All Over The Place

:D My tracking was all over the place again last night. I'm not really sure why :D
I Jogged for 6K.
I did not run for 6K.
Must run on Saturday :P
Confirmed: I'm running with low breathing full time!

and just to online bookmark a blog online review of the N82:

Eric's Corner - Nokia N82: (An After) Two Years' Review

I'm loving my N82 and it's one of my most well spent purchase in my life.
I just can't believe that some shots are coming from the N82 :P

Prints!

Finally got the time to pick some pics for our dyxum postcard exchange #2.
The pics will be printed and will be sent to my international forummates at dyxum as postcards.
I had to resort to my archived shots from Callao Caves, Isabela and thought it would be a nice 'series' since 10 different persons will receive them anyway :P
Here's my wife and youngest son inside the humongous cave

I've also sent a Fuji 100 to the lab for printing. It was a roll from a recent ex-officemate's wedding last Sunday. I really love using the Zen16 on weddings.

N82 in US!!!

I wish :D
Went out for a coffee break yesterday and Ayala surprisingly looked very clear and NYC-like.
Wish we're having snow as well :D


Taken with N82

BTW, Sony has stirred me up w/ their upcoming offerings displayed at the PMA2010
More at CNET Asia
It's very fortunate for me that I haven't jumped on the Pansaonic GH1 yet O_o

I want that EVIL w/ an Alpha logo!

"Simply Breathing"

Was googling about breathing and running the other day and I chanced by Perry Louis Fields' article @ Authentic Breathing.com:
Proper Breathing is Essential for Athletes and Non-Athletes Alike
"The first step is to simply concentrate on my breath, also known as the Pranayan Technique. This simple technique, which involves focusing on my breath and learning to listen to what it is telling me, helps me relax."
I used to do this same breathing but it was under a different name. I found what I'm looking for (that's why I was googling for breathing and running) and I decided to give it a try this morning.

The result:



I started w/ a slow pace, trying to give my system a chance to adapt to what I was used to. More than 10yrs ago, I was running for 40mins and swimming (breast-stroke) for 1hr alternately almost everyday when I have the chance.
Mental note: get in touch with my running buddy.
When you're single and got nothing to do, it's best to take good care of your body instead of wasting it with alcohol, white-sugar and meat [you save for your future at the same time ;-)]. I was on a 'half' vegetarian diet during those days.
After only one lap, I already got the feel. I felt like I was running like before!


Second Wind!
Before this day and lots of laps, I really never got my second wind. Today, I finally got my second wind! On the third lap I felt the rush and tried to 'push' myself and was surprised that I got under 7min/km!

GPS to the rescue
My previous stat of 6min/km is incorrent and realized that I was doing 7+min/km with the help of NST. GPS is so accurate and now I know I'm running a complete 5K during my practice runs. I will still try to achieve that 6min/km pace.

Low Breathing
I'm solved. I will run without opening my mouth again. When exhaling thru my mouth, it gets dry and I had to grab some water to get some moisture back. This morning, I didn't actually have to and never crave for water! I'm pretty confident that I will achieve that 6min/km in no time w/ low breathing.

A smart man or woman knows that their body really is their temple, their foundation; so do everything you can to promote it. Do it---even if it is "simply breathing." ~Perry Fields

Straightened Out!

Tonight's a clear night and the satellites locked on me good - really good!:)
Turns out 1 lap around the plaza is short of 500m.
I'll have to make another round next time to complete 5km \m/
I'm so slow tonight :D

Tracker

I just realized while posting this blog why it was called the Nokia Sports Tracker...
because it TRACKS your activities! :D

Okay, finally tried the Upload Service tonight.
Upload Service is uploading the saved workout (including the traced route) on the N82
into NST's website where it will be exported onto Google Earth.

Here are the results in all its glory.
The stats and graph are just icing on the cake:
I then cut and pasted some parts of the screen for some of my saved 'workout'
From my first run w/ NTS
Stats

Graph
And finally the traced route on Google Map.
Funny how 'I was running all over the place' :D
Our trip last Sunday from Muntinlupa to SBMA taking Gapan-Olongapo from Pampanga
And on the way back taking SCTEx (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway)
And a snap on my way from the office to our house taking the bus
How cool can it get?! :D

Garmin has its own recording mode but I'm not sure if it will be as good as this :P

My utility phone's talking to me!

I've finally installed the voice navigation on my N82 so my Garmin GPS Navigation is complete.

There are some minor issues on the guide though.
As we (the bus) were approaching Ayala from SLEX,
the 'computer' thinks there's no left turn on the whole of EDSA stretch
so it was looking at some place to make a U-Turn.
I hope I can let Garmin know about it so it can be 'fixed' :P

A snap from the Skyway
and a snap from yesterday's Chinese New Year celebration
Who let that Tiger out?

Utility Phone!

We took a trip to SBMA yesterday. Of course I brought my utility phone.
[The night before I tried to 'fix' the maps in Nokia Maps but I just can't get it working smoothly and had to do a hard reset (by removing the battery) a couple of times because the phone was freezing.
I suspect it was eating the memory. I gave up and decided to just use the Garmin and Nokia Sports Tracker the next morning].
I switched Garmin and Nokia Sports Tracker on but stayed mainly w/ Garmin.
Upon reaching our destination, I snapped some screens.

At SBMA Freeport

Discovered the summary status screen

On the way back I zoomed out to check our location against Luzon

And we took SCTEX
I'm missing the voice navigation and hope to be able to install and "use it" tomorrow.

And some snaps w/ the N82.
San Roque, SBMA
WaterFront
Somewhere in SCTEX
(My first ever) Counterflow at the Candaba Via Duct
The road was jam-packed maybe due to this year's Hot Air Balloon festival.

Getting Used To:

Nokia Sports Tracker
Running 5K
Garmin MobileXT

Completed my 5K practice run today. Came in late last night so I postponed my 5AM run to 7AM to get more sleep.
Was excited to use the Nokia Sports Tracker 'officially' for the first time w/ my running. I fired it up when I started running but the GPS was only able to track me after 13min where I was already on my 3rd lap. Haven't loaded yet my Nokia Maps as what can be seen below, no map but my track was 'crudely' traced :D This is where I do my practice laps which is around the plaza.

On the right is the actual map from Nokia.

There are more extra info like altitude and graphs. Very impressive indeed. Takes my mind off Garmin and Suunto already :D
And there are more options like uploading your activity in real time but that means extra cost to me so I'll pass and if you know me, I'll get the most out of this stuff without spending extra cash :D

31:15 for 5K. I'm getting used to the 6min/km run. Have to check in at 30:00 one of these days.
That's the goal.

And last night after the office bowling tournament, I fired up the MobileXT just to get used to it and see if it works and how it works. My first experience with an onboard GPS is with my brother's Magellan GPS and the feel is very similar.

Same experience this morning, the GPS was only tracked after 15 mins or so. There are some cool views like the digital compass. Next to it are the points I saved and the tagged location is very precise.

The bus was running at 8.4km/h at one point somewhere on the Skyway. Zooming out all the way to see the whole of Philippines in Night Mode.

This one I have to confirm, we were on the SLEX but the map says Sergio Osmena Highway :P and another screenshot when I was about to get out of the bus. I almost missed my stop because I was looking intently on my N82 :D


Loving my Utility Phone.
Nokia N82=Swiss Knife.
!!AWESOME!!

It's alive!!!

Just a quick post to show that I've finally made it work! \m/

Wouldn't have been possible w/o the help from the ff sites:
my guide since I bought my N82: www.then82blog.com
'Ah' Tim's blog which gave me a confirmation that Garmin will work on the N82
ip-mart.forum specifically to jetmouse for the detailed instructions and friendly files
Maning Sambale's wikispace for the Garmin Philippine routable map
dotsis forum for the leads
and how can I forget google? :D


Yup, that's where I work :) Somewhere in Makati, Philippines

Now, where to find a wrist strap for the N82 so I can wear it a la Garmin Forerunner 205. Hahaha!

I'm hooked!

Well I'm definitely hooked w/ running and the Nokia N82 :D
Today I downloaded a very cool app from Antony Pranata's Personal Website
It's called the Screenshot and as the name suggests, it captures a screenshot on the N82's display by just pressing the camera shutter button.

Here are two screenshots after I installed the Screenshot software:
The apps screen and the StepCounter from this morning.

I've loaded a lot of apps in my N82 already :D

I have to measure my 'gait' accurately. This morning, I set my 'Step Length' to 75cm and it looks like it's too long for my actual gait which resulted to a 2.86km distance covered when it was only about 2.5km. I missed another lap because it was wakey-wakey time for the boys and had to give them a bath for school ^_^. I'll give it a go again on Saturday morning - target is 5K.

And before I forget that this blog is about photography :D back to N82's cam abilities.

After the race last Sunday I took two shots of my Casio digital watch showing my lap time from Sunday's 10K run at Condura.
First one w/ flash and the 2nd one w/o. Both in macro mode. Pretty decent I think.


After Sunday's run, my friend treated us to a buffet breakfast somewhere in Libis so I open fired on the way to the resto :D It's been a long time since I last visited this place :

One tall building

Lot's of high rise condo nowadays
Waiting for pizza delivery

Batchmates
this is the resto:
and the best part, I can now take pictures inside the grocery stores :D
my eldest son inside the car-pushcart :D

The Sony T500 will definitely be relegated to HD video capture :D