Anima Running: The Point

This blog isn't intended to be a blog with followers, although it might end up that way.  This blog is also not intended to make a point or expound upon the various aspects of running, although there hopefully should be some poignant insights that capture portions of the on-going commentary in the running world.  It's interesting to note that running is undergoing an evolution, which I might phrase as a re-evolution back to basic principles.  But again, this is not the point.


The point of this blog is to capture my running. 


A brief search on the Internet will find that I am not the first to blog about training for a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, marathon or ultra-marathon.  The Internet is littered with these types of blogs.  Why anyone but the author reads and/or participates in the on-goings of these blogs is beyond me.  Apparently, people are bored ... or, putting people in a better light, compassionate and caring to the point of following someones digitally documented complaints about sore knees, miles run, pace, etc.  I don't expect any of that. 


Returning to the point, I want to capture my runs on this blog as a sort of digital running log.  You see, iPhone apps, like Runmeter, can email you your results.  Currently, they go to my email box, but there is a way to submit blog posts via email to blogger.  I intend to redirect those emails to this site and have them digitally published on completion of each run.  In Runmeter, you can edit the emails before they are sent in-app ... meaning you can clarify the conditions of the run, what you were wearing, what you ate and other contextual facts regarding your run.


I would think that Runmeter would incorporate a running log as well, but this is not the case.  It seems that none of the apps I have found that provide for GPS run logging also provide a side-by-side log that can be maintained in app.  I don't want to have to get home after a run, log into some account, and take the effort to click through to some online log.  Let's face it, we are lazy and want instant integration.  However, it's simply not that integrated at this point.  Thus, I am cobbling together a way by which I can maintain a digital log with as little work as possible.


Another benefit of using a blog to do this is that blogs can pretty easily be turned into books.  There are a number of services and these blog-to-book services do a pretty good job.  This means that if I wanted some sort of physical copy of this journal, I can print it out, which might be nice for review before a race. 


In all, the point is to capture my running while also attempting to integrate technologies to provide for a more seamless (although not perfect) way of keeping the all important run journal.  Other technologies may be considered, reviewed and audited, but only tangentially to this main point.  Through this log, I hope to express the anima of running.