Author: Matt

Tracking laps with Apple Watch

Matt

I was really confused on how to, or even if the Apple Watch could track laps using the standard Apple Watch Outdoor Run workout.  It sure seemed like I should be able to tell the watch that I had finished a lap and have it mark that.  It’s a pretty standard feature for most all GPS and Running watches…

However, I didn’t know how to do it, even after some poking around at the watch while on a run.

I’ve found repeatedly over the years in using Apple products, that when I think of some task or option that the device or software ‘should’ do – it probably does.  I just have to find that most Apple of ways – usually with a good search on the web.

For lap tracking, I found my answer today.  From the Apple Support page:

Mark segments in your workout

To mark a segment in your workout, double-tap the screen, then wait for the segment summary to appear. For example, in an Outdoor Run workout on a track, you could mark each lap or distance. In a 30-minute Indoor Cycle workout, you could split the session into three 10-minute segments.

To see all your segments after a workout:

  1. On your iPhone, open the Activity app.
  2. Tap the Workouts tab.
  3. Tap the workout, then scroll down.

Because your screen locks during swimming workouts, you can’t mark segments.

 

As usual, pretty simple.  I’ll give this a try in my run later today.

Book Review: The Culture Code

Matt

I’ve been on a bit of a run lately with finding really interesting books.  I love writing reviews, and will try to get all of the good books reviewed here.

Screen Shot 2018-05-09 at 2.33.33 PMThe first one is Daniel Coyle‘s The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. I just finished it up, so here goes:

Coyle digs into many different successful organizations and attempts to distill some of their successful strategies.  His central theme is that these companies and organizations have a successful culture due to a concerted effort and plan – that they are not successful on accident.  And that the successful culture is directly responsible for the success that the companies and organizations have.

The groups he studies range from the Navy SEAL Team Six to the most successful New York City restauranteur, Danny Meyer.  He studied a successful jewelry theft ring, and the crew of United flight 232 that crashed in 1989.

Over and over again he identifies how these diverse groups have found and use key skills and procedures to build culture which translates into their success.

The key question of the book is – Why do certain groups add up to be greater than the sum of their parts, while other similar groups add up to less?

His answer is that these groups succeed more because they work together in a smarter way.  They have cultures created by a specific set of skills: Build Safety, Share Vulnerability, and, Establish Purpose.  He determines that Culture is not something you are, it is something you do.

Coyle breaks down his studies to demonstrate each of the three skills with solid, interesting examples from all over.  He builds a very compelling case for each of his three vital skills.

Overall a very interesting read, some great examples of how to make a team function more effectively.  I’d love to see someone leading a team view their internal dynamics through the lens of the three Culture building skills…

Apple Services suck?

Matt

The current trendy opinion on Apple in the Twitter-verse and Inter-webs is that Apple services suck.

Ben Thompson is the most recent, in his article released today, titled “Divine Discontent: Disruption’s Antidote”.   It is a very good article on disruption, through the lens of Apple VS Amazon.  Apple Services are not the point of his article, per se, however, towards the beginning he tosses this quote in:

Apple is a product company that struggles at services; Amazon is a services company that struggles at product.

As much as I liked the whole article, this one quote bothered me to read, and continues to stick with me.

My experiences with Apple services are all pretty good.  I use Apple Music, iCloud Drive with desktop sync, iMessage, iPhone back ups, Health, Photos and Maps.  To say nothing about my contacts, calendars, and email all being available on all my devices, instantly.   Hell, I’m even using GameCenter all of a sudden for Churchill Solitaire!

They all work for me.

I’m not sure what Apple could do to make them work ‘more’ for me.  Things sync, they are available, they work.   (I guess my calendar items sometimes don’t sync quickly enough for my ADHD self.  But that is only once in a while.)

So, serious questions here – what has to happen for this popular narrative to change? Is there a way to change it?

Valencia 50k Trail Race – Recap

Matt

Much delayed recap of the Valencia Trail Race.  Ran this one with my brother Bob, and we stayed together for the race.  It was a cloudless, sunny day and the temps were mid-upper 70’s.

First, the numbers:  we finished in 9:24:29 – way over my 8 hours over/under guess.  I was finisher #132 out of 158 runners, and 36 out of 40 in my age group.

Just to compare, the Winner was in 4:05, and he set the men’s record.  The winning woman was at 4:41.

In writing those down, I almost felt disappointed – and then I remembered the fun we had, the things I learned, and the fact that I did a 50k!   I hadn’t even run any farther than 18 miles before the race!

The race was organized well, the volunteers were enthusiastic, supportive, and some were even dressed up in costumes – it was Easter, after all.  There were tons of water/snack stations.  Because of the routing of the course, I think the longest distance between stations was under 5 miles.  We didn’t need most of the food we carried with us – but we were really glad we had our own hydration packs!  The heat got to everyone a bit – and it seemed *really* hot to me!

The plan going in was to run any flats and the downhills, and power walk/hike the uphills.  we wanted to test the distance, our food and hydration strategies, and just flat out see if we could complete the distance.

I felt pretty strong running when we ran – and walking was great when we did that.  The plan seemed to be working for the first half or so.  I was a little caught off guard with the amount of inclines – there just didn’t seem to be many flat parts of the course.

Food intake testing was good – never felt like we needed anything we didn’t have.  Water and hydration was good – but as the day went on and the heat went up, we found that we did go through our 2L packs.  I think a 3L pack might be in the future for me.  I seem to sweat a lot!

My quads got pretty sore from more running down hill than I’ve ever done before.  After about mile 27 or so, the bottoms of my feet were starting to hurt almost as much as my quads. Unfortunately, it seemed like the last 4-5 miles were all straight downhill.

I do know that as we got closer to the finish line, we could hear some people coming up behind us and Bob and I sprinted to the line – we did not want to get passed that late in the race. Ego can be such a bitch….

I think that proved to us that we did have more in the tank and could have pushed a bit harder out there. Good to know for the future.

Overall – a blast of a race, a day and the whole weekend for me!