I had some free time this morning after physical therapy, and my wife was going to the zoo with all of her great-nieces and nephews. I decided to take a risk and try my first Zwift run.
Zwift is mostly a platform for cyclists, but they are starting to push the running aspect of the program harder with each passing month. The format is very similar to the cycling side of things; you sync a sensor, in this case, a foot pod, to the program, hop on a treadmill, and go. Your avatar on the screen goes as fast as you do, traveling around all the various running routes in Watopia and other worlds. You have similar levels of achievements and virtual swag based on how far and often you run. You also have an assortment of running statistics that you do not have access to on a normal treadmill run. This seems like the perfect time to hook everything and go.
Full discloser, I have tried a couple of walks on Zwift with an old and feeble treadmill that does not have a lot of life left in her. This helped from the electronics standpoint; I knew what to hook up and what did and did not work. In the end, I did not have a foot pod that worked for distance; however, the Garmin did seem to measure my cadence with a good amount of accuracy. I ended up downloading an app that will transfer the speed of the treadmill to my Macbook. Not perfectly accurate, but it seems to be the only one that works for pace, distance, and speed. I could also hook up the Macbook to our television, which means I can watch all of my statistics and all of the runners who pass me on a big screen.
Today's route will be a little more than one lap around the virtual Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park in the city so nice, they named it twice, New York, New York. Since I am out of running shape, and the route is only about 2.7 kilometers, I set a modest goal of three kilometers at a pace of 5 mph or 8 kph. I start off, going straight into the 8 kph speed, and am immediately encouraged to find the app registering the correct speed, and very few runners on the course, meaning little or no discouragement from runners leaving me in the dust.
At the 1km mark, things seem to be going well. My stride seems to be steady, and my cadence is just about where it should be. I am not gasping for breath. However, my heart rate is climbing and rapidly. It has risen to about 130 after only eight minutes. This is a real cause for concern; if it keeps rising at the current pace, I will almost have to give up the run before the goal distance.
At 2 kilometers, I am at a somewhat pathetic 16 minutes, and my heart rate is rocking just under 150. However, the scenery is amazing, and I am very close to completing the modest course and picking up the XP. One of the nicer features of Zwift is a "set a goal" graphic that is displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. For whatever metric you choose, you will get a clock displaying how much time is left in your run, assuming your current pace. A visual circle around the clock graphs the distance completed and distance remaining, very similar to the timer feature on an Apple iPhone. The developers must have had me in mind; this illustration gave me hope that my wheezing body could last 7½ more minutes of agony.
The counting down factor, with the caveat that if I just completed the 2.7km course, that would be good enough, was helpful and motivating. I passed the start pens at about 2.5km, which was good for my thought process since I could contemplate why the running course needed cycling start pens, built on a pier in the reservoir no less. This got me over the line on the course, and I only had.3 km or about 2 minutes to go. I have to admit, it was pretty uncomfortable watching my sixty-year-old heart pumping away at 155 beats per minute while gasping for air and sweating bullets. Still, yes, 3 kilometers was achieved, complete with virtual confetti and a fairly relaxed-looking avatar.
As I stepped off the treadmill, I did a pulse check to confirm my heart rate monitor's accuracy. I also did a recovery check that confirmed an accurate heart rate and a mediocre at best recovery. I am cautiously optimistic that I am working a little harder on the mill than on an accurately measured outdoor run; however, my cadence average was a paltry 152, so we will just have to see. I'll just take the positives for now; everything seems to be up and running as far as sensors go, I did complete a virtual course and a goal for said course, and I did not die.
Can't wait to do it again!
