5GB iPod & Jogging
Hi!
I?m awaiting my new 5GB iPod these days. I ordered the old one because it was heavily discounted and 5GB for music should be enough for me.
Anyway, my question/concern is:
- I?m running approx. 6 miles a day, relativeley fast, up- and downhill. Now I?m not sure if it would be safe to take the iPod with me during my runs.
Because I?m running fast, I take long steps. This means more impact than the usual jogging. And running downhill means even more impact.
From what I?ve read here, I do understand that it would be better to hold my iPod in my hands while running (would need a sweat resistant case then...). It wouldn?t be a big problem for me, if my iPod would skip every now and then when running, what I?m concernd about is, that my iPod could take permanent damage:
what I know about harddrives is, that it is absolutely deadly for the drives if the read-/write-heads touch the surface of the discs.
- Could my running damage the iPod permanently?
Greetings form Germany,
Tibor
www.instantliving.de
# 1 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
welcome to ipodlounge, instantliving! :)
great, that you made use of the knowledge data here, before posting! :)
your running won?t damage the ipod permanently. it may occasionally skip however. see if you can get a case, with which you can strap the ipod to your upper body or upper arm (humerus ;) ). that tends to reduce impact and skipping.
m.r.m. at 2007-11-15 14:17:13 >
# 2 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
mrm,
thanks for your answer and for welcoming me!
So I don?t have to worry about my new iPod, but I ask myself how the iPod protects its harddrive when it is running and exposed to permanent shocks or vibrations?
Does it has some kind of vibration-detector and then refuses to load data from the harddrive when detecting shocks or vibrations?
Or is the reason simply that modern harddrives are less fragile and less susceptible to shocks and vibration?
Gr?sse,
Tibor
www.instantliving.de
PS: Isn?t that funny that we?re communicating in english here while we?re both from Germany?
# 3 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
modern hdd?s have improved, but that?s not really the reason the ipod can be used for running. the ipod loads the songs into it?s internal 32mb cache. that way the hdd doesn?t have to constantly spin. this results in greater battery life, being less prone to skip during a song and even to survive the occasional drop. dropping the ipod whilst the hdd is spinning usually ends up deadly. the shock the ipod faces while running isn?t great enough to break it. you will most probabley notice a skip every time the hdd spins up to reload the buffer.
single platter hdd?s (ipod 5gb, 10gb, 15gb) are less prone to skipping than double platter hdd?s (20gb, 30gb).
(on speaking english) it?s good practice, i guess. :)
where in germany are you located?
m.r.m. at 2007-11-15 14:19:21 >
# 4 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
Originally posted by instantliving
From what I?ve read here, I do understand that it would be better to hold my iPod in my hands while running (would need a sweat resistant case then...). It wouldn?t be a big problem for me, if my iPod would skip every now and then when running, what I?m concernd about is, that my iPod could take permanent damage:
Hi. I've been running with my 10GB WiPod for about six months now. I use a Marware SportSuit Convertible case, which is great. I carry it in my hand (tried the armband, but it crashed after the buffer ran out every single time). The iPod occasionally skips songs, and once out of every four of five runs it crashes completely (even when holding in my hand).
It appears to me that the key to running with it is: 1) hold it in your hand; 2) lighten up on the arm movements at about the time the HD is spinning up.
Otherwise, get ready to do some resets on your runs! Good luck!
Peej at 2007-11-15 14:20:15 >
# 5 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
Originally posted by Peej
I carry it in my hand (tried the armband, but it crashed after the buffer ran out every single time).
How is it that the buffer ran out when you had it attached with the armband?? Was there too much shake for the HD to powerup properly?
Brett
# 6 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
hi guys!
thank you for your answers so far! when i receive my ipod, i?ll give it a try and perform some of my regular runs. but as i read on this forum on this topic, i?m pretty sure that the ipod won?t work on my kind of running...
...furthermore i?m still afraid of destroying the harddrive by a scenario like this:
- i run for approx. 60 minutes. after 10 to 20 minutes the ram buffer is out. the ipod tries to load another 10-20 minutes into its ram. it can?t because i?m runnig...
...the ipod continues trying. finally theres a short piece of flat concrete i run on. consistent, no hard shocks. ipod spins the harddrive.
at that moment, the downhill part of my running begins. i take the first really long step and the impact when my whole accelerated weight hits the ground again after this first step hits the poor litte ipod right at the moment, it is spinning it?s harddisk.
i killed my ipod.
well, i know, i should ease up on that topic (and maybe get a life?)...
after all, the ipod is much to beautyfull for such often dirty, always sweaty activities. there are so many other activities to use my ipod: biking, workout, cleaning the appartement, commuting to work...
tibor
www.instantliving.de
ps: @mrm: i?m from karlsruhe/baden, near the french border.
# 7 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
hey tibor, i?m from dortmund. once you get your pod, give it a try. i don?t think, you?ll kill your ipod. worst case is, it?ll freeze up. a reset will get it out of that. i agree that if that happens, it?s not really useful for running. i?ve never gone jogging with it, so i don?t know myself (tend to do all my running at football practise, and the ipod is definitely not going there ;) ). peej has given a good account though. just try it out and see what happens.
edit: check out this link. (http://ipodlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13548#post13548)
m.r.m. at 2007-11-15 14:23:18 >
# 8 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
Originally posted by Peej
Hi. I've been running with my 10GB WiPod for about six months now. I use a Marware SportSuit Convertible case, which is great. I carry it in my hand (tried the armband, but it crashed after the buffer ran out every single time). The iPod occasionally skips songs, and once out of every four of five runs it crashes completely (even when holding in my hand).
It appears to me that the key to running with it is: 1) hold it in your hand; 2) lighten up on the arm movements at about the time the HD is spinning up.
Otherwise, get ready to do some resets on your runs! Good luck!
I have the Marware Sports Convertible as well and I love the arm band. No problems what so ever. Just strap it on your arm and jog till you heart's content. It's perfect and I've never had a skip. Don't know what happened in reference to the above post. Grab this case, it's the best (in my opinion) for jogging.
ross88 at 2007-11-15 14:24:21 >
# 9 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
My wife runs every day with iPod for 60 minutes and has said she has never had any problems with skipping or freezing.
Joe at 2007-11-15 14:25:22 >
# 10 Re: 5GB iPod & Jogging
I've had 2 iPod's, and both of them work excellent on my runs... I am a very hard runner also, and nothing has ever happened to them. I think that if Apple makes the iPod's soo small, they should be portable... Isn't there a commercial where someone is running with the iPod?
