed: 21.66km/h
• Maximum speed: 53.1km/h
• Average heart rate: 151.43 beats per minute
• Total elevation gain: 2051 metres
• Average elevation gain: 293 metres

From an individual workout point-of-view, here’s a few examples of the data yielded from one of my cycles a few weeks ago.

As you can see, the data is reasonably comprehensive, including things like heart rate, elevation changes, pace, distance and time. The watch records this information every four seconds I believe, which results in some really good data.

It’s all quite intriguing stuff, because as well as tracking progress with real statistical accuracy, you can use it to identify weaknesses. Comparing speed, distance and elevation may illustrate a specific difficulty with hills of a certain grade or length, for example, and you could use this information to make training decisions.

I’m not quite serious enough to worry about any in-depth analysis, however, but I am definitely enjoying the logging functionality. It’s going to be interesting to compare workouts this time next year.

If you’re after one of these watches in New Zealand, they are available online from Bay Marine Electronics amongst other places. The price at time of writing is a rather hefty $439; but if you’re a regular runner with a mind for statistics, I don’t think you’ll regret it.

A few weeks ago I purchased a brand new road bike – the first bike of any sort I’ve ridden in around eight or more years – with the intention of using it as a cross-training fitness tool to compliment my running.

Before getting the bike home, I entertained in my head the possibility of biking to work. It would save petrol, it would get me biking-fit pretty quickly, and the roads between home and work didn’t look that bad for cyclists.

It’s funny how quickly your perspective can change.

After spending about 10 minutes on the bike, I realised that there was no way I was ever going to ride to work. A space a few feet across on the side of the road, whilst reasonably suitable for running, is rather terrifying on a bike if the road is busy. I’ve also started noticing how non-existent the cycling infrastructure is wherever I go. For example, it didn’t occur to me until I started cycling that there is no possible way to get from Northcote to Auckland City (around 5km) by foot or by bike; unless, of course, you prefer to go the alternative route via West Auckland which is around 60km. Less dramatically, I’ve realised it is also quite risky just to cycle to the shops a few kilometres from home.

It’s quite disheartening to realise that in the midst of obesity crises, global warming and fluctuating petrol prices, it’s not feasible to choose a simple method of transportation that would solve it all.

Does anyone in Auckland really cycle to work?

I’m almost over my cold, so I’ve resumed my running routine. I decided that I’d start using MapMyRun.com to log my workouts.

• View my MapMyRun.com profile

MapMyRun offers an iPhone application which utilises the phone’s GPS system, but I’m reluctant to run with a phone so I’m currently entering data manually. I’m tempted to get a GPS watch, like a Garmin Forerunner, so that I can track distance, time and such more accurately, but I’ll think about that in the new year. Being able to view your distance and speed whilst running sounds very cool.

Today I have decided to officially abandon work on my work-in-progress weight training log site, StrengthFu.com.

I lost interest in the project some time ago as I’m no longer training with the regularity I was when I started.  Additionally, I decided that I would not have been satisfied with the project in its planned form, as I would now prefer an iPhone application for entering data (coupled with an online interface for reporting) and that’s not something that I’m prepared to attempt.

Every year, as summer nears, I start running regularly.

Every year, after I start running regularly, I get a cold and the weather reverts back to winter.

It’s uncanny.