Couch to 5k

A week ago from today, I started something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but I had yet to ever commit to. I want to run a 5K. There’s always been one problem: I’m a couch potato.

Couch to 5k is a regimen that’s been designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks. Nine. Weeks.

Now, I am all about having structure and a schedule. That seriously helps me keep focused on a goal and away from shiny distractions. But the static grid of the training plan is, quite frankly, not too helpful while I’m on the treadmill.

Now, in my past experiences with running, I have used the Nike+ system with my old second-gen iPod nano. Nowadays, I use my iPhone 4 and a Griffin AeroSport for Nike+. And now that I endeavor to train, and train properly, for Couch to 5k, I needed a little help. You guessed it, There’s an App for That™.

The aptly named Couch to 5k app is my weapon of choice. Like I said, I started a week ago, and this training takes 9 weeks. Just so happens, a week and a day after I complete the training, there’s a 5k in my town. So this is good for me.

So, about the app. It prompts you during each workout for a walking warmup, then when to run, walk, and to do your cooldown. The greatest thing is that you don’t have to think about it. You just let the app guide you and you just do it™.

You can control music playback from within the app, and it works concurrently with Nike+ on your iOS 4 multitasking-capable iPhone or iPod touch. Another nice touch is a complete guide to stretching within the app. It is super important to stretch before and after your workout. Heck, stretch daily, your tendons will thank you later.

If you’re a fellow Apple geek who needs some motivation to uproot yourself from the couch and run a 5k two-and-a-half months, definitely look into this app. To get you started, watch the developer’s video below.

Couch to 5K: the iPhone App from lonelysandwich on Vimeo.

Keep Track of Your Delivery's Status

My favorite retailer is Amazon, and I am the benefactor of a perpetually gifted Amazon Prime account (thanks, Mom!), so it stands to reason that I have a couple deliveries to track every month.

So there’s this great little utility I use called Delivery Status. It’s made by this outfit called Junecloud, and is available both as a free Mac OS X Dashboard widget and a wonderful universal iOS app that is worth every penny.

On Saturday, Junecloud celebrated the fifth anniversary of Delivery Status, giving a brief overview of its history, and some new developments.

Here’s what great about Delivery Status: it supports just about any courier you could shake a stick at, but it also lets you mark your most used couriers, so you don’t have to hunt and peck through the massive list. Then you just enter your order/tracking number, and it gives you updates all the way up to delivery. Heck, it even shows you where the delivery is on a map. Great stuff.

The widget and the app are both extremely well designed and are refined further with every update. At the very least, treat yourself to the free Dashboard widget. However, I highly recommend picking up the iOS app. It’s usually $4.99, but for a little while, it is $2.99.

Now, go order something with my Amazon affiliate link and track it right to your doorstep.

Dropbox 1.0

The amazing syncing utility Dropbox has finally left beta and entered the land of 1.0! I’ve been a Dropbox user for some time now, and really do love it. Dropbox, to me, is what Apple’s iDisk should be. By far, one of my favorite uses of Dropbox is the ability for apps to sync their databases to it (like the very wonderful 1Password), which is great for apps that have both Mac & iOS versions.

If you want to become a Dropbox user, please follow my referral link. By doing so, you’ll get an extra 250 MB of storage, even on a free account, and I’ll get the same little bump in storage. Now, get to syncing!

You Should Be Listening to Build & Analyze

If you are a developer, or even just interested in how development works (like me), you should be listening to Build & Analyze by the 5by5 Network. It’s hosted by Marco Arment of Instapaper fame and Dan Benjamin. The show is four episodes in and they generally last less than an hour, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble to catch up if you want to.

Dan is a fantastic host who keeps the discussion going, and Marco’s insight is grand, as usual.

Also, if you aren’t using Instapaper, shame on you.