[Sportsandrec] Sport-IIII and running with a guidedog

[Kelly Thornbury]

Hi Tai, 
All the prompts are both audible and (as the unit is really designed for) visual on the 7 LEDs. The Sport-IIII should pair with your heart rate strap without a problem, and pairing is very simple. I don't know what kind of information you could get from your ANT+ rowing machine as there are no "rowing" metrics discussed in the product literature. The sensors I currently own include a Garmin HR strap, a speed and cadence sensor on my training bike, and a PowerTap. PowerTap is a bike wheel with a sensor in the hub that measures power output in watts (which can easily be converted to Joules, calories, VO2, and a host of other metrics). The Sport-IIII will also pair with a foot pod, but mine is in need of a battery change so I haven't tested this yet. Although I have not heard of the Sport-IIII being paired with ANT+ spinning bikes at a fitness club, my guess is that it would work just fine, just like a Garmin or any other ANT+ head unit. 

Hi LM, 
You caught the thread right at the beginning, I just left a lot of stuff out in favor of not writing a novel. Sport-IIII was designed by a sighted triathlete who was running and checking his watch constantly for his data, and tripped and fell into some fairly serious injuries. Later he was on his time trial bike and noticed he kept sticking his aero helmet up in the wind like an air brake every time he looked at his bike computer. So, he designed the Sport-IIII, which attaches to your sunglasses and has a flexible boom with 7 LED lights (red, orange, yellow, green, yellow, orange, and red again) which can be programmed to flash depending on what zone you are in (or what percentage of your target metric). The boom sits in your peripheral vision so you don't have to look away from the road to get your metrics. The unit also gives audible feedback as to your data for the sensors you have paired to it. The software really blows for accessibility (4IIII is looking into more accessibility), but the unit itself is pretty blind user friendly. And no, I will not be in Dallas this year, I have a race and the Tour de Wyoming (oh yay, a ride around nowhere to get to nowhere) at the beginning of July. 

To whoever asked- I don't know a way to get ride metrics from your average, run-of-the-mill spinning bike. For these workouts I usually just go for time, HR, and feel. Polar, and soon Garmin, have road pedals which will measure power output and cadence, and with an average cadence and a measurement of the rollout of the flywheel you might get an average speed, but this would be a $1500-$2200 option. Again, these products are not advertised for this purpose, but there is no reason why they wouldn't work on a fitness club spinning bike for power data if you wanted to make this kind of investment or had more than this single use for the pedals. 

Hi Tina, 
I think most schools don't recommend running with your guide, they are typically not trained to guide under those conditions. I guess it would depend on the environment you are running in and the normal difficulty of the guide work. Two other points, first make sure your events will allow guide dogs on the course. USA triathlon specifically does not allow guide dogs on the course for Tri-6 (blind) competitors. Second, think real hard on whether you want to run your guide 13 miles. Most dogs really don't have that kind of endurance. I occasionally  run with my guide on a leash, and she is only good for about3-4 miles before it is too much for her on her best days. 

Kelly