Real barefoot Technology update..

My trusty 15 year old swatch watch, my running jewels and my running gear – birthday shoes! I do also use my cracked and old iphone 4 (not the ‘s’) for my run tracker.

So the sites show a lot of activity out there this weekend specifically for the half and full marathons that were on, wrapping up before it gets too hot here.  Been a lot of posts of every ones bling, their track shoes aka running shoes aka takkies.  Most people appear to be posting their times by taking a photo of their garmin watches.

Mmm this made me feel very behind the times!  You see I have never used a heart rate monitor or had a beep test or any of those kind of things.  I have never used a sports watch, and not even a stop watch.  And in reality the only kind of running shoes I used before, which I had thought were the “it” type of shoes, appear to have been ‘fashion shoes’…may explain my total hatred of trying to run in them.

So here is my Running gear:

• Birthday shoes – aka Real barefoot,
• I check what time I start and finish on my silver and gold swatch watch that I got in 2001 and still goes even with all the swimming in the sea and obstacle races it goes through,
• for my milestone races I treat myself to a little charm to wear, as my medals just go into a box somewhere.
• I use my iPhone 4 app tracker – MapmyRun for recording my runs and splits
• I do use my New Balance Vibrams for trail running and the occasional road race dependent on surface.

Now,  obviously I am feeling a bit behind the times here, so have decided to upgrade.  After all I have been running for a year now, I have done 3 half marathons, one full marathon, two mega obstacles races (Spartan Super and Tough Mudder) and numerous 5 & 10km races, plus a full 6 part trail series.  In my first year of running…no coaching or training plans or realistic planning – just my barefeet and impulse (oh?  is that a race?  When is that? Next week?  Oh ok, I think I will do it.).

Plus I have my first properly planned and booked race in December, being the 6 Inch Ultra.  So I have downloaded myself a training plan.  Network will not be available, part of this race is in the the dark in a place I have never been too, I cannot tell left from right, north from south, if I am looking down at my feet when running, when I look up the view ahead is just a blurrr…so for the sake of the organisers and safety I have ordered my first real racing gear.  A Garmin 620.  I have also ordered myself an iPhone 6 to keep up with everything and  eagerly await and will report in due course!  They are due to arrive within the week (whoohoo) and hopefully I can have time to learn how to use them effectively.