Nike+ better

Ok. I spent a lot of money on Nike kit recently. Partly for research, partly for brown-nosing, partly because I like it. The best piece of kit I find is the Nike+ sportsband. I love the way technology makes my running gear better. I love that it lets me plot my runs, map them, keep track of them, share them with my friends back in Milan and see who is fattest and slowest. So you thought there was no room to innovate in running shoes? wrong!

But there are some limitations I think.

About a month ago I put down a little training program in order to run from zero to 5k comfortably in one month. The screenshots below show my progress:





The following thoughts spring to mind:

1. I am painfully rubbish. Although I am running quite regularly (green bars) I am behind on my program (blue bars). That's my problem I guess.
   
2. But hey: I am actually doing quite a lot of cycling. Last week I rode 225k and didn't run. (yeah ... I am on a 4 months holiday)
   
3. Hey. I am also swimming regularly. Yesterday 2k. Normally about 6-8k/week.
4. I am sure there are a lot of people who run, cycle and swim. Not just triatletes, but also normal people who try to get/keep fit like me.
   

So I am thinking that it would be great to have a sort of Triathlon Nike+ that

1. Does exactly what Nike+ does for running
2. Integrates with my bike computer, to let me plot my cycling workout and share it with others online
3. Works for swimming, for example by helping me keep count of how many lanes I swim (I tend to forget), my speed, etc ... and lets me sink all the above online.
   

... would be great

c2c ride. wow

Came back last night from the coast to coast (C2c) ride in northern England. I am taking advantage of this holiday before I start work in September to cycle around a bit. Nice weather, great ride, very stiff legs. Here a map of the ride (use this website to plan the ride: it's very good).

Day one: Workington to Keswick



The ride starts in Workington, a fairly ugly town on the irish sea. You cycle from there to the lake district on b roads and cycle paths. The road is pretty much up and down, so quite tiring, but to be honest I should have cycled a few miles more on day one and do the whole thing in three days instead of four.



Lovely scenery. I stopped for the night at the Twa Dogs Inn in Keswick for the night. Not exceptional

Day two: Keswick to Alston

This was the first day of climbs, and the longest stage on my ride. This is a picture taken from the top of the Hartside, a big climb on day two, and my struggling face. I stayed in a very nice B&B for the night.





Day three: Alston to Bee Cottage

This is when you think the climbs are over and you are wrong. There are at least two more big climbs as you leave Alston heading east, and to make things worse your legs are still in pain from the day before. The scenery is rough, mountainous and with few scattered mining villages. Stayed at bee cottage for the night. Glad to get there.



Day four: Bee Cottage to Sunderland

pretty much 50k downhill to sunderland, on dirt (although very manageable with a road bike). Nice to eventually get to the north sea in Sunderland.