As some of you may or may not know, I'm an avid runner, and in just a few days (June 8-9), I will be participating in the annual 200 mile Madison, Wi., to Chicago Ragnar Relay. Teams of 6 to 12 runners backed up by support vans will run the nearly 200 mile trek between Madison, Wisconsin, to the finish line in Lincoln Park, Chicago, over two days and one night. My part in the team relay is to help cover 33 miles of our designated route, running through neighborhood streets and scenic trails through Wisconsin and into Illinois.
I have tasked myself with recording our journey using the various social media sites and blogs to help our family and friends track our progress in real time. Some of this involves taking photos and notes with cell phones, and feeding them to sites such as Twitter and Instagram. GPS-aware apps such as Foursquare will mark where we are and where we're going. Instant video blogs will be uploaded to Facebook or YouTube for a little entertainment along the way. In the end, all of this will serve to record our memories when the fun is over.
Packed in with my usual running gear will be a gaggle of gadgets to help me record these adventures and help my team make it safely to our destination. I should note that none of them serve as an advantage to teams, and are allowed to be on the course. They simply help with navigation, or help to kill a little boredom while on the road.
Here's a peek at the various gadgets that will be coming with me on my trek to the finish line and how they'll help record our journey along the way:
Unlocked Samsung Galaxy Nexus (w/T-Mobile SIM):
This is my primary, day to day phone that I will be taking with me. I will be using it for everything from taking pictures, posting to social media sites, Instagram, Google Maps, and Navigation. The mobile hotspot will be there if I need it. I will be placing the phone in a protective pouch on my hydration belt in case of an emergency while I'm on the course. My only reservation with using this phone is whether or not T-Mobile will provide enough coverage when I need it most. This is where the next phone comes in.
Palm Pre 2 on Verizon:
You didn't think I was completely done with webOS, did you? This is my backup phone on the Verizon service in case T-Mobile isn't up to the task in the more remote areas. The mobile hotspot on this phone will come in handy for wireless access anywhere. The camera is pretty good for capturing photos, and it's small enough to carry anywhere.
Sprint Galaxy Tab 7 in. w/3G:
This is the trusty 1st generation Galaxy Tab and it will serve as a navigation aid with the excellent Google Navigation app and Google Maps. The larger 7 inch screen will help when needing to access PDF's stored in my Dropbox, or when I need to type up the impromptu post to Tumblr. The Sprint 3G will come in handy where there is no Wi-Fi, T-Mobile, or Verizon service.
Barnes & Noble Simple Touch 2nd Edition:
Nothing like having access to a good e-book when I have a little downtime. I hardly ever have to worry about battery life, and the excellent GlowLight feature lets me read in the dark without bothering my van mates.
Motorola MotoActv Fitness watch (pictured at article top):
No runner should be without a handy gadget to track their day-to-day fitness, or without a way to log their workouts, complete with every statistic you can imagine. The MotoActv does an excellent job with all of this and more. It's also my music player, allowing me to create play lists of my favorite music to keep me company on the trails. The MotoActv also has excellent GPS and Google Map tracking abilities in case I end up in a strange place and need to find my way back. A full review of the MotoActv is forthcoming on the site.
Apps:
Google Maps/Navigation: I've yet to find anything to match the mapping capabilities of Google Maps and the navigation smarts of Google Navigation on my Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab.
Tumblr (Android): The blogging site and the companion Android app is handy for those quick posts, and apps such as Instagram feed posts to Tumblr automatically, so I know the feed will be kept fresh for friends and family to keep track.
Weatherbug: When the skies look a little threatening, it helps to have up to the minute radar in the palm of your hand in case of an emergency.
Twitter and Facebook (Official apps): Instant updates for friends and family to follow along. The #ragnarchi hashtag will tie it all together.
Foursquare/Instagram/Dropbox: The Geo-Location abilities of Instagram and Foursquare will dot the lines on the map for us as we make our way to the finish; the photos will help keep the memories alive. The camera on the Galaxy Nexus will auto-upload my photos to Dropbox for safe keeping and editing later on.
For those of us who are always on the go, we're fortunate to have so many mobile tools at our disposal to keep track of the moments we'll remember forever. With so many to choose from these days, it's easy to find the right ones that fit your particular need. And thanks to app developers that are constantly finding ways to make their apps bigger and better, I feel we're just now scratching the surface.
Posts
