Strava

In October 2016, I joined Strava. I vaguely remember that friends of mine were on it, and suggested I join. And I did. (It could also have had something to do with my good results; I broke my 10k record, and came first woman in the Parkrun for the first time ever.) But as with all modern technology, I suppose my heart wasn't in it. I logged four runs that autumn. And ten runs in 2017. And then nothing.

Then I had been bombarded by Strava records of Martin's mountain bike shenanigans for months and months. And at some point I just wanted to be able to open them and have a closer look. Where was my Strava password? I dug it out. Then I could look at the details of his rather stunning ride. He rides where I hike, but because he goes faster, he can cover a lot more ground. If I would bring my bike, though, I would in all likelihood not go faster. But one can dream!

When I had my Strava password ready anyway, I logged my next run on Strava myself. I had to wear an armband for my phone, because it was warm weather and I wasn't wearing anything that could contain a phone. And it was even so warm I didn't fancy wearing a belt. It is a bit of a faff, but I did it.

A bit more than two weeks later I could be bothered again. And then just over a week later again. And then I was on a roll. And since then I have had an unbroken record. Well, almost unbroken. When I had to go to Menai Bridge to assist on the ship I did log my commute in, but then I forgot to log the way back. In my files, it now looks like I teleported back. But I suppose it is a bit addictive to have all your runs there. And the weather hadn't been to hot to wear a belt.

So what do you get with Strava? A log of your activities, your friends being able to see what you have done, you being able to see what they have done, and some competitions with yourself and others. If you have done a particular stretch faster than before it will tell you. And if you have done a particular stretch faster than anybody else it will most certainly also tell you. And it can compare your weeks, and your months I suppose, and whatnot. In other words; your runs become data, data is something you can play with.

I don't know if I will keep this going but I must say I think I will. Nobody likes a truncated data set! So I may have taken yet another step into this century…

An example of a logged run