This is a series of posts about what it’s like to use the system after designing for it all this time. See previous posts on Setting Up, Workout Out and Sharing Results,  Mapping the Workout, Catching Up on Missed Workouts and Analyzing Workout Details.

The long weekend was good for catching up with friends, sleep, and…. workouts! The weather was pretty good on a few days and I went out to explore new grounds and new neighborhoods. I found that the bike path was a great place to run because it was well shaded with lots of trees and a nice breeze came through frequently too.

I got a few workouts in and am now almost a quarter of the way through my plan!

It’s exciting to see progress in terms of the plan, and it’s pretty cool too when you look at overall progress over time. I’ve been at it for about a year now, and the history graphs show I’ve been consistent in some areas and sporatic in others.

Here’s my Time breakdown per month in the last year. I was definitely a bit overzealous when I started and there was definitely some slacking around the winter and the holidays.

But taking a look at the Distance breakdown it looks a bit more even.

My Pace breakdown is pretty even as well. Good to know that after the winter hiatus I didn’t regress much.

The most interesting one of all is the Heart Rate breakdown. The system captures how much time I actually spent in each heart rate zone during my workouts, and colors the bar graph in with the zone color I was in.

This graph is revealing because it shows I haven’t been working as hard as in the beginning. I spent a lot more time in red in the early months, and I’m barely in any red in the last two. I credit that to following the plan better, which doesn’t require me to work super hard to gain results. Work smarter not harder. :)

Another way to see workout trends is in the Workout Journal, which is linked both from the Track menu and also on the bottom left of the History graphs. It shows data for every workout I’ve done in a table format.

Selecting the column headings will sort all the data by that stat. Since I’m on the lose weight plan I wanted to see workouts where I’m burning the most calories.

The sorted view shows top calorie burning workouts are all from my current plan, so I’m heading in the right direction with this plan!

This is a series of posts about what it’s like to use the system after designing for it all this time. See previous posts on Setting Up, Workout Out and Sharing Results,  Mapping the Workout and Catching Up on Missed Workouts.

There are lots of ways to analyze my workout performance after I sync the data to the web. The most basic one is the automatic system feedback that tells me my performance against what miCoach had prescribed for me.

There’s also the quick visual on my heart rate chart that shows how much my heart rate stayed within the workout colors intended.

I can also open the color zone boxes at the right of my heart rate chart to see actual time and stats spent within the color. According to this workout, I spent more than 4 minutes of the 21 min workout in green.

I can also overlay another statistic on top of my current stat view. I found it fascinating to overlay the pace data on top of the heart rate. Most of the time an increase in my pace means an increase to my heart rate. Sometimes I have to stop at street corners or pause for other reasons, but my heart rate isn’t that reactive so it might only fluctuate slightly.

And finally, there’s a checkbox on the bottom right corner of the chart called “Analysis Bounds”. When I turn that on, I can drag the boundaries around on the chart to focus in on the area of the workout I really care about. This workout had 5 minutes of warm up and 10 minutes of cool down. What I really cared about was the middle few minutes where I was going back and forth between the green and yellow zones. I dragged the bounds in to the beginning and end of that area and the summary stats at the top adjusts to reflect only the data within my boundaries. I actually hit 100% within that half a mile block!

That got me thinking whether I did just as well with some of my other workouts. I can click on the workout name and open the workout navigator and quickly jump to a previously completed workout and do this all over again. :)

This is a series of posts about what it’s like to use the system after designing for it all this time. See previous posts on Setting Up, Workout Out and Sharing Results, and Mapping the Workout.

I’ve fallen woefully behind on my workout schedule.

In part the weather has only been so so, but mostly because I’m in the process of moving so there’s been no free time. I got as far as the fourth workout, which was completed 10 days ago. I’m supposed to complete workout #10 today. But let’s be realistic, I know I won’t get back to #5 until at least end of next week.

I could individually drag and drop the workouts to fix my schedule, but that would take a while to do for the remaining 29 workouts.

Luckily there’s an option to restore my plan schedule.

I select Restore Schedule from the drop down and it allows me to choose the date I want to restart the plan and which workout to restart it with. I’ll be conservative and aim for next weekend to get back to my workout #5.

I clicked OK and voila! the schedule has been restored and my schedule updates to show the new scheduling of workouts.

Let’s hope there’s some good weather happening in the greater Boston area here by then so I can get back on my schedule!

This is a series of posts about what it’s like to use the system after designing for it all this time. See previous posts on Setting Up and Working Out and Sharing Results.

On a beautiful Saturday morning a week ago I decided to run near the Charles River. I like running near the river because there’s a wonderful breeze that comes off the river  balancing against the heat of the sun. I went to Manage > Routes and mapped out the route I took, which came to a little over 2 miles over the course of about half an hour.

I went back to my Dashboard and clicked into the Plan Tracker on workout #3 to go to the details of that workout.

From there I selected the Route view and opened up my Routes List to locate the route I had just drawn and saved.

It immediately applies the route I selected to my workout, as can be seen with the name of the route selected displaying next to the Route view icon in the upper right hand corner, and also loads the saved route into my current view.

I zoomed in to a particular segment on my path, and when I hovered over a point I had drawn it showed me the cumulative distance at that point. There are also automatic mile markers in a purple outlined balloon along the path as well for reference.

I can also hide the tool bar at the top of the map to gain more visible space on the map.

I ended up covering another half a mile after I completed workout #3 before getting home. I captured that as a free workout separately because I wanted to get credit for the additional half mile (hey, every little bit counts!).

I could have arrived back at home more closely to the end of the workout by just listening to the miCoach Pacer narration. For plan workouts it will narrate the percent completion at 25%, 50% and 75%, so I could have turned around and doubled back at the half way point. But I like my scenery to change, so I try not to do a straight double back if I can. Now that I have a sense of how far it is to the river, and how long it takes me to run that distance, I can plan to do other workouts that are around the same length using a similar route. I have a pretty good sense of how much I can deviate from that path now and still make it home in about the amount of time it takes to do the workout. I look forward to the next beautiful day so I can do this all over again!

A new home page design that expresses the premium quality of the adidas brand went live last week on the company’s U.S. e-commerce site, shopadidas.com.

The clean, distinctively adidas design introduces a series of rotating banners that reflect the company’s current marketing campaigns.  The rotating banners automatically refresh the look of the home page, while giving consumers multiple pathways to select products based on gender, brand, sport and product type.

Shopadidas.com also features links for popular searches and top visited locations, as well as three sub-banners that subtly highlight distinct product collections and sub-brands.  Other features include a view into the shopadidas Twitter feed, and a simplified site map that makes accessing content easier for the consumer, while improving the site’s visibility in search results. 

Isobar’s redesign team worked within a very short timeframe to develop the new design, which accomplishes adidas’ business need of making their products easier and more intuitive for the consumer to access than ever before.

This is a series of posts about what it’s like to use the system after designing for it all this time. See previous post on Setting Up.

So my first workout was supposed to be redoing the Assessment Workout on Saturday – but the weather was frigid for outdoor running in Boston so it didn’t happen. I figured I couldn’t have deteriorated that much and my previous results were probably fine.

I created a public view of my latest Assessment Workout using the Share functionality, so you can see the full workout screen shot with the coach’s feedback too.

Armed with my existing assessment, I proceeded with doing the first plan workout that was scheduled for Monday morning.

I was still on east coast time, so woke up early enough to do a run before starting the day. I put on my heart rate monitor, clipped the stride sensor onto my shoe, and headed down to the hotel treadmill with my iPod and Pacer. I forgot that I had previously left Pacer on Mandarin, so was pleasantly surprised by a female Mandarin speaking coach welcoming me to miCoach. I did a short 7 min free workout first because I found in the past that the heart rate signal is best after I start sweating. After finishing that workout I started up workout #1 of my lose weight plan.

It was a fun workout actually, and wasn’t too long either so I had time to sync the data to my account before jumping in the shower. I remembered that I wanted to hear my coaching in English next time so I changed that on the web first.

Then I plugged Pacer into my computer via the USB cable and synced via the miCoach Manager.

When that was done I went back to my Dashboard to see that it updated with my latest data.

That’s when I noticed I had a new achievement!

Turns out I had reached my first 10,000 calories since I started using miCoach! That’s pretty sweet. :-)

Clicking on the big 10000 took me to my workout results that gave me this achievement.

I overlaid my pace info on top of the heart rate info before using the Share functionality to create the public page of workout #1, which also shows my notes and ratings too.

First workout done, and 32 more to go! According to the plan tracker at the bottom of my dashboard I’ve completed 3% of my plan. Feels good!

As a designer on a project we don’t always get the luxury of actually experiencing the products we have worked countless hours, sweat blood and tears to help create. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to use the product (and no, not just in testing) after all the hustle and bustle around launching a new phase. I figured it would provide an interesting perspective to  share my experiences actually using the adidas miCoach training platform for all to see, so here goes!

I’ll be traveling on Sunday, so I’m figuring I should set my plan up before I go. It’s almost summer, so it’s time to shed some of the winter layers and go for that lose weight plan. It says it’s about 9 weeks long, ~35 workouts, so if I start now I’ll be done just in time for 4th of July.

I set up the new plan and the calendar shows me what my schedule looks like for this plan.

The first run is an assessment workout, which will determine what my heart rate zones should be during the training. Although I’ve done one before, I think the last few weeks of cold and rain in Boston plus perhaps some adding on of winter layers probably contributed to my lack of fitness, so I’m going to do a new and fresh one to see if I’m still up to snuff.

Here’s hoping the weather holds tomorrow when this all starts. Stay tuned!

On Monday, adidas and Isobar unveiled a series of exciting new enhancements to adidas miCoach, the interactive training service that delivers audible coaching while you run. Already one of the most advanced and personal applications on the Web today, miCoach.com incorporates new features and functionality that help runners better manage their training programs, and reflects adidas commitment to listening to the needs of consumers and creating a better experience for their miCoach users.

Key enhancements to miCoach.com include:

• A robust Routes management tool that enables users to create and edit routes, add ratings and notes to existing routes, and add, move or delete route points.
• New community tools that provide a forum where runners can share training tips with other runners, get tips and tricks on using miCoach, see upcoming events, access miCoach-related videos and get updates on the latest gear.
• Custom workout capabilities that enable runners to build their own custom workouts from scratch.
• A new Achievements section that recognizes key personal milestones, records and overall workout stats, such as fastest mile run, most calories burned, and more.
• Updated Reminder functionality that enable users to choose when they want to be reminded of workouts and when they’ve been inactive.

The enhanced site also provides adidas with sophisticated content management capabilities that enable each market to showcase featured products, as well as localized content, pricing and store locations to meet the needs of individual markets.

I recently caught up on some interesting IxDA threads highlighted below that may interest you as well. Wishing everyone a wonderful and happy new year!

o1. Firefox Home Tab Challenge

IxDA has partnered with Mozilla Labs and Johnny Holland for a design challenge. The submission deadline is February 14 for a concept video explaining how the new Firefox home tab should work. Anyone interested in forming a Molecular team to tackle this??

• The Home Tab Design Challenge Winter ’09 website: http://design-challenge.mozillalabs.com/winter09/
• More details from this IxDA thread: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=48090

02. GLIDE ’10 Call for Papers

This is a biennial virtual conference sponsored by the National Science Foundation and AIGA UP ST NY dedicated to research on topics related to interaction between designers and global communities. The theme this year is cross-cultural collaboration with indigenous and underserved communities. Abstract submissions are due February 15. Conference takes place on October 27.

• More details from this IxDA thread: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=48057

03. Google’s Above-the-Fold App

This new app let’s you see in a transparent gradient kind of way which parts of your site is viewable by percentile.

• Enter any URL into Browser Size to see the map: http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/
• More details from this IxDA thread: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=48056

04. Shopping/ecommerce trends

Someone asked the group about what trends people were seeing with online shopping and here were the recommended resources:

• Pew Internet research topic of “Shopping”: http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/Shopping.aspx
• Webinars and resources on www.shop.org (requires membership)
• A recent book called Shoptimism by Lee Eisenberg
• More details from this IxDA thread: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=47953

o5. Andrew Daniels on uxSEARS

A virtual meeting featuring the UX director of Sears hosted by IxDA Chicago called “The $50 Billion Startup Revolution and How UX Leads the Way”:

• Video, also embedded below: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2588473 (7:50 to skip past housekeeping stuff)
• Presentation slides in PDF: http://tinyurl.com/ykkn6vn
• More details from this IxDA thread: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=47718

Even though my team was swept by the Angels, I still follow MLB’s postseason games when I’m out and about with their great app for my iPhone. At 10 bucks, it’s not exactly cheap, but MLB provides a free “lite” version of the app to try it out before getting the full-featured version. Finding and downloading the free version was the only way I could try it  before I went ahead and bought the full app, because Apple didn’t allow “in app” purchases within applications that were offered for free.

Until yesterday.

This is great news. No longer will users need to download two apps to try before they buy — a true “freemium” app will allow upgrades and add-ons seamlessly, without having to leave the application. iPhone developers will no longer have to worry about the time and expense of maintaining two redundant applications, and designers can now think of unique and innovative ways to take advantage of the freemium model that meets users’ increasingly demanding expectations.

There are some limitations, however.

Apple won’t allow the sale of non-digital goods in the app itself, so dreams of one-touch storefronts for offline retailers will have to remain on hold. They also won’t allow any form of virtual currency, such as the Linden. And while subscription purchases are allowed, rentals are not − Netflix no doubt noticed this caveat.

Even so, the potential for in app updates is enormous. The difference between free and “nearly free” is vast — for every one person who bought Galaxy Impact (iTunes link) for $.99, roughly 400 downloaded it for free, according to their great case study. Offering the free version with seamless upsells, such as a game application that offers new levels or playable characters for a small fee, will likely prolong their app’s potential for user engagement.  Similarly, publishers such as the New York Times or NPR can charge for their premium content but can now offer the delivery mechanism for free.

And as Greg at MobileCrunch pointed out, pirating apps will be more difficult now that they can simply be free.