Asics AP01 SPM Training Watch: A Short Review

Asics AP01 SPM Training Watch

One of the latest addition to L-Time Studio Boutique’s array of its sports watch collection is the Asics AP01 SPM Training Watch and it has plenty of meat to its slim, sporty frame. Quietly introduced locally last 2013, this watch made a resounding debut last February 1, 2015 when the L-Time Studio (cum Soleus) Runners wore this watch and the Team shirt during the Condura Skyway Marathon.

Asics sports watches have become very popular in many countries specially for young athletes who are into running, biking and racing. It’s no wonder why many Japanese athletes are into it’s concept and have embraced it as their sports watch of choice. The AP01 has a unique style and purpose in the Asics line with very interesting specifications that is less about being fashionable and more about being reliable and useful.

“ASICS watches are designed in the tradition of the technologically advanced, high-quality ASICS shoes that have earned the allegiance of many of the world’s top athletes. Their run training watches, which include the AP01 and AH01, have been developed in collaboration with the ASICS Institute of Science in Kobe, Japan.

The goal and objective of the ASICS Institute of Sport Science is to research, study, and analyze the biomechanics and movement of the human body. All of this work is done for the main goal of improving the training, performance, and enjoyment of both professional and recreational athletes all over the world”, as quoted from the Asics Institute of Sports Science.

Now, let’s see what this particular watch does. With all the functions and cues this watch was meant to represent, the AP01 SPM is meant for running. Everything about this watch directs you to train properly and judiciously. It’s stylish but rugged appearance points you to its three (3) stellar features:

The AP01 SPM Trainer very accurately measures your steps per minute (SPM) and Speed and Distance while you run so you can learn your optimal running stride rate. It manages your pace, running efficiency and reduce the risk of over striding.

SPM Function:

By sensing with the built-in sensor the acceleration generated in the runner’s body during running, this watch measures the number of steps taken, and converts it into the SPM Data (the number of steps taken in 1 minute). It also enables you to control the exercise intensity during running. Using the SPM Data and the data measured with the 1/100 sec chronograph function in combination, you can run in different paces, either faster or slower than usual as desired.

PACE and Distance Function:

Using the algorithm developed by ASICS Institute of Sports Science, this watch can estimate the running pace and the distance run on the basis of the SPM measure during running. The estimate of the distance varies depending on the course and weather conditions and it should be noted that it serves as a general guideline only.

Shoes Impact Meter Function:

You can see how worn out your shoes are from the conditions of the outsole and the upper, but it is difficult to know to what extent the cushioning performance of your shoes have deteriorated. The Shoes Impact Meter indicates the reduction in cushioning performance of your shoes using an index based on such data as total number of steps.

Other great features this training watch possess include:

Double Repeat Timer Function:

Two timers repeat counting down the set time alternately.

Change-over Between Two Time Zones:

The current time of two time zones can be set in the Time mode.

3-Channel Daily Alarm Function:

The alarm can be set to ring at three different times of the day. The alarm of each channel can be engaged or disengaged independently of one another.

300-Lap Memory Function:

Up to 300 measurement data can be stored in memory.

More features here:

• Plastic case
• Aluminum bezel
• Stainless-steel caseback
• Acrylic glass
• Urethane band
• 5bar Water Resistance
• SPM (Steps Per Minute) measurement
• Estimated Pace & Distance measurement
• Shoes Impact Meter
• Time display (dual time)
• Chronograph (300 lap memory)
• Data (recall / SPM, Estimated Pace & Distance , 300 lap memory)
• Timer (double repeat timer)
• Alarm (3-channel daily alarm)
• Backlight
• Power saving function
• Display contrast adjustment
• Two-year battery life

There’s something very enticing about wearing this sports watch that optimizes you to perform effectively. It gives you a sense of pace in real time, knowing when to adjust whether to go faster or slower and having control of your steps to get maximum results.

The Asics AP01 SPM watch on yours truly 🙂

The L-Time Studio-Asics Running Team at the recent Condura Skyway Marathon 2015

You can purchase this watch at just under P5,000.00 at any L-Time Studio Boutique. For its price and features, i cannot recommend the Asics AP01 SPM enough specially if you are particular about pace, stride rate and perceived effort of your runs. It’s one important tool for runners on training!

Dragging You Out Of Bed..To Run!

The alarm sounded off on my cellphone at exactly 3:45 early this morning and i’m supposed to get up already. But i was still groggy, very light-headed and wanted to sleep more as i had come home late from a race launching held last night at BHS. I had promised Betty to join the group run at Meralco so i forced myself to sit up but that was all i could do. I was like brain dead, legs couldn’t move and all i wanted to do was lie down again, get back to sleep because that’s what normal people do, right?

With eyes almost closed, i texted Betty and told her that i was suffering from “tamaditis” so i’ll have to pass-up the run.

I went back to bed but felt a little guilty and my thoughts were these:

Betty has arrived and is doing her warm-up jog. Leo is probably chasing Sylvia again who is as usual, doing her 5 min/km warm-up at the Maligno Road. Chito is once more doing his unique horse-like leg kick to rev and warm-up the muscles for his usual 25k short run. Ninang Tonet is probably whining again for all the reasons you could imagine (bum stomach, noisy neighbors which made her awake all night, plantar fasciitis in the knee, etc.) Mel is now on his 6th show-off move to impress us of his running form. Elaine is now probably on her 4th 200-meter uphill sprint.

And here i am, in the warmth of my bed, curling beneath my blanket, imagining that it’s raining outside just to come up with an excuse and make me feel less guilty. Just as i was about to reach my second wind into dreamland, my phone suddenly buzzes, the shrill sound of an incoming text message. It was Betty. She had read my excuse. And i was expecting the worst:

“WAKE UP YOU LAZY, #@&x<!!. No excuses! Come here asap, now na!

Ftw! Being training buddies for a long time, that’s how we jolt each other out of bed, she and the rest of the team. It was about 4:30am by then, a full 45 minutes since the first alarm so being the kind-hearted and ever loyal friend that i am, i hurriedly did my morning ritual, changed to my running gear and proceeded to the Meralco compound in Ortigas.

Good to see Chito just arriving the same time that i did. So we started together slowly and played  catch up with the rest of the group as they were already on their way to White Plains for the dreaded hills. We found each other and merged just near the Saranggaya entrance and the group was complete.

The hill runs this morning was a bit of a tough one. We did about 4×250 meter on those steepest uphill streets and we were all really gasping for breath after each ascend. All the 8 streets inside go uphill so we took on the four up and the alternating streets we jogged downhill.

While the rest may have ran a total of 13kms, Chito and i were content just to do 10k this morning so after the uphill sessions, we went straight to Jolibee Greenmeadows to fill up our hydration bottles and jogged back to Meralco.

Betty (L) and Tonet

Cool-down

We ended with some stretching exercises led by Betty who has become the self-appointed stretching guru!

We’re nearing some of the most important races starting this month and to sustain my motivation to keep on training will surely depend on how your training partners push and encourage you for each success!

Thanks to my running buddies and sleep tormentors for the push!

Who Is Training For This 21K Race?

Skyway Run for the Whale Sharks

Are you presently training for the Condura Half-Marathon (or the 10K) run this coming March 22? Do you have doubts about your preparation, your readiness to tackle a 21-km race that would include the uphill EDSA (Kalayaan) Flyover bridge and the untested uphill climb towards the Skyway starting in Buendia? If so, read on.

My answer to all questions above is, YES! After days of dilly-dallying whether to join this run or not, i finally inked the registration form for the 21k yesterday at Nike-Trinoma. However, my preparation to run this distance leaves a lot to be desired. I am just averaging a total of 50-60 kms/week with very little long Sunday runs to speak of. My longest runs were my two previous 15k races, the Happy Run, held last January 25 and Runew, last February 22. I remember one 21k run before the RUNEW race but that was it. In between those races are training runs that average between 10 and 14k/day which i did during the weekdays. So would i be able to last the distance? And would this be another “Bahala na si Batman?”

Race Bib and the free t-shirt

In retrospect, i have ran this distance countless of times during races in the 80s but ability have diminished with age so this is like running the half for the first time again. Experience should dictate that i should be doing long Sunday runs of 18 to 25 kms in order to finish a half-marathon comfortably. To aggravate matters, i suffered from severe diarrhea a few days ago which sidelined me for 3 days that left me very weak and dehydrated. I got back to running only yesterday and did a few kilometers of jogging. This morning with my running buddy June, i was able to squeeze in a 11.5km run.

So here i am cramming for more mileage. My game plan: tomorrow March 8, i will be joining a group run either in UP or in BHS for 21k and another 21k the following Sunday, March 15 to complement my shorter weekday runs. This will greatly boost my self confidence leading up to March 22’s Condura race.

If all this fails, bahala na rin si Tarzan!