跑步，盡在“掌”控

By+Jennifer+Stahl

身穿運(yùn)動(dòng)服，腳蹬運(yùn)動(dòng)鞋，這樣就上路跑步？你忘了一件重要的裝備—手機(jī)。沒(méi)有手機(jī)或其他運(yùn)動(dòng)追蹤設(shè)備，你如何知道自己跑了多遠(yuǎn)，跑得多快，消耗了多少卡路里？新技術(shù)為跑步這項(xiàng)傳統(tǒng)的運(yùn)動(dòng)注入了活力，吸引越來(lái)越多的人成為奔跑一族。

This summer， I went on one of the most visually stunning runs of my life. My path took me to the top of a 16th-century fort1） in Siena， Italy， as the rising sun lit the surrounding rooftops a brilliant yellow. But as much as I enjoyed the experience， I couldnt shake the feeling that it somehow didnt count， that it was less legitimate than my usual runs.

The reason： I wasnt connected to wi-fi， which meant I couldnt track myself with my Runkeeper app the way I usually did. Without it， I had no way of knowing if I was running as fast or as long as my marathon training plan dictated. I also worried that the friends who followed me on Runkeeper would see that I hadnt logged anything all week and assume Id been slacking2）—both silly things to worry about while enjoying such beautiful scenery， I know. But I also know Im not the only one who has these anxieties.

Anybody whos noticed the surge of sweaty Sunday-morning photos on their Facebook feed can likely vouch for3） the fact that marathons have recently exploded in popularity. To put it in perspective， during the first “running boom” in the 1970s， around 25，000 people in the U.S. ran marathons each year. Nearly twice that number ran in the New York City Marathon on November 1， 2015—and thats just one of 1，200-plus marathons that now take place in the country annually. According to Running USA， an organization that tracks the sports growth， a record 550，637 people finished the 26.2 mile distance in 2014.

Running USA has also found that 52 percent of runners today track themselves with some sort of GPS-enabled device， like a smartphone， a fitness tracker， or a specially designed running watch. This statistic has likely played a role in runnings growing appeal—the influx4） of easily available tracking information has lured people to the sport， and kept them going， by making it possible for anyone to see in real time how its affecting their bodies. These apps and gadgets allow people of all skill levels to run more strategically—and to stay motivated， which is very likely the biggest hurdle to becoming an after-work endurance athlete.

“Run-tracking technology has traveled light-years in the past 25 years，” says Bryan Boyle， the gear editor at Runners World magazine. “Back then， to track distance， we either used the track or a pre-determined route using the cars odometer5）. Maybe we used a Swatch6） to measure time.” Today， free smartphone apps give runners information on pace， distance， and elevation7）. If they upgrade to a top-tier watch， they can find out things like the number and length of their steps， their heart rate， even the estimated volume of oxygen they consume per minute and their vertical oscillation8） （the amount they bounce up and down on each stride）.

All this information can act as a reward and a motivator for the runner. “Its one thing to hear encouragement from a coach，” Boyle explains. “Its quite another， however， to digest and appreciate—at a glance—progress made during weeks and months of running. Miles logged piling up. Pace per mile improving.”

In some cases， these reminders can make the difference between new runners pushing forward through an exhausting marathon-training program and simply giving up. “It has a self-reinforcing function，” says the sports psychologist and Temple University professor Michael Sachs. “You have charts and graphs to show your progress. When youre meeting your metrics9）， it builds self-esteem， making you feel more competent and motivated to keep running.” Knowing that Ill be able to see evidence of my improving distance and pace—and that other people will be able to see those numbers， too—has often been the thing that pushes me out the door. I doubt Im the only one wholl dash up and down the same block a few extra times to record exactly five miles rather than calling it in at 4.6.

But run-tracking technology doesnt just help runners train harder. It also gives them the power to train more intelligently， doing what a coach might do for professional athletes. Recreational runners today no longer have to guess how far or how fast theyve run， or what their body is doing and how its adapting. If they can monitor their heart rate， they can make sure theyre hitting the most strategic pace on each run， which can significantly increases their odds of having a positive experience on the course during race day.

Many apps are specifically designed to win over the ever-growing market of new runners： The average pace among Runkeepers 50 million users is over 11 minutes per mile， which in a marathon would make for a time just under five hours. “Its about taking the sport that the hardcore [runners] know and love and packaging that in a way thats really approachable，” says Jason Jacobs， the CEO of Runkeeper. Along with tracking data， the app offers training plans， tips， reminders to work out， and rewards for accomplishing personal records. It takes advantage of the data runners gather to keep them running—and， of course， using the app more often. “Its about patting them on a back when they do well， giving them a gentle kick in the butt if theyre slacking，” Jacobs says.

This year， the San Francisco Marathon partnered with Runkeeper， as well as the popular step-tracker Fitbit and fitness-app FitStar. “We see wearable and mobile technology as one of the most exciting things happening in the sport right now，” says Michelle LaFrance， the SF Marathons marketing director. “Its driving the democratization of running.” She argues that the social element of this technology—like my ability to see friends activity on Runkeeper， and to display my own for their consumption—is driving more runners to the sport. “When you track yourself and then you share that on social media， you become a force of inspiration in your network，” she says. “We see a huge correlation between the volume that runners share and the number of runners that they get to come run with them.”

No matter how much technology can enhance the experience of running， though， many veteran runners argue that the biggest allure of the sport remains the chance to go off the grid10） for a little bit. Race training offers a rare chance to get outdoors， away from the computer， for an hour or four. “Theres so much more to the experience than metrics，” adds Boyle. “Fresh air. Camaraderie11）. Travel. Shoot， just overall feeling better.”

Like any good trend， run-tracking has already experienced its backlash12）—the term “running naked，” without any tech. Many runners now deliberately leave their watches and phones at home in order to better tune into their bodies—or say， enjoy the Tuscan13） scenery. Theres no app for that.

今年夏天，我經(jīng)歷了人生中最具視覺(jué)沖擊力的一次跑步。我登上了意大利錫耶納市一座16世紀(jì)城堡的最高處，看著冉冉升起的旭日給周圍的屋頂鑲上了燦爛的金邊。不過(guò)，雖然那次經(jīng)歷讓我非常享受，但不知怎的，我總覺(jué)得那不能算數(shù)，覺(jué)得沒(méi)有我平時(shí)跑步那么符合規(guī)矩。

原因是：我沒(méi)有連接無(wú)線網(wǎng)，這意味著我不能像平時(shí)一樣用Runkeeper軟件來(lái)追蹤自己的運(yùn)動(dòng)過(guò)程。沒(méi)有這個(gè)軟件，我就無(wú)從知道跑步速度和距離能不能達(dá)到我的馬拉松訓(xùn)練計(jì)劃的要求。此外，我還擔(dān)心在Runkeeper上關(guān)注我的朋友會(huì)看到我在這一周沒(méi)有任何運(yùn)動(dòng)記錄，就認(rèn)為我偷懶了。我知道，在欣賞如此美景的同時(shí)擔(dān)心這兩件事簡(jiǎn)直是荒謬。但我也知道，有這種焦慮的人不止我一個(gè)。

不管是誰(shuí)，但凡留意過(guò)Facebook推送里涌現(xiàn)的那一張張周日清晨的流汗照，大概都能證明一件事：馬拉松運(yùn)動(dòng)最近火了。為了對(duì)這件事有個(gè)恰當(dāng)?shù)墓烙?jì)，我們來(lái)看看20世紀(jì)70年代的第一次“跑步熱”，期間美國(guó)每年有2.5萬(wàn)人參加馬拉松。而在2015年11月1日當(dāng)天，參加紐約市馬拉松的人數(shù)就接近這一數(shù)字的兩倍，這還只是現(xiàn)在美國(guó)每年舉辦的1200多場(chǎng)馬拉松賽中的一場(chǎng)。美國(guó)跑步協(xié)會(huì)是一家關(guān)注跑步運(yùn)動(dòng)發(fā)展的機(jī)構(gòu)，據(jù)該機(jī)構(gòu)統(tǒng)計(jì)，2014年共有550，637名跑步者跑完了26.2英里（編注：馬拉松全程）的路程，跑步人數(shù)創(chuàng)下了新紀(jì)錄。

美國(guó)跑步協(xié)會(huì)還發(fā)現(xiàn)，如今52%的跑步者會(huì)用一些有全球定位功能的設(shè)備來(lái)追蹤自己，如智能手機(jī)、健身追蹤器或是專門(mén)設(shè)計(jì)的跑步手表等。這樣的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)也許有助于解釋跑步的吸引力為何越來(lái)越大：易于獲取的追蹤信息不斷涌入，讓任何人都能實(shí)時(shí)觀測(cè)跑步對(duì)其身體的影響，從而吸引了人們參與其中并且持之以恒。這些應(yīng)用軟件和設(shè)備讓各個(gè)水平的跑步者都能更有策略地跑步，并且一直保持動(dòng)力—?jiǎng)恿芸赡苁浅蔀闃I(yè)余耐力項(xiàng)目運(yùn)動(dòng)員所面臨的最大障礙。

“跑步追蹤技術(shù)在過(guò)去25年中取得了巨大發(fā)展，”《跑步者世界》雜志裝備版編輯布賴恩·博伊爾說(shuō)道，“25年前，要確定跑步距離，我們要么用跑道，要么用汽車?yán)锍瘫硖崆按_定好的路線，也許還得用一塊斯沃琪手表來(lái)計(jì)時(shí)?！比缃?，免費(fèi)手機(jī)應(yīng)用就能為跑步者提供速度、距離、海拔高度等信息。如果升級(jí)設(shè)備，使用最先進(jìn)的手表，跑步者還能獲得步數(shù)、步距、心率甚至是估算出的每分鐘的耗氧量和垂直擺動(dòng)（每一步躍起和下落的高度）等數(shù)據(jù)。

所有這些信息對(duì)跑步者而言都可以是一種獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)和激勵(lì)?！奥?tīng)到教練的鼓勵(lì)是一回事，但隨意一瞥就能領(lǐng)會(huì)與欣賞自己周復(fù)一周、月復(fù)一月跑步所取得的進(jìn)步是另一回事。記錄的跑步距離越來(lái)越長(zhǎng)，每英里的速度也越來(lái)越快?！辈┮翣柦忉尩馈?/p>

在有些情況下，這些提示信息能決定跑步新手是會(huì)挺過(guò)令人精疲力竭的馬拉松訓(xùn)練項(xiàng)目，還是直接放棄?！斑@些信息有自我強(qiáng)化的作用，”運(yùn)動(dòng)心理學(xué)家、天普大學(xué)教授邁克爾·薩克斯如是說(shuō)，“你可以通過(guò)圖表看到自己的進(jìn)步。完成衡量指標(biāo)會(huì)讓你建立起自尊，讓你覺(jué)得更有能力、更有動(dòng)力跑下去?！蔽夷芸吹阶约号懿骄嚯x增加、速度提高的證據(jù)，而且別人也能看到這些數(shù)據(jù)—對(duì)這一點(diǎn)的了解常常是我出門(mén)跑步的動(dòng)力。我想肯定有很多人和我一樣，繞著同一個(gè)街區(qū)來(lái)來(lái)回回多跑幾趟，就為了跑到5英里整，而不是讓數(shù)據(jù)停留在4.6英里。

然而，跑步追蹤技術(shù)不僅能幫跑步者更刻苦地訓(xùn)練，還讓他們有能力更明智地訓(xùn)練，就像教練訓(xùn)練專業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員一樣。把跑步作為消遣的人如今不用再猜測(cè)自己跑了多遠(yuǎn)，跑得多快，或是身體如何運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，適應(yīng)狀況如何。只要能監(jiān)控心率，他們就能確保每次跑步時(shí)達(dá)到最有利的速度，這樣比賽當(dāng)天在跑道上獲得積極體驗(yàn)的幾率就會(huì)大大增加。

很多應(yīng)用的設(shè)計(jì)就是專門(mén)為了贏得日益擴(kuò)大的跑步新手這一市場(chǎng)：Runkeeper的5000萬(wàn)用戶的平均速度是每英里11分鐘多，若以這個(gè)速度跑完馬拉松只需不到5小時(shí)?！拔覀兯龅木褪菍㈣F桿（跑步者）所了解和熱愛(ài)的這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)打造成一項(xiàng)真正人人可參與的運(yùn)動(dòng)。”Runkeeper首席執(zhí)行官賈森·雅各布斯表示。除了追蹤數(shù)據(jù)以外，該應(yīng)用還提供訓(xùn)練計(jì)劃、建議、鍛煉提醒，對(duì)完成個(gè)人目標(biāo)的用戶還有獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。它利用跑步者收集的數(shù)據(jù)來(lái)讓他們堅(jiān)持跑步，當(dāng)然也讓他們更頻繁地使用該應(yīng)用?！熬拖袷怯脩舯憩F(xiàn)好時(shí)拍拍他們的背，偷懶時(shí)在他們屁股上輕輕踢一腳一樣?！毖鸥鞑妓贡硎?。

今年（編注：指2015年），Runkeeper和流行的計(jì)步器Fitbit及健身應(yīng)用FitStar一起，成為舊金山馬拉松的合作伙伴?！拔覀冋J(rèn)為，可穿戴和移動(dòng)技術(shù)是這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)目前出現(xiàn)的最令人激動(dòng)的變化之一，它正在推動(dòng)跑步的民主化?！迸f金山馬拉松營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)米歇爾·拉弗朗斯表示。她認(rèn)為，該技術(shù)的社交元素正促使更多跑步者參與其中，就像我可以通過(guò)Runkeeper看到朋友們的活動(dòng)，也可以展示自己的活動(dòng)供朋友消遣?！爱?dāng)你記錄自己的運(yùn)動(dòng)并在社交媒體上分享時(shí)，你就成了自己所在網(wǎng)絡(luò)中的激勵(lì)因素，”她說(shuō)，“跑步者分享的越多，就會(huì)有越多的跑步者加入他們的行列，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)這兩者之間有很大的關(guān)聯(lián)。”

不過(guò)，無(wú)論技術(shù)能在多大程度上提升跑步體驗(yàn)，很多資深跑步者還是認(rèn)為，跑步最大的吸引力仍然在于它給了人們短暫“拔電”的機(jī)會(huì)。跑步訓(xùn)練給人們提供了一個(gè)難得的機(jī)會(huì)，讓他們遠(yuǎn)離計(jì)算機(jī)，在戶外活動(dòng)一到四個(gè)小時(shí)?！斑@種經(jīng)歷包含的遠(yuǎn)不止那些衡量指標(biāo)，”博伊爾補(bǔ)充道，“新鮮的空氣，志同道合的感覺(jué)，沿途的樂(lè)趣。哇，整體感覺(jué)都會(huì)更好。”

同所有好的潮流一樣，跑步追蹤技術(shù)已經(jīng)遭到了反對(duì)聲。反對(duì)者提出“裸跑”這個(gè)說(shuō)法，即跑步時(shí)不使用任何技術(shù)。很多跑步者現(xiàn)在故意把手表和手機(jī)放在家里，為的是更好地感受他們的身體，或者做點(diǎn)像是享受托斯卡納的景色這樣的事。這可不是應(yīng)用軟件能實(shí)現(xiàn)的。

1. fort [f??（r）t] n. 堡壘，城堡

2. slack [sl?k] vi. 懈怠，懶散

3. vouch for：證明

4. influx [??nfl?ks] n. 涌進(jìn);匯集

5. odometer [???d?m?t?（r）] n. （車輛等的）里程計(jì)

6. Swatch：斯沃琪，瑞士手表品牌，以高質(zhì)量、低成本為特點(diǎn)。

7. elevation [?el??ve??（?）n] n. 高度，海拔

8. oscillation [??s??le??（?）n] n. 擺動(dòng);波動(dòng)

9. metric [?metr?k] n. 衡量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)

10. off the grid：脫離公用系統(tǒng)（如水、電等）

11. camaraderie [?k?m??rɑ?d?ri] n.〈法〉同志情誼

12. backlash [?b?k?l??] n. （尤指對(duì)某一集團(tuán)或政治運(yùn)動(dòng)的）強(qiáng)烈反應(yīng)，強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)

13. Tuscan：托斯卡納區(qū)的。托斯卡納是意大利中部的一個(gè)大區(qū)，文章開(kāi)頭所說(shuō)的錫耶納市即位于該區(qū)。