Apps, jelly babies and doing a Ben Johnson! (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Apps, jelly babies and doing a Ben Johnson!

4:36pm Monday 15th March 2010

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LAST weekend’s long training run consisted of two 16 milers in 48 hours after I had to make up for the fact that I fell four miles short on Friday when I meant to run 20. Spending Mother’s Day repeating the same run but in the opposite direction seemed worthy punishment for such an oversight on my part.

I love the solitude of lone running but could not contemplate taking a single step without my trusty tiny Ipod (pink, of course) loaded with a selection of up-tempo tracks by my favourite artists. But now I bring my Iphone along for the ride too, purely to take advantage of my latest (free) App, iMapMyRun. This is just so fantastic! I switch on GPS mode when I set out and as I am running it tells me exactly how far I have gone and at what pace. And as if that is not handy enough at the end it tells me how many calories I have burned (each 16 miler expending an impressive 1,700. Wow!) and gives me the lowdown on everything I need to know about my run including the profile of the route so I can see just how many hills I climbed.

The other things I never go on a long run without, apart from my trusty water bottle, are my jelly babies. These little critters are just what I need to keep me going over the two or three hours I am on the road and a lot less trouble than juggling energy drinks. I have also got into the habit of downing a Lucozade energy shot (only 2 cals!) before each long run. Having forgotten to take it twice, I can honestly say I notice the difference in my running performance, though I suspect the fact that I am usually caffeine-free as a rule, means the little shot is probably my equivalent to doing a Ben Johnson!

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