I've moved..
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

After much fighting this week with issues here on Blogger, I've decided to pack it up and move elsewhere. What does that mean exactly?

1. If you are subscribed to the RSS feed of this site, nothing changes because I have used Feedburner and that feed should continue to work at the new site. (and this post probably does not make much sense)
2. If you had bookmarked the new site address of Runtheultras.com you are at the new site and this does not matter. :)
3. Here is where it matters... If you are used to visiting me at travisliles.blogspot.com then you will need to update your bookmark to http://www.runtheultras.com

I hope you will check out the new site. I'm thinking really hard about combining my personal blog with the stuff at http://www.flatlandultra.com . This will allow me bring all the ultrarunning love to one spot!

Posted by Travis 12:37 PM    

Book Review – Born to Run
Friday, June 19, 2009

It’s hard to have a conversation around the world of ultrarunning right now and not hear about the book “Born to Run, A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen”  The title would seem to give you a lot of information on the book, but in reality it only scratches the surface of what this book has to offer. 

The author start out as a typical, everyday runner who is beat up from all the miles logged.  His visits to the doctors get him nothing more than “running is hard on your body, get a bike.”  Not ready to give up he starts exploring other options so that he can continue to enjoy his passion.  Through this exploration he finds there is way more about running then he could have ever imagined.

He discovers this tribe of super athletes who live deep in the wilderness of Mexico that run extremely long distances in nothing more than sandals.  He uncovers nutritional secrets, the evolution of the running man, meets some interesting characters along the way and concludes that there there is way more to running than just the motion of putting one foot in front of the other.  Lastly he is witness to one of the great endurance battles of the ancient vs. the present. 

 

I cannot recommend this book enough to ultrarunners.  I also can say that any person out there that has struggled with running injuries or just loves to get out and run should pick this up, you won’t be disappointed.

As a side note, I picked up the audio version of this book and put it on my MP3 player.  I listened to it while putting in my daily miles on trails.  I’m not sure if there is a better way to enjoy this book then like that.  You can currently sign up for Audible.com for $7.50 and get one book credit that you can apply towards “Born to Run” meaning that you get the full unabridged (11 hours of audio) version of this book for $7.50… that’s pretty good!

Posted by Travis 8:35 AM 3 comments    

SportyPal – Training Application for your phone
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Got GPS in your phone?  Want to use that to track speed and distance for your outdoor activities?  Well, you are in luck.  Sportypal.com has released an application called Sportypal that will run on almost any type of phone that has GPS built-in.  It works on iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile(what I use) and phones that support Java.  Best of all, it’s free! 

 

 

What does it do you ask? 

Simply put, it uses the GPS in your phone to track speed and distance mainly, but also will track elevation during an activity then allows you to upload it to the SportyPal website.  If you are familiar with the Garmin line of watches, think of that functionality.  The application starts, acquires satellites connectivity, then you hit the “Start” button when you are ready to get moving.  The application, while running, looks like a stop-watch with some additional real time information like speed/pace, distance covered, max speed and climb. You also have the ability to change to a map view that will use Google Earth to display your location on a map in real time.  After you workout is over, simply hit “Stop.” 

NOTE: the map feature is using a data connection so if you do not have a data plan, you might want to avoid using this.  

What can I do now that my workout is over?

Using the data connection on your phone, you can post the workout immediately to the SportyPal webiste.  You actually get prompted for this after you choose to finish the workout.  Once the workout is posted you can head over to your computer and see the route you just covered as well as more detailed data.  You will see icons on the map for things like; Start, Stop, Fastest Speed, Highest Elevation and a few other things.  Of course like all websites these days, there is the ability to share your workouts with others as well as have “friends” who are also using the site and share their training with you.

See the screen shot below for a short test I did around my neighborhood.

What about if I don’t have a data plan, can I still use this?

From what I can tell, yes you can.  You can choose not to view the map during the workout (stated above) and also not to upload the data to the site.  Your info will be stored on the phone and you can just go write down your data in your log book.  NOTE: I did not see any data usage when using the method above, but I can not guarantee that your phone will not.

Final Thoughts

This is a nice little application that works across many different platforms and give you some great data.  It’s not as full featured as SportsDo, but it’s free and that's pretty good!  If you already carry a cell phone with you while you run, might as well put it to work for you. 

If you have used this or another cell phone related training application, leave us your thoughts in the comments section. 

Posted by Travis 8:53 AM 1 comments    

Labels: misc, software, training

If this does not get you moving, you might be dead
Friday, May 15, 2009

Great work on the video Matt!

Posted by Travis 11:00 AM 4 comments    

Labels: trail running, ultramarathon, ultrarunning

You might call it extreme, but…
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Somehow on a conference call at work today, one of my teammates described me as “one of those extreme sports guys.”  I sort of dismissed it, but I can see his point. Doing the stuff that I and other ultrarunners do is definitely out of the normal range of most people.  I sort of forgot about the statement and went about my day.

I went for a run at Hyland Lake Park across the street from my office in Bloomington, MN (I’m traveling this week).  It’s a nice park with some good rolling hills and some great scenery.  One trail takes you up behind a ski jump.  I had to take 2 pictures of it and stitch them together just to get the whole thing in one picture.  It’s a massive structure.  It just keeps going up and up.  It is easily more than 50 feet taller than the next closest tree.  On top of that, its sits up on a huge steep hill.  I found this site that states it’s 70 meters high, that’s almost 230 feet in the air!!! 

This big ski jump got me thinking about the extreme sports statement that my co-worker made earlier in the day.  Extreme is in the eye of the beholder.  Yes, running 50 or 100 miles is out there, but rocketing down this thing with ski’s strapped to your feet and only a helmet for protection, that’s EXTREME!!

Posted by Travis 8:24 PM 4 comments