4:12pm Tuesday 17th June 2008
By Kahn Johnson
Technology is a wonderful thing.
With so many gadgets and gizmos now on the market, the modern runner can want for nothing - from MP3 players to means of measuring distance, footsteps or distance covered.
That's when it works, of course.
A while ago, while driving home one evening, I measured a possible training route as being a smidge under three miles. Now, I see no reason for my car to lie about this so I'm happy to believe that if it thinks from the pub to my house (hey, we all need incentives) is 2.8 miles, then 2.8 miles it is.
Obviously, a Toyota is no official means by which to measure distance, but even allowing for the odd slip of a little cog, it's not going to be that far out.
And, I'll concede that as maths is not my strong point, there is a chance of a cock-up as I convert the 5.6-mile round trip to kilometres - but even taking in to account all the known variables, adding all the other variables I hadn't first thought of and forgetting to carry the 1, there is no way that two-thirds of the way round the circuit I had only done 1.8 kilometres.
And yet this is what my pedometer was telling me.
Now, I'll admit I didn't pay much for it. In fact I paid absolutely nothing for it, as I joined an on-line fitness thingie organised by a national newspaper at work, so I didn't even pay for the time spent on-line filling in all of the various boxes, but that's still no reason for it to be this bad.
Or maybe there is.
Maybe it's designed for people of a heavier build than I. People who, for want of a better phrase, are trying to run off a few pies rather than just raising money for charity.
If that is the case, then risks of a coronary aside this cheap little piece of plastic is the ideal running-mate. While going out for a 2k run, for example, you'd probably end up running about 20.
But that's no use to me.
I have an aim, and I have certain limitations brought on by a nervous system with a sadistic sense of humour. I only want to run 10k (albeit twice), not be halfway to Edinburgh before this stupid gizmo registers its first metre.
Maybe I should get one of those measuring-wheel thingies they used to use in maths at primary school. That way I could accurately keep a check on how far I'd stumbled while at the same time having something to lean on when I run out of steam.
And it wouldn't need batteries, so it would be kinder to the environment.
I think I'm on to something here...
[URL=http://www.justgiving.com/doublethefun]Less than £500 to go...[/URL]
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