Like many runners, I’m a bit obsessive about data. I love to collect it. I love to analyze it. I love to spend time visualizing with maps, graphs, charts and long lists of numbers. After all of my data is imported from my Garmin 405 and I’ve reviewed the hard numbers from the day’s run, one of my favorite things to do is send the data on over to Google Earth and watch as that big blue ball in the sky rotates and zooms in, aerial spy-like, to view the satellite imagery of my running route. It allows me to discover new routes around where I normally run and helps to reinforce and adjust the mental perspective of the terrain that I cover, giving me a better perceptual image of where I am in space when I hit the trail or road again. But most of all, it’s just downright fun.
The process of getting my data into Google Earth is pretty straightforward, but a multi-step process nonetheless. I first allow my watch to wireless sync with my computer, which shoves my data automagically into Garmin’s Training Center software, as well as uploads it to Garmin’s web-based system Garmin Connect, all without me doing anything save for walking within ten feet of my computer. From Training Center, I export the data and then import it to Runner’s Studio, where I do most of my visualizing and analysis. Right there with each and every log entry within Runner’s Studio is a handy-dandy little button that says “View In Google Earth”. Click that button and – whammo - I immediately find myself orbiting the earth, descending quickly on my target.
But that process just got a whole lot easier, and more powerful on the Google-end of things, as announced on the Google LatLong blog just last week.
The company’s announcement for version 5.2 of the Google Earth software leads with this:
Visualize your hiking, biking, and running tracks
Google Earth has always been a great tool for viewing your outdoor activities, whether it be hiking, running, biking, skiing, sailing, or just about any other way you choose to explore the world. With the release of Google Earth 5.0, we added the ability to connect your GPS device directly to Google Earth and import your track. Now, with Google Earth 5.2, we’ve added the ability to view elevation, speed, and other data as a graph directly in Google Earth. Just connect your GPS device to upload your track, and select “View Elevation Profile” from the menu. This will bring up elevation and speed graphs. If your GPS device records additional information such as heart rate or cadence, these will also be available to view in the graph. You can also see statistics such as total elevation, maximum slope, and average speed. You can select a portion of your ride and get statistics for just that section.
This is exciting news for the data visualization obsessed! Now you can spend even more time looking at your route as you assess your speed and even heart rate at key point throughout your run as you evaluate how to cover the distance more efficiently. A data overlay option truly has been what’s missing in the use of Google Earth for training, and now that they have tossed it into version 5.2, there will be significantly less switching between windows and mental estimates as you try to match up your raw data with the visual image of your run.
I for one will not abandon Runner’s Studio. It’s my go-to software for tracking, managing and archiving my data. While I don’t know for certain if Google Earth will allow you to archive all of your data for later access (if it doesn’t, it surely will soon), the fact of the matter is that Runner’s Studio is a specialized* bit of software designed with a very specific purpose in mind, and as a result, it far outperforms any possible competition when it comes to running-related data. It’s the nature of specializing versus generalizing. The moment that you try to appeal to the widest variety of people is the moment that you sacrifice the power of your specialized functionality. So Runner’s Studio stays, and in fact remains as the core of my training analysis system. But being able to quickly and easily view my running-specific data in the new Google Earth will certainly make my globe-staring more enjoyable, and I welcome the addition.
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*Just a quick note about the “specialization” of Runner’s Studio. Though it is designed to be running specific, it does support tracking and analysis of all your cross-training activities, making it a good place to gather all of your data. For those looking for a running-centric (not running exclusive) system, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
You can find Runner’s Studio : The Ultimate Software for Runner’s, on runnersstudio.com.
I don’t actually read the Google LatLong blog. The original heads-up on the new version, and new fuctionality, found in Google Earth 5.2 came from The Gear Caster blog.
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