I mentioned my triathlon blog venture a couple posts ago, and my efforts to create something a little bigger around it. As part of that I've commissioned a design contest over on 99designs.com to help me come up with a set of images for use on the site. The sets consist of three images, one for each sport in a triathlon (swim, bike, run). These images will be used as buttons, badges and icons on the site, and I'd also like to use them as a set for the main logo of the site. So far 60 entries have been submitted by 18 designers, which is just incredible. I've been really impressed by the images that have been submitted and by the overall time and efforts put in by the designers.
The contest is nearing an end and now I need help deciding on a winner. I've created a poll over on 99designs and want your input on the 8 'finalists' I've selected. Which ones do you like best and why? You can give 0-5 stars to each entry and provide comments as well. Remember, I'd like to use the trio of images as a logo and also each image independently as an icon.
Here's the link to vote in the contest. Thanks a lot for your help!
Showing posts with label Active. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Active. Show all posts
What I'm Reading: Bike edition Pt. 2
More bike service & app news! The first one is called Capital Bikeshare and is based around the Washington DC area. The service uses a technology called BIXI that allows riders to access the bikes via a special key card. It seems to be pretty low hassle and affordable. Definitely one to check out this weekend for everyone headed to DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity (like our friend Chuck over at Chicago Bike!)Another bike-sharing system making use of new technology is SoBi, the Social Bicyle System.
SoBi is the first public bike share system to rely entirely on wireless technology for tracking, locating and unlocking bikes. The system is compromised of three elements: the social cyclist, the central server and the social bicycle.Here's a video of SoBi in action.
Here’s how it will work: after creating a SoBi account — via web, mobile phone or street kiosk — a cyclist will have unlimited access to bicycles in the bike share system, which will be equipped with GPS, a secure lock and wireless communications. Once the cyclist locates an available bike, he can use a pin code to unlock it. The central server will approve and track the transaction.
And last up we have an iPhone app that lets you use your iPhone as a bike computer. This is pretty cool for casual techy bike riders, but as a more advanced bike rider I don't think this little app holds a candle to a standard power meter (although it is a lot cheaper, just a $100 kit).
Active blog work
Although it looks like I haven't been posting too much on this blog, I have in fact been blogging quite a bit lately on another blog venture of mine. This other blog revolves around my other passion, triathlon, and it's something I've been quietly working on over the past year or so. Just recently I've decided to step it up a bit and create something bigger around it. I don't expect it to blow up or be the next big thing, but I do hope it's a fun way for me to combine my favorite activities together. I'll post more details as they develop.
What I'm Reading: Bike edition
After reading about a new bike sharing program starting here in Chicago (B-Cycle) I started reading about other bike sharing networks around the world and how technology is being used to power these movements. There's a top 10 list of bike sharing systems to watch but unfortunately Chicago isn't on the list (yet). Ah well, we'll be on that list soon enough. If you're looking for more homegrown bike sharing options check out this high-tech meets lo-tech service called Social Bicycles that will soon be available in New York. I actually didn't realize New York had such friendly biking-in-the-city options until I read this biking in New York blog post over at Chicago Bike. I guess it's not all crazy taxis and bike messengers on the streets of NYC.
Btw, have you been following the adventures of Precious the Bike as it travels across America? It's a fun little social experiment about a tweeting bike as it rides from coast to coast to raise money for the Livestrong foundation to fight the "biggest douchebag of all", cancer. It looks like Precious is in Colorado right now. You can follow all the tweets at @yesiamprecious.
Btw, have you been following the adventures of Precious the Bike as it travels across America? It's a fun little social experiment about a tweeting bike as it rides from coast to coast to raise money for the Livestrong foundation to fight the "biggest douchebag of all", cancer. It looks like Precious is in Colorado right now. You can follow all the tweets at @yesiamprecious.
Quick updates 7/5
Alright, since I haven't posted in a while, here are some quick updates:
Evernote count: I've cleared the 1,000 note mark on Evernote! That's a lot of notes if you ask me... which means I may have to do a little bit of spring cleaning soon. I have 77 different tags in use right now, so I may have to consolidate that into a more manageable list.
Twitter organizer: Progress on my Twitter organizer has stalled a bit. I thought I was close to creating a nice view of useful tweets from my feed but I can't seem to filter out the "junk" tweets. If only I could have someone curate my Twitter feed for me ... Oooh, new idea, post a job listing on Amazon's Mechanical Turk and pay someone pennies a day to filter my Twitter feed for me.
Tri Toys Wish List: I finally picked up the Garmin Forerunner 310XT! I've been running with it for the past few weeks and I've slowly begun accumulating workout data on it. The 310XT should be the perfect companion to my PowerTap in collecting raw data from my training sessions. I must confess though, I don't think I'm getting the best usage out of this data since I don't analyze it as much as I should to learn stuff from it. Like I've said before, I love collecting data but I don't like analyzing it. I'll scan it for obvious trends and patterns, but I won't necessarily run comparisons between various sessions looking for key drop off points or other problem areas. I should probably start doing that though to get the most 'bang for my buck', both in terms of money spent on these fun toys and in time spent while training.
Evernote count: I've cleared the 1,000 note mark on Evernote! That's a lot of notes if you ask me... which means I may have to do a little bit of spring cleaning soon. I have 77 different tags in use right now, so I may have to consolidate that into a more manageable list.
Twitter organizer: Progress on my Twitter organizer has stalled a bit. I thought I was close to creating a nice view of useful tweets from my feed but I can't seem to filter out the "junk" tweets. If only I could have someone curate my Twitter feed for me ... Oooh, new idea, post a job listing on Amazon's Mechanical Turk and pay someone pennies a day to filter my Twitter feed for me.
Tri Toys Wish List: I finally picked up the Garmin Forerunner 310XT! I've been running with it for the past few weeks and I've slowly begun accumulating workout data on it. The 310XT should be the perfect companion to my PowerTap in collecting raw data from my training sessions. I must confess though, I don't think I'm getting the best usage out of this data since I don't analyze it as much as I should to learn stuff from it. Like I've said before, I love collecting data but I don't like analyzing it. I'll scan it for obvious trends and patterns, but I won't necessarily run comparisons between various sessions looking for key drop off points or other problem areas. I should probably start doing that though to get the most 'bang for my buck', both in terms of money spent on these fun toys and in time spent while training.
Tri Toys Wish List
Being the big tech geek that I am, I like to have technology in every aspect of my life, including my active life. I'm a big fan of fitness gadgets and own several high tech devices that help me train better and race faster. As with any other type of electronic gadgets, every year there are new models introduced into the market that are more advanced and sophisticated than the previous models. In the spirit of Christmas I thought I would put together a wish list of some cool new tri toys that I'm hoping someone will put under my Christmas tree this year.
Swim
I like to listen to my iPod while I train on the bike or on the run; music motivates me and helps me push my workout just a little bit harder. Unfortunately I can't take my iPod into the pool with me. But, with Finis's SwiMP3 player my boring pool workout days are done! The SwiMP3 is an MP3 player that works underwater! This fall Finis just released the SwiMP3.1G, their latest player with an increased memory capacity of 1GB. I can load it up with my favorite tunes and swim for hours! (Note: I can't actually swim for hours.)
Bike
Right now for my bike I have a Saris PowerTap SL. This little device sits on the rear wheel hub of my bike and measures the power output as I pedal. It lets me know exactly how much energy I'm exerting as I ride. This information is relayed up to a display unit on my handle bars so I can see it as I'm riding. During training I establish a baseline number that I then use to measure how hard I want to push myself during a race. It really lets me dial in my effort accurately and lets me know exactly where I'm at performance wise. Well, just this year they announced new advancements in power meter technology with the introduction of the Metrigear Vector Power Meter. This new meter not only measures your power, but it also measures the force vectors in every direction of your pedal stroke. This allows you to analyze your pedaling technique and find weak angles where you can improve your stroke. I personally have a weak upward pull in my stroke that I need to work on so this device would be perfect for me! Plus it's lighter and smaller than a PowerTap so it won't weight my bike down as much during a ride.
Run
For the run I definitely want Garmin's Forerunner 310XT. This GPS enabled watch collects distance, pace, heart rate and more. It's waterproof and can be worn throughout your entire race (unlike previous Forerunner models that could not be taken into the water). It's a bit on the big side for a sports watch, but it collects so much data that I think it will be worth it. Right now I have a Garmin Forerunner 50 but it doesn't have GPS and uses an accelerometer to determine distance. It's fairly accurate and is a good watch for casual runners but I have definitely outgrown it. It's GPS or nothing for me now!
I'll probably end up buying something like the SwiMP3 player this winter to get me through the boring pool workouts, and this spring I'll probably buy the Forerunner 310XT when it warms up enough to run outside consistently. The Metrigear power meter will probably have to wait a while... it's pretty expensive and I don't think I can justify the expense just yet. PowerTaps are pretty expensive too but I bought mine used from a friend so it wasn't that bad. I would probably buy a new bike first before I bought a new power meter, but that's a whole 'nother post!
Swim
I like to listen to my iPod while I train on the bike or on the run; music motivates me and helps me push my workout just a little bit harder. Unfortunately I can't take my iPod into the pool with me. But, with Finis's SwiMP3 player my boring pool workout days are done! The SwiMP3 is an MP3 player that works underwater! This fall Finis just released the SwiMP3.1G, their latest player with an increased memory capacity of 1GB. I can load it up with my favorite tunes and swim for hours! (Note: I can't actually swim for hours.)
Bike
Right now for my bike I have a Saris PowerTap SL. This little device sits on the rear wheel hub of my bike and measures the power output as I pedal. It lets me know exactly how much energy I'm exerting as I ride. This information is relayed up to a display unit on my handle bars so I can see it as I'm riding. During training I establish a baseline number that I then use to measure how hard I want to push myself during a race. It really lets me dial in my effort accurately and lets me know exactly where I'm at performance wise. Well, just this year they announced new advancements in power meter technology with the introduction of the Metrigear Vector Power Meter. This new meter not only measures your power, but it also measures the force vectors in every direction of your pedal stroke. This allows you to analyze your pedaling technique and find weak angles where you can improve your stroke. I personally have a weak upward pull in my stroke that I need to work on so this device would be perfect for me! Plus it's lighter and smaller than a PowerTap so it won't weight my bike down as much during a ride.
Run
For the run I definitely want Garmin's Forerunner 310XT. This GPS enabled watch collects distance, pace, heart rate and more. It's waterproof and can be worn throughout your entire race (unlike previous Forerunner models that could not be taken into the water). It's a bit on the big side for a sports watch, but it collects so much data that I think it will be worth it. Right now I have a Garmin Forerunner 50 but it doesn't have GPS and uses an accelerometer to determine distance. It's fairly accurate and is a good watch for casual runners but I have definitely outgrown it. It's GPS or nothing for me now!
I'll probably end up buying something like the SwiMP3 player this winter to get me through the boring pool workouts, and this spring I'll probably buy the Forerunner 310XT when it warms up enough to run outside consistently. The Metrigear power meter will probably have to wait a while... it's pretty expensive and I don't think I can justify the expense just yet. PowerTaps are pretty expensive too but I bought mine used from a friend so it wasn't that bad. I would probably buy a new bike first before I bought a new power meter, but that's a whole 'nother post!
Vision Quest
I've been taking advantage of my 3-week holiday break from school to hit up my tri training hard. I've actually been to my gym so many times this past week that I easily picked up my 'Gym Rat' badge on Foursquare! You get a Gym Rat badge for checking in 10 times to venues tagged 'gym' in 30 days, and for me that venue is Vision Quest.Vision Quest (VQ) is a training center in Chicago that's geared towards cyclists and triathletes. They offer coached workouts throughout the week in cycling, swimming, strength training and yoga. I really like VQ, it's full of great coaches and friendly members and I really enjoy doing my training with them. Over the past year I've taken several classes at their facilities, and just this past month I took the plunge and became a full time VQ member.
With my schedule suddenly becoming a lot busier because of school, I decided that I had to replace my training quantity for quality. I used to have a lot of free time to train, but my actual workouts were pretty loose and unstructured. Now that I don't have as much time, I need to get in good quality workouts whenever I can. At VQ every workout is really well structured and fits into a larger training plan to help me meet my goals.
What are my training goals? Well, right now my goals are to go faster in all three disciplines. I'm a fast runner, an average biker, and a slow swimmer. This winter I'm focusing on bringing up my bike strength, and in the spring I think I will focus on my swimming technique. Overall, I would say that I'm not a very fast triathlete. I generally finish in the middle of the pack (MOP) during most races. The big goal for me is to move up to the front of the pack (FOP). If I can be an FOP triathlete next summer I would be extremely happy.
A couple quick digital tidbits:
- I just saw this week that VQ received a packet in the mail from Google to be included in the Google Favorite Places program in Chicago. How cool is that!
- I'm checking into Foursquare every time I go to VQ to help me keep track of my visits. This way I can easily see how many times I've been to VQ over the past couple of weeks and hold myself accountable to my training.
- Here's my 'Gym Rat' badge!
