The iPhone and Albany Hill

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A pic from my run today.
From the bench u can see the GG bridge

I am experimenting with a few different free iPhone applications to track my runs and bike rides as I train, since I would like to see them in a map and track my times and distances. So far, I have been trying two applications: Trailguru and RunKeeper. Both have their pluses and minuses, but neither is nearly as accurate as necessary to be a meaningful training tool.

As an example, a few weeks ago I used Trailguru when a friend and I climbed up Cantelow Peak. As I waited for him for 5 minutes at the top, my altitude changed by by 50 feet without me even moving! The Trailguru said we had ridden about 4 miles when we had actually done 10, and when I would look at the maps it would make, it would have me riding through city blocks. In addition, I couldn't figure out how to upload the map data to a Google Map or use the Google Earth feed that they publish on your personal fitness account. This may be due to insufficient effort on my part, but the lack of accuracy in tracking my route made me none too enthused to invest a lot more time.

Today I used Runkeeper to keep track of my favorite "out of the house" run. Gilman to the Ohlone Greenway, then shoot down Solano and up Albany Hill to the park. A huge downside of Runkkeper is that it doesn't have the ability to take pictures while inside of the application (unlike Trailguru), which made it necessary to enter and exit. This did stop the clock when I wasn't running, making the final readout (3.92 miles in 35 minutes) pretty accurate. But the report that got uploaded was not the same as what was on my phone - I couldn't figure out how to export my map data on the first try, but I hope there is a way (just like Trailguru).

The picture above is the view of the setting atop Albany Hill -- the smell of eucalyptus at the top on a wet day like today was invigorating. From the bench (and the swing) you can look out over the Bay and see the Golden Gate Bridge. It is amazing at night, to see the city all lit up, which I have been doing the past week after work.

Runkeeper screenshot:


Trailguru screenshot: