The Neglected Blog

dsumner — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:45:52 GMT

Well I have to admit to some failure in my ability to update and maintain this blog. The biggest sin in blogging appears to be failing to blog regularly. Really , I have tried! But I don't have a job with any real regular pattern to it, and I can easily find myself in different part of the country every day of the week.

I am also conscious about what I write. It just seems too easy to cut and paste a few links and say 'what do you think about that?' I don't think that adds value at all and devalues the purpose. surely one should be adding some thought or commentary.

I am also being more fastidious as I have been reading

What I talk about when I talk about running- Haruki Murakami

Murakami is one of my favourite authors.His style is very hard to explain. It always a first person narrative, and its deceptively simple. Its like sliding on very polished marble. Its beautifully smooth, it feels effortless but you know an awful lot of effort went into producing it.

His latest book, is even more humbling for me, as he writes about his running. He s very modest about his running, but the man can run! a marathon every year! 62 miles in day ! triathlons! It really is a demonstration of will. As he did with writing where he simply just started writing one day, the same is with running, he simply started running one day.

What impresses me the most is how he finds time to do this, plus all is other works. How he is so self disciplined and meticulous in what he does. Apart from the obvious benefits of exercise it also does help focus the mind , particularly as you grow older. The challenge of simply having the same drive you has when you were younger needs a degree of discipline and focus and somehow that can be be archived through physical effort.

Somehow i need to create a pattern in my own life that allows this physical effort and drive the production of better more steady work.

So how does this make me a better blogger? I am not really sure, I will have to work on it, you will be my judge.

Weekend: Running with Lance Armstrong

dsumner — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:27:30 GMT

Ok I admit it,I am not the world’s fittest person, actually I am nowhere near, a million miles away, etc. from being a fit person in the most basic sense. It’s even more humbling when there are people in the same group as me who run the Flora London Marathon, compete in Triathlons, or even run the Marathon de Sables.

But I am working on improving and Lance Armstrong is my running coach. Well kind of, through the use of Apple Ipods, Nike+ & Puma. I have been able to develop a programme which is helping me run almost everyday, and hopefully in 77 days time have me run my first 10km .

I started (again!) a few weeks ago on the treadmill.

My ipod is linked to a sensor in my Nike+ shoe, and to a wrist band which allows me to control the ipod easily as I run. The sensor basically allows the ipod to calculate time, speed, and if I tell it my weight ( something's simply aren’t blogged) then my calories burned. All this is good, but what really works for me is:

a) As I run Lance is in my ears telling me to “ go strong for 4 more minutes” as I do my interval runs and that “pain is temporary and quitting lasts forever” So I keep going on my other wrist I have my heart rate monitor assuring me that though it may feel that my heart is going to burst out of my chest, but physiologically the heat rate monitor is assuring me that this appears to be an impossibility

b) Once I finally return home I sync my ipod which uploads my performance against a training schedule held online, and I day by day I get better.

I think its a great example of what technology can do, bring the personality, learning and skills from a professional sports person to a complete novice and enable an activity I could not do possibly do my own. Clearly, from a commercial perspective the offering is unique in the market place and driven Nike’s brand back into being a committed sports brand while driving growth into its core product propositions.

Lets see if I can do that 10k – on August 31st along with a few million other people.

The Art of the Possible : running

The Neglected Blog

Weekend: Running with Lance Armstrong