So as my loyal reader, and follower on Twitter, know by now I am starting to run again. I want to be able to keep a training log that is easy to look back on and browse and has various pieces of information quickly accessible. I have a Nike Triax Elite HRM/SDM and a Nike+ for my iPod Nano. However for both of these getting data in the format I want is not easy. That is not to say that they don’t have cool features, but one thing doesn’t have it all.
I can use the Nike Triax Elite system to get heart rate, distance, time, and pace. It also includes a software tool with some basic tools for graphing and viewing, and a feature to export the data as a pretty understandable file. The printing is not always well formatted and there is no Mac OS X version of the software available. I can use the Nike+ & the iPod to get distance, time, and pace. However to get most of the good information one has to use iTunes and the Nike+ website. One can hack the iPod to get the data using information from Runometer. So I did that, and it is an XML file that would need to be parted and sorted. Not as easy as I would like either.
Still not quite what I am looking for, perhaps there is one out there that I haven’t found yet, but basically what I am looking for is a way to look at my runs and my health as a trend. So that I can look at my mileage as a table and also look at my heart rate. I also want to be able to see how I do the run, how much is warm up, how much is the run, do I change speeds as I waddle, how is speed to heart rate, and what is the warm down. Also I want to be able to look at other exercize that I might be doing seperate from running – cross training.
I am thinking that at some point in the near future I am simply going to create my own database that will give me what I want. Perhaps time to start working on a schema as a mind map.
I will say that it is pretty cool that when I synched my iPod to Nike+ and it automatically tweeted it for me; “ran 2.07 mi on 7/28/2009 at 7:10 PM with a pace of 16’48″/mi http://bit.ly/Ftep4” It is also a nicer graph than what the Triax software produces, but the Triax has more data.
You’ve inspired me to start using my Nike+ again, Bradford. Ask me next week how I’m doing at it or if I’ve even gone by then.
There is Nike Triax software for the mac, and it works fairly well. It’s the same in most respects as the Windows version.
http://www.nike.com/timing/extranet/elite_software/
EliteOSX.sea.bin
You must extract it with Stuffit Expander
Thanks quellish. I will go and check that out.
So I tried the Triax software, and I can’t get it to work under Mac OS X.5 (Leopard). I even contacted Nike, they were helpful but said it would probably not work and that they don’t support it anymore. Also I would not be able to transfer the data over.