Following on from my test with the Motorola Defy a few weeks back I decided to chat with Vodafone and see if I could get any other phones to have a play with and review. As with the other phone review this one is less about how good the phone is as an actual phone but more about the added extras in particular those aimed at sports men or women.

On first impressions I was surprised how heavy the phone felt given its size. It looked like it should be quite light! It also didn’t look like a typical smart phones and it certainly wasn’t to my taste. The aluminium effect seems a little dated now! That said I didn’t really care too much what was on the outside it was more about what was under the hood!

Firing it up I was presented the Symbian OS which was very alien to me. I wanted to download Sports-tracker one of the few apps available for runners on Nokia phones. However, this was not going to be a simple task as it is on iPhone and Android OS. Firstly where is the App store or Market place?! After digging a bit I found it in the ‘ovi store’ – jackpot! Find app, click install, let’s go for a run! Sadly not, didn’t install – try again, didn’t install this pattern went on repeatedly until I was close to sending it back untested.

Eventually I went on the sports tracker website and sent the phone a link to the app, the ovi app opened again and it appeared I was in the same place again. One more try I thought – and for some reason this time it installed and worked. On sunday it would join me on my long run. I downloaded the most recent MT podcast onto it – using the really poor Nokia web browser (why is it so poor still!?!), charged it up and come Sunday morning it was in my pocket joining me on 14 miles to the Olympic stadium.

At Stratford I took it out and took some snaps on the camera which was relatively seamless and all the while the running app sat in the background logging data.

When I got home I compared my watch with the phone and (in this case) credit where credit is due the two were in 1/100 of a mile difference. Not bad I thought. Ignoring the initial ‘teething’ issues the phone had done well and I was prepared to box it up and send it back.

Unfortunately for the Nokia and Sports Tracker I didn’t get round to sending it back so queued it up with some music and used it on my Tuesday Morning run into work. This time the results were poor and very very unreliable. The 8miles my gamin logged where dwarfed by the sports trackers 9.11m, however i knew which one was more reliable! When I logged onto the Nokia site it transpires I did some swimming in the Thames which I didn’t realise!

This got me thinking about the other phones I had used and the consistency of data. Fortunately with both the Nokia and Moto I had ran upto stratford due to luck more than good testing plans. I believe both were pretty accurate in these runs but less so on runs that were in a busier area. I always assumed it was due to high buildings and losing signal which causes the differences but looking at my little swim along the Thames I wonder whether it maybe something else. Purely speculating and based on no fact I wonder whether these apps work really well when plotting on a ‘road’ rather than a path or trail. The software can build in logic if each point sits on a road on it’s map as it can be a lot more precise in it’s calculations, possibly!

Whilst I deliberate and ponder in my head I suspect it still is to do with building coverage. In somewhere like central London where there are lots of tall buildings it would make sense for the app to lose signal from the satellites and the less points it can plot the less accurate the reading will be.

So at the end of all that highly scientific waffling would I go out and get this phone. Unfortunately not, I wasnt a fan of the OS, didn’t like it’s appearance too much and the sports-tracker app results left a lot to be desired!!

Once again thanks to Vodafone for supplying me with this phone to play with! Hopefully a blackberry next thus completing the range of major smartphone OS’es.

To compare the runs here is the Sports Tracker Link and the Garmin Connect Link for the same route.

Over the last few years my life has taken a dramatic turn. Running in particular has occupied large chunks of my life and from being relatively unfit and overweight I am now fitter than I ever remember. My journey has been quite short but steep, but this in comparison to some of the stories I have read and encountered pales into insignificance…

I commute on the tube each day which, when not blogging, gives me the opportunity to read and catchup on podcasts. I tend to read autobiography’s and having entered the sporting world was pushed towards Lance Armstrong’s – It’s Not About the Bike.  This book should feature on any athletes bookshelf and it would do his book and story dis-justice to highlight it in one short paragraph.  However, if you are ever feeling at a low point in your life this book will show how it is possible to overcome the seemingly impossible and that with self discipline anything is achievable. The other book which I would recommend to any runner is Paula Radcliffe’s – My Story So Far. I did not know what to expect from this book and will be the first to admit how little I knew about Paula and the rollercoaster of a journey she has traveled on. Her running career was far from simple and whilst I’m sure a lot of people out there think ‘well she is obviously just a good runner’ would be amazed at how much training and dedication went into becoming the World Record holder that she is. The title was certainly not handed to her on a plate and I have great admiration towards her and how much she put into her life and running.

As mentioned previously I also use the tube and my long runs to follow a podcast that only started at Christmas. Having followed Liz Yelling on Twitter for some while I acknowledged a tweet pushing the very first Marathon Talk podcast and since that point I have been hooked. It’s a great show to listen too and there audience base is continually growing. The program is presented by Martin Yelling and Tom Williams and it’s the later of the duo who has the most motivational story I have come across over the last few months…

Five years ago, whilst in Lanzarote, Tom witnessed an Ironman for the first time – he had never heard of them before but at that point he decided he wanted to ‘Race’ Ironmans. His overarching goal was to qualify for the ultimate Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. This race takes only the cream of the crop and you have to be in the top percentage of your age group in a select set of worldwide races to be able to compete. Tom set himself a target and decided that this would take up no longer than five years of his life and during that time he would give all he could…

His story is amazing and whilst I’m sure his background in sports science certainly helped, he shows with dedication anything is achievable. Even though he may not have quite reached his own goal I wonder how many people along the route to Lanza he has inspired and are now setting their own goals and pushing themselves further than they ever thought possible. How many people would have seen Tom and gone “well if he can do that then what can I do?”. I have posted before about comments I have received about my own relatively short experiences so can only begin to imagine what it must be like for Tom. I believe all the people out there who are prepared to share their experiences and help others along the way deserve a lot of credit, Tom you are on that list and you can add me to the list of people who have been further inspired by your story.

It’s all still very early in my running career – I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go but whilst there are a few people out there willing to share their wisdom to people far from the elite world like myself I will be happy and in the meantime I am happy to help those that want to listen.

Ironman in five years time when I’m in my early thirties? Ha! Tom – what you think to that…fancy helping me out!!?

N

The schedule had me down for a 9 miler today but again due to prior commitments I could only fit in a shorter hour long run of about 7miles-ish.

The run was really tough today, my legs felt really heavy and not in great form. The whole run dragged and as soon as I got out of the door I wanted to give up. Looking at the watch stats I hovered around an 8:45 pace which is surprisingly fast considering how I thought I was moving!

Hopefully in the next 24 hours my legs recover a bit and am looking forward to Saturdays Sports Massage with Chris to hopefully relieve some of the tension in my muscles!

HavensRunners got a mini plug on the marathontalk.com podcast this week, they are sending people that way for the London Marathon Route Map. If you haven’t listened to the podcast check it out I find it a good thing to use whilst on my longer slower runs and also if you haven’t seen the map check it out and send a link to your supporters to let them know when to expect you!

Till next time.

N

Once again I opted for the treadmill, I’m sure this is counter productive but find this is the only way to push myself. I’m glad I did it before work as had planned for 2 sessions today the sprints and then a niketown after work (the first of the season) but due to work constraints and the launching of a rather last minute tool I had to skip this evening.

I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable with my base rate at 12km/h which is reassuring as a few weeks ago I wasn’t really feeling it. I sprint intervaled  today 400me/200recovevy pushing top speed around the 17.4km/h. Twas tough – as usual, but the schedule required 9 intervals which I did. Did some stretches then headed to work (early – fool!).

As an aside on Sunday I listened to the latest marathon talk podcast and there was an interesting bit in there that talked about weight and running, can’t remember the precise numbers but something like for every pound you lose you can expect to lose 2seconds off your mile time. I found that interesting, whilst I wouldn’t classify myself as overweight I certainly have a bit of excess fat which if I cut out sweets and chips I’m sure I could lose, hence I’m watching what I eat for a little bit to see if it helps…also whilst talking about marathon talk, I got a mention in the last one Finally I’m famous! hehe

Till tomorrows long run

N

Not a particularly exciting post today as it was just listed in the schedule as a gentle 4miler as a precursor to the Long Short Run I will be doing tomorrow. These (normally) Saturday runs seem a little peculiar to me and didn’t feature at all last year in my own training – the schedule has these short sub 5M runs every week and I guess they must have them for a reason!

Anyway not much to report, treadmill run, 40 mins or so 6.4km pre work session followed by a quick steam then done. I’m not really sure what to do about tomorrows run, the ‘schedule’ has me down to do 9M over 86 mins however this seems to be regressing when it comes to distance so I’m going to adhere to the pace they recommend but extend it to about 14 miles or that of the W6 schedule (2hr 15mins). Not sure what route I will do but to be safe I intend a bit of a loop bringing me back to near the flat at around 10/11M just in case! Will blog tomorrow with an update, hopefully be out on the roads by 9ish.

As an aside I follow Liz Yelling on Twitter and notice she was involved in a podcast which I listened to this morning, apart from the odd sound issues which I’ll ignore as it’s a first show it has it wasn’t too bad. For all you commuters out there with iPhones and iPods subscribe and have a listen, it may motivate you into doing another run when excuses are being made I hope his flourishes into a nice weekly podcast, see www.marathontalk.com for more info.