[Sportsandrec] Sport-IIII and running with a guide dog

[Tina Thomas]

Hey Kelly- My dog is good for about 3 miles and then she's done. As for the
13 mile run, I am going to use a human guide because that would be way to
much for the dog to handle. 
Tina  


-----Original Message-----
From: sportsandrec-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:sportsandrec-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kelly Thornbury
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 1:57 AM
To: sportsandrec at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Sportsandrec] Sport-IIII and running with a guidedog

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



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