Okay, relax.
Anyway, on my latest viddie I briefly mentioned the Google Maps pedometer as a very cool resource, and I thought I'd chat a little more about that today.
I first discovered this application through my mom, who found out from a fitness and nutrition counsellor she was working with at the time. This was the first and so far only time my mother has ever told me about something on the Internet. Mostly she just plays Bejeweled, and hey, who can blame her.
I don't think Google has actually leveraged this technology and branded it; there are a bunch of different apps out there that, I think, are just hacks of the Google Maps technology with some kind of fancypants javascript or, I don't know... AJAX or whatever people use to program cool stuff with these days. So, as far as I can tell, there's not one definitive pedometer map. I like this one because it has a feature that draws the route automatically for runners or cyclists (including curves in streets), which is neat, plus you can get Google to look up the elevations on your route too. You can also program it to count your calories, however reliable such things are.
So basically you just enter your address into the application, the way you would with Google Maps (or you can just zoom in to find it - it starts at a wide view of the US). You click the "Start recording" button on the left navigation panel, then double click the starting point on your map. Trace out your route by double clicking spots along the map. There's a counter on the left navigation panel that tracks your distance as you enter the route, which you can set at either kilometres or miles.
Here's my route for the 10k run on Sunday:
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I love Google Pedometer. I use it to map out my runs, too. Very cool tool.
ReplyDeleteYour 10K route loos pretty straightforward -- not a lot of twists and turns. I imagine that makes it easier to visualize. Not to get all hippy-dippy or metaphysical, but I find that visualizing the course and imaging myself running it really helps.
Anyway, good luck! I'll be thinking of you on Sunday!
-Jazzy-
I love the hippy-dippy! Yeah, I've been picturing the route for quite awhile now. The race organizers send out an e-newsletter once a week, and one of the features is to describe the course in 2k chunks. So each newsletter describes a little more of the route. I think that's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your support and positive energy! Can't wait to be finished, and to put together a viddie for you all to share in the accomplishment.
Jesus it took forever to find this place. (Yes, I am that stupid.)
ReplyDeleteSo now I have the tab resting on my paunch, flipping through your back pages, getting all sweaty about looking trim and shit for when the queen arrives.
Curse you, I could say. Curse you twice for the way your motivation shows me up as a kumquat.
And the Fuzz made me swear she is cuter than Lola. Just saying.
sludj, you tracked me down! Dang yer smart!
ReplyDeleteBring on the curses! My paunch is still big enough for them to rest on comfortably. Let's do it together!
As for the Fuzz, well, hell, I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do. We live to serve.
Linnyqat, I just signed on to say I will be thinking of you tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am also most entertained, that is, giggling about this exchange between sludj and thyself. You see, the ghosts of Beige and Timber have whispered in my ear, and they command to tell you that either of them are cuter than any ten cats. I'm not saying that's true or anything. I'm just sayin'.
Have a fabulous run tomorrow! You will be greater than great.
love
Diane
D -- All cats are cuter, for thus is the karma of cats.
ReplyDeleteL -- We indeed live to serve. Heads up and happy motoring tomorrow.
I'll be out there yelling for ya! Look for me just after the 6K mark around Dundas if you're lucid. I just got my hair dyed so I should be easy to find. I'll be the one screaming her head off. After that it'll be only a few "k's" left to the finish!
ReplyDeleteD, thanks again. I never got to meet Timber, but that Beigeqat was a very special guy. Paws!
ReplyDeletesludj, I was motoring yesterday like Sister Christian!
Rusty, you have absolutely no idea how much it meant to me to see you screaming your flaming red head off!!!
The Fuzz finally ponied up, late as usual.
ReplyDeleteThe Fuzz is seriously campaigning for Best Qat. But as Alanis Morissette so wisely said during her Grammy acceptance speech, "There's no such thing as best."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure when The Fuzz reads this, she'll respond with "paw in the fuckin' face" as we call it. Which, fair enough.
(Thank you very, very much, The Fuzz.)
I LOVE this app. It's how I make myself feel accomplished about walking to the store and other such errands.
ReplyDeleteTaar, to be sure, it's great for that. Walking to do errands is still exercise! And it adds up. I also have a pedometer but I never adjusted it for my stride (could not be bothered; seemed to fussy) so I don't rely on it for accuracy, but it's another way to feel like you've accomplished something in your day. Plus, it gives you a guage, something to shoot for in terms of number of steps. Plus-plus, it looks really impressive to say you walked 10,000 steps in a day, as opposed to 4 or 5 kilometres or whatever.
ReplyDeleteIf you like mapping your runs, take a look at Treksee: http://www.treksee.com
ReplyDeleteIt's really easy, aesthetically pleasing, and it lets you save your routes too.
Hey Anonymous, thanks for the tip! It looks like Treksee is also running of the Google Map application, but as you said, the navigation is aesthetically pleasing.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that it doesn't have compared to the one I linked to in the post (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/) that draws the route for cyclists or runners, i.e. it traces out the curves you would be encountering rather than drawing a straight line across a road that bends and curves. You don't have to try to click little short distances to accomplish the bend in the road, it does it for you automatically. Very cool.
But anyway, all of these apps are way cool. Thanks for stopping by and contributing.