Technical Difficulties: Please Stand By!
Well, it’s been a very frustrating, maddening week of unexpected technical difficulties with fitness and running technology. You don’t realize how dependent on technology you are until that tech fails. Then run-tech is no longer high fun-tech. It’s fright-tech!
First, MyFitnessPal app (at least the mobile version on my iphone) crashed and “went rogue” on a day I had to travel a lot for work (to North Platte and back, 7 hrs driving round-trip). Big nightmare! It would create double entries (saying I ate certain food twice when I did not!), lost data (you log it, you lose it!), etc. Food I ate Tuesday would show up as eaten Wednesday!!! I’ve heard of “pre-logging” your food but that’s just not the kind of pre-logging I had in mind. Funny that nothing like this happened until I’m 388 days into a logging streak on mfp. After a couple days of hiccups, I think this one has stabilized. The update actually began to behave like an update instead of a rogue. Deep breath. No more tech problems right? Wrong!
Secondly, Garmin technology bug has afflicted the HRM. With the 620, it “reboots” suddenly in the middle of runs if you are wearing the Garmin HRM that came with it. Somehow an update to version 2.9 of the Forerunner 620 software is causing a rebooting problem. I realized reading the Garmin forum that this defect/bug is widespread as Garmin 620 users are all complaining about it. So Garmin recommends going without the HRM until they fix the bug. Otherwise, your GPS watch gets “rebooted” in the middle of a run. Very frustrating! Lost two runs this week on the Garmin due to this. It also rebooted in the middle of an 18 miler (so I had to save that as two runs intead of one.) Fortunately, I was running Runkeeper as a backup on the two other runs that Garmin lost. Both the watch and HRM are made my Garmin, why can’t they communicate, especially since they could before???
Ironically, now the Garmin HRM that is chafing and cutting my chest (too tight? too much summer sweating?), I can’t wear because of a technological bug problem. At least my chest will heal while I run strapless. Yes, I know this means something different to men than women.
So today I ran without the HRM–strapless if you will–and the Garmin watch worked! HOORAY! And I still got the distance, pace/splits, cadence, route map, humidity (94%), temperature, etc. Just no HRM data (heart rate and VO2 max).
Telling my daughter and wife of the Garmin problems, my daughter curiously and brilliantly asked: “Dad, why don’t you just run without your watch?!?” Nooooooooooo! That would be my version of running “naked” sans technology (no tech on my wrists or chest). Not sure I could do it. At least not until after reaching 2,014 running miles this year. Then again, if the vivofit and Runkeeper still counted the mileage, it is theoretically possible to do “minimalist tech”. It’s just not practical or realistic yet. Every mile counts.
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