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Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

mayer.cool

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Re: Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

#11

Post by imzadi »

vunderba wrote: post #4

Good job hijacking your own pavlovian responses to run more. Personally, the low-tech solution of a plunger stuck to my forehead with a klondike bar dangling from the end has always worked for me. Related but if you're wanting to get into running (and have the environment for it) - I HIGHLY recommend favoring trail running over running streets/sidewalks. It's far better for your joints, it'll make you work harder sin…

A few years ago I did Couch to 5k. I did all my running at a local park with hiking trails. I actually really enjoyed "running" at the park. After I finished the program, I signed up for a 5k that was run on a flat, paved trail. I finished it, but it beat me up so badly that I could barely walk for the next week.

Re: Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

#12

Post by vunderba »

JAlexoid wrote: post #10
vunderba wrote: post #4

Good job hijacking your own pavlovian responses to run more. Personally, the low-tech solution of a plunger stuck to my forehead with a klondike bar dangling from the end has always worked for me. Related but if you're wanting to get into running (and have the environment for it) - I HIGHLY recommend favoring trail running over running streets/sidewalks. It's far better for your joints, it'll make you work harder sin…

> Personally, the low-tech solution of a plunger stuck to my forehead with a klondike bar dangling from the end has always worked for me. Or you could borrow someone's labrador retriever and have the dog pull you. They like to go real far and real fast... and you get to practice hard turns. > I HIGHLY recommend favoring trail running over running streets/sidewalks As a triathlete - I would add something: for me it's…

I completely agree. I used to live about 10 minutes from the beach, and I would do sprints up and down on the sand. There's not much that's more humbling than getting completely gassed after a whooping 60 seconds of running.

Re: Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

#14

Post by jeff_vader »

I've done something similar but it was only a 7 segment display showing how much I ran. It sat on a shelf and it was pretty fun to watch number go up every time I came back to my apartment after a run.

To make everything really simple I scraped my public profile directly from esp8266 controller (so there's no need for extra steps of setting up Strava app to gain access to the API). Worked relatively well.

Re: Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

#15

Post by inanutshellus »

> My adulthood litmus test has always been the following: > > If you know what date it is every day, you are an adult.

Tangent - My definition of "adult" that I came up with as an early teen:

"When I realize I'm looking in the _driver's seat_ of passing cars hoping to see pretty girls, that will mean I'm `an adult`.".

Years later I had a palpable shock moment in which I glanced in a car and remembered coming up with the definition. "OH CRAP I'm an adult!"

Felt like a "hoist by my own petard" moment.

Re: Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

#18

Post by NBJack »

This article is a work of art. Thank you for writing and sharing it.

I too have struggled to find something that worked for me for consistent exercise (surprisingly, prepaying for training helped more than I expected), and now I don't want to lose momentum. Make no mistake though; I had a LOT of help from friends and family as well.

Bonus points for Mord Fustang.

Re: Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

#19

Post by xandrius »

inanutshellus wrote: post #15

> My adulthood litmus test has always been the following: > > If you know what date it is every day, you are an adult. Tangent - My definition of "adult" that I came up with as an early teen: "When I realize I'm looking in the _driver's seat_ of passing cars hoping to see pretty girls, that will mean I'm `an adult`.". Years later I had a palpable shock moment in which I glanced in a car and remembered coming up with…

I generally unbundle age and adulthood.

For me the definition has always been "an adult owns up to their own mistakes".

Which is the shorter version of "A child doesn't care about their mistakes, a teenager expects others to fix them and an adults own up to them".

This allows me to categorise older people who I feel like don't act like adults.

Re: Training myself to run farther with Strava's API and an IoT dog feeder of M&Ms

#20

Post by LeifCarrotson »

JAlexoid wrote: post #10
vunderba wrote: post #4

Good job hijacking your own pavlovian responses to run more. Personally, the low-tech solution of a plunger stuck to my forehead with a klondike bar dangling from the end has always worked for me. Related but if you're wanting to get into running (and have the environment for it) - I HIGHLY recommend favoring trail running over running streets/sidewalks. It's far better for your joints, it'll make you work harder sin…

> Personally, the low-tech solution of a plunger stuck to my forehead with a klondike bar dangling from the end has always worked for me. Or you could borrow someone's labrador retriever and have the dog pull you. They like to go real far and real fast... and you get to practice hard turns. > I HIGHLY recommend favoring trail running over running streets/sidewalks As a triathlete - I would add something: for me it's…

> Or you could borrow someone's labrador retriever and have the dog pull you. They like to go real far and real fast... and you get to practice hard turns.

You only need to be concerned about hard turns if the dog is untrained, afterwards, they're the best running partners you could ask for. Come visit us at https://www.reddit.com/r/RunningWithDogs/. Lots of suggestions for harnesses for the dog (mandatory, IMO) and waist leashes for the human (highly recommended).

If you own the dog, they can be a great source of encouragement, too. They'll bounce with excitement any time there's a possibility of going for a run, and look at you with big, sad eyes when you instead sit on your phone.

My old girl and I put in 20+ miles a week, 50 weeks a year, for a little over 8 years, or a little over 8,000 miles. That's a lot of M&Ms!

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