In a pretty odd chain of events I stumbled upon a jewel of the cyber world. It's simply called, "DailyMile" and it's like Facebook for runners/cyclists/swimmers. In fact, as most sites do these days, it's very compatible with Facebook.
To explain how that's a good thing let's start a few steps back and look more into an introduction of DailyMile.
If you've ever been outside at five in the morning when the only other creatures you can hear (let alone see) are crickets and a few eager birds then you've probably wondered one pivotal question for all members of this site.
"Is anyone out there?"
When you sign up on the totally FREE site you are only asked a few basic questions to get started (username, e-mail, password, and security question). Maybe a minute in and you're technically ready to go... but don't go yet. There's still plenty to do to make this YOUR log.
On the next page you're asked to fill in some blanks to create your profile. All are optional but still very quick to fill out so let's do that. Here's what you'll see:
<<Go right ahead and add whatever photo you like as long as you don't violate any user agreements or any of that good stuff. I didn't have one to add really so I personally opted out.
<<This is when the light shines on your predicament. After you do this you can find all kinds of people around you training much as you are.
<<I'm really not much of an athlete at all but I enjoy riding my bicycle so I chose cyclist. feel free to pick whichever fits you best.
<<My personal goal can be found by following my sidebar links but yours could be just about anything.
<<Miles/Kilometers... simple enough decision, right?
<<OK! You're all set. Let's keep moving.
Next you have an open opportunity to invite some of your friends (as you would just about anytime you sign up for something). Then you're ready to start showing the world how many miles you're getting in a day (or in my case, half-miles).
To get more comfortable with the features let's look at what we have when we login. I'll try to focus our attention to five sections I like the most. Please feel free to find more if you'd like. A lot of attention has been given to details that make this a very convenient site to log your progress.
(1) Note
This is the quickest way to update others on how you're doing. This feature resembles tweets on twitter or wall posts on Facebook. It's quick, effective, and also slightly addictive.
(2) Post a workout
Posting a workout is simply the cornerstone feature of the entire site. There is so much information you can put into or take out of this feature that I'm going to have to post a follow-up article to show any level of respect for the depth of it.
As in introduction let's just say this is how you find out how far you've traveled, if you're on track to meet your goal, compete with friends, and much more.
(3) Feed
The feed is a continuation of your notes. If you want to see what EVERYONE is up to you can change the setting to show just that. This feed isn't much different than those on twitter, facebook, and countless other social networks except for your ability to simple see all the feeds available EVERYWHERE.
If you're having trouble staying motivated you might be able to find some other motivations or individuals who are in need of motivation themselves and use that to find your way back or to simply keep you going strong if that's where you are.
(4) Training
Not to offend anyone's intelligence but I think at this point it's safe to say that we all can see just how easily each of these features blend together to make a very smooth ride (pardon the pun) while on the site. The training portion is no exception.
There are three divisions in this feature: "You", "Leader Board", and "Challenges". "You" shows some charts and even some suggestions for increasing your training performance. "Leader Board" shows the top performers in each athletic focus. "Challenges" shows how you are doing in challenges you've accepted from other members (more on that coming up).
(5) Community Bar
I'm willing to bet that's not the actual name for this bar but let's call it that because everything on that bar is there to help create community on DailyMile.
"People" is like the white pages of DailyMile in that you can use it to find any member through it.
"Challenges" are set up by other members. Someone posts a challenge filled with goals and incentives and all you have to do is submit your progress in the challenges. Everyone involved can see the progress of their 'competition'.
"Routes" allows you to share your routes with others. Using Google Maps as the basis for the feature, DailyMile allows you to trace a favorite route you travel and then you can find other routes in your area that you may not have thought about or perhaps just didn't know about.
"Events" lets you find out who's going to be at that next marathon or peloton you'll be joining. Maybe you'll find your DailyMile buddy at the race or you can just let people know which races you've been to.
"Groups" just offers another way to find a connection with other members. Some of the groups focus on other hobbies, interests, politics, and much much more.
"Forums" well, if you're here you know how a forum works so I'll let you work that one out on your own.
Ok. So, that should be enough to hold you over until next time. Until then, have a great day and god bless.
||mr_c||