March 2012

It’s the moment every runner has replayed over and over again in their minds. Muscles aching, the cheering crowd slowly comes into view, then the ticking clock, then – finally – the finish line!
We’re thrilled to offer congratulations to each of our MOTOACTV Ambassadors for completing the NYC Half Marathon this past Sunday! Now that they’ve each had ample time for rest and relaxation, we’ve asked them to reflect on their experience with MOTOACTV – from training, to race day, and beyond!

Neil
The MOTOACTV played an integral part in my training. I loved the fact that it was easily readable, simple to set up and the downloads were seamless.
On race day the fact that the screen was very clear made it very easy to see where my pace was in addition to where on the course I was. In addition the heart rate feature helped me gauge my effort in conjunction with the speed at which I was running.
I absolutely plan on using the MOTOACTV in future races as the accuracy compared to my previous watch (Garmin) is far greater.

Up next for Neil: I am doing the Escape from the Palisades Half Marathon in May and most certainly will be using the MOTOACTV.

Elizabeth
MOTOACTV really helped me get prepared, as it gave me the confidence to know exactly where I was training-wise. Even though I had a Garmin that I was quite attached to a month before, MOTOACTV made running a lot easier. It gets signal in seconds (I used to have to wait up to 10 or 15 minutes with my Garmin 405!), and all the data was being fed into my ear without me even having to look down while I finished a lap. I was able to focus more on efficiency, form and speed instead of looking to see how my watch thought I was doing, which is just priceless.
It definitely made a difference in my race day performance- I felt as if my best running partner had come along to pace me! MOTOACTV has already replaced my previous GPS that I really used to love. There’s really no comparison.

Up next for Elizabeth: It’ll be a busy year for me as I’m still planning to run around 20 more races, including 2 marathons and around 5 to 8 half marathons. I will definitely plan to keep using my MOTOACTV!

Linda
I really liked the feature of the device that creates a Performance Playlist and I even listened to mine while I was running the NYC Half! I also really liked the audio prompts of my performance after each lap and “on-demand” updates just by hitting the device.
I was a little more motivated to train because I had the device — I was fascinated with the idea of the performance playlist and wanted to run more listening to a variety of different music to create the ideal performance playlist. I’d like to think that listening to the performance playlist while running the NYC Half helped me use my music to run optimally, especially when I started to feel tired.

Up next for Linda: In the next six months, I plan to run a variety of races ranging in distance from 4 miles up to 13.1 miles. I will probably use the MOTOACTV while running some of those races, particularly the longer ones.

Karla
Love, love, love the online interface. I also love being able to chart my pace for a run against the elevation to see how well I’m handling hills and the other challenges while I run. The metrics options are really cool, and I’m enjoying the GPS in general.
Racing with MOTOACTV was great! I got a GPS signal right away in Central Park and at every mile marker; MOTOACTV was within .03 accuracy on the distance. Being able to check my pace any time, instead of waiting to calculate my splits at the mile markers, really helped me run a more even pace, which is a good thing. I definitely think it made a difference in my performance for that reason–even pacing helps prevent you from going out too fast and paying for it later in the race.
The GPS partnered with the MP3 really is an awesome training tool for anyone who likes to train with music. I used to run with Nike+ iPod, but with the more detailed running and music stats you get with MOTOACTV, I’ll probably retire my Nike+ now. Really, I think this product is so close to perfect for runners who train with music.

Up next for Karla: My next race is the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler in DC on April 1. I’ll definitely run with MOTOACTV again.

Note: As a safety precaution, New York Road Runners (NYRR) strongly discourages the use of devices requiring headphones when participating in NYRR events such as the NYC Half. Should you choose to use headphones to listen to music during your training or while running, NYRR recommends that you keep the volume low to allow ambient noises to make you aware of your surroundings.

Tagged as: ambassadors, fitness, fitness tracker, gps, heart monitor, motoactv, motorola, mp3 player, smart music player

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