I've been trying out some of the new features of my new watch. I figured that the auto lap detect feature was a great match for some speed work on the track. It's great. If you set it up properly, it will detect when you cross your own path and mark a "lap." Great feature.
I jogged up to the local track this afternoon to give it a try. I did the first two laps as a warm up then proceeded to alternate fast laps with slow laps. The 405 beeps every time a lap is detected, so I used that as my signal to pick up the pace or slow down.
Post run, the data the unit provides is pretty good (better than the Polar S120 I've been using anyway). Here's some of the data from my run. I didn't wear the heart rate monitor today. In the past, there has been interference on the track that prevents a good signal:
| Lap | Time | Distance | Avg Pace | Avg Heart Rate | Avg Cadence | Calories |
| 1 | 00:01:46 | 0.17 mi | 10:42 min/mi | -- | -- | 26 C |
| 2 | 00:03:13 | 0.34 mi | 09:34 min/mi | -- | -- | 56 C |
| 3 | 00:03:09 | 0.33 mi | 09:24 min/mi | -- | -- | 56 C |
| 4 | 00:02:24 | 0.34 mi | 06:59 min/mi | -- | -- | 55 C |
| 5 | 00:03:21 | 0.35 mi | 09:41 min/mi | -- | -- | 59 C |
| 6 | 00:02:15 | 0.33 mi | 06:45 min/mi | -- | -- | 53 C |
| 7 | 00:03:44 | 0.34 mi | 11:00 min/mi | -- | -- | 60 C |
| 8 | 00:00:29 | 0.06 mi | 08:25 min/mi | -- | -- | 7 C |
Now, the astute among you may say: "Gee, that's a short last lap. Only 0.06mi. What did you do? Wimp out?" Uh. No.
As I was rounding the first corner of the track, one of four things happened:
a) I hit an uneven spot, or
b) someone unseen by me threw something in my path, or
c) I hit the inner edge of the track, or
d) I tripped over my own two feet
I'm voting for b.
Anyway. The damage is done. I'm nursing a nice skinned left knee (which the LM has helped by putting a bandage on) and a swollen right ankle.
I'm not worried about the knee. Although it looked really bad at first. Luckily, what I initially thought was a massive abrasion and bruise turned out to be mostly some of the red surface of the track that rubbed off. After a shower it cleaned up nicely.
The ankle is ugly. It's the same ankle I've sprained on and off for years. We'll see how it develops. Right now I'm practicing the Ice and Elevation aspects of RICE. Compression will come in a few minutes.
The most frustrating thing? With all the running on trails, paths and other uneven surfaces I've been doing, where do I bite it? On a track! (and no, I wasn't looking at my pace on the watch when I did it).
