1st week of winter

So its been a slow week. Just keeping fit as much as I can. I haven't done a lot of stuff. A swim and run is mostly what I have done. Although I have a new toy. I found a Wahoo Kickr on ebay.

Sure its kind of hard to see in my bad image but its a nice trainer. So this weekend I picked it up and started playing around with software. Firstly it was created for apple in mind. So being an android person there are not as many apps available. But I believe recently they changed some things that allowed more people to write applications on a wide range of platforms which means that while apple has that market share there are more applications coming to compete.

After needing to use the Wahoo app to set it up I then started playing with whatever people suggested. Using an old ANT+ dongle I had from my old Garmin watch I could then connect an old PC to the kickr and have it control the resistance. It makes for a tough ride. Unfortunately I could only find one program that would allow me to trial the video training feature. That was kind of fun. I did mess up and selected riding around San Fran. Those streets are tough so it makes it hard to look at the shops go by remembering where you have been when your struggling up the hills. Near the top I remember thinking how much easier it was going up that hill on the tram. haha

Well I believe that I have decided on the application to use. BKool make what seems to be a nice product. You can easily import gpx tracks from your previous rides and it will make a virtual 3d track from it. Or if you are really keen you can use video and GPS to create a video track. I have already uploaded a couple of gpx files of old rides to see how it works and although I could only see the map and elevation not the 3d world it did make riding a trainer more interesting. So I will probably pay for that subscription so I can use the 3d side of things.

On the coach side of things I have found one. It actually wasn't the guy I was thinking of last week. I had a friend Mike who raced NZ with me. Well since he has had to give up running because of knee issues he said if I am looking for a coach then he is happy to do it. He used to coach me when I first started. He didn't coach me for the NZ IM as he was competing and didn't have time. So I know what he is like and it should work out well.

So now I just wait for the first plan to hit my Dropbox and we will be off.