August 2011 – extricate.org

Garmin Forerunner 410 – First impressions

I have had a few heart rate monitors over the years. I started out with a Polar RS200. This was a simple enough device which tracked HR and had good feedback for which training zone I was in. Sadly, it decided to die recently.

I also owned a Garmin Forerunner 305. This had the additional bonus of GPS tracking which allowed all sorts of geeky analysis. One downside was that it felt a bit like something out of Star Trek when worn due to its bulk. This one didn’t die. Instead, I lost it years ago. Oops.

It was time to get a new one and I elected for the Garmin Forerunner 410.

There have been a few different models since the 305 which have passed me by. In that time, the design has improved a lot and although the 410 is a little bit bigger than I would like, it will certainly do! I am a little bit disappointed by the strap as it is a bit clunky considering the price of the device.

The bezel on the watch is used to control the menu system. This works…okay… although is not really as responsive as I would like. I feel a typical watch interface would have been a bit smoother. That said, I really like how the core options can be accessed VERY quickly, and the backlight and locking options are very simple to access. Previous models had reports on rain and sweat triggering the menus and so far this has not happened to me.

The chest strap is very soft and comfortable although I’m not sure if I like how the transmitter unit needs to clip on. One more thing to lose! Plus if you forget to unclip the transmitter, the battery is going to run down overnight…

Used in anger when refereeing last night, everything worked great. I adjusted the display so I could see the items I cared about (loads of options here!) and just left it running. Annoyingly, ‘Auto Lap’ was on by default so I soon turned this off. Along with ‘key tones’ which have to be one of the most irritating default options on electronics around!

Data is easily transferred onto a laptop and into Garmin Connect via the provided ANT+ USB stick. This detects when a watch is in range and you pair it, much in the same way as with Bluetooth. It is all very seamless which is perfect. Once the data is on Garmin Connect, all the geeky data is there for review. Perfect!

One small note here: I exported the data from Garmin Connect to import into RunKeeper. At some end of that process it got truncated so ended up shorter in distance and time. Something to chase up.

So far, I am pretty happy with it. It works well and is providing a lot of interesting information!

The Boy Who Found Fear At Last

This was my take on a Turkish fairy tale. There is a translated version of the original. This was for the first speech in the Toastmasters Storytelling manual, which has a simple goal: Tell a folk tale suitable for the audience!

My first challenge was finding a folk tale which met my own criteria:

It had to be the right length for a 7-9 minute speech.
I wanted something relatively unknown, so the audience would not glaze over at a re-telling of a story they had heard 10,000 times before.
I wanted the story to have themes that an adult audience could relate to.
I wanted some form of twist or darkness or other interesting storytelling themes.

I looked in all sorts of places, including sci-fi short stories! In the end, this story lept out of a long list of folk tales due to its title. The title alone is intriguing!

I did make some adjustments to the story. In particular, I stripped out the references to the bracelet. It pushed me over time and also did not seem particularly relevant to the story.

I really enjoyed giving this performance at Farnham Speakers, and was thrilled that it won Best Speech on the night. That said, there is always room for improvement!

SPEED: In my practice runs, this was on the limit of nine minutes. My final delivery was closer to eight. More pauses would really have helped the power of this speech. Perhaps I should have cut it a bit more so I could relax?
VOCAL VARIETY: Strong in some ways, although one comment I got which I fully agree with is that ‘the boy’ did not have a distinctive voice compared to the narrator.
BODY LANGUAGE: Strong stage usage and presence. Some actions could be refined (Swimming? The doves diving?).

Perhaps one thing I am really happy with is that I gave this speech with total confidence. It flowed and I had a good time.

Having a good time when speaking in public. Now that is pretty cool!

Pre-season friendlies: A dangerous game?

Pre-season non-competitive games (think ‘friendlies’) are a bit of a challenge. In an ideal world, they would all end up like the pre-season game I did last weekend: Both teams knew each other, gave good banter, played with spirit and didn’t kick each other off the park. In fact, it was probably one of the most enjoyable games that I have refereed!

Ultimately, that is because both teams came along with the right attitude. Of course, I will naturally state at this point that I gave it the right ‘refereeing touch’ to allow them to just get on with it. Empathy is very important.

In the news, there has been another incident of a friendly becoming decidedly less so. Ilkeston v Mansfield Town was abandoned when the Mansfield manager instructed his players to leave the field of play. He was unhappy that three of his players had been injured, some to hospital treatment level, by the same opponent. After the game, Ilkeston suspended the offending player, subject to an internal investigation.

The player was also substituted following the third injury but clearly the damage had already been done, and the abandonment soon followed.

It is sometimes ‘customary’ for referees to be somewhat shy of using formal sanctions (cautions and dismissals) in pre-season games (“It’s only a friendly, ref!”). Hence a problem player is sometimes managed by way of him or her being substituted instead. This is a very dangerous game to play as if a game slips away from being ‘friendly’, choosing to not use any formal sanctions immediately removes key components of the referee’s toolbox.

The Laws Of The Game apply to pre-season games just like any other. I explain to the players before such games that just how friendly it is going to be is completely down to them and how they play the game. Cards will count! It would be great not to use them but I will use them if it comes to it. It’s a clear message.

Equally, ‘roll on, roll off’ substitutions are NOT permitted in pre-season friendlies (again, because the Laws Of The Game are the same!). There always seems to be the expectation that they should be allowed which is, sadly, down to some referees getting it wrong. Teams ARE allowed as many substitutes as they like, however, due to it not being a formal competition.

I’ve several more pre-season games coming up. It will be very interesting to see how they vary in tempo and temperature!

Do you have any pre-season game stories to share?