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Runners Get Virtual Coaching 你专属的虚拟跑步教练

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If your workout is uninspired, these gadgets may help  如果觉得缺乏运动的动力，这些机件也许能助你一臂之力喔

One thing, and one thing only, got Jim Stritzinger to take up running. It wasn’t new running shoes or a desire to trim down or get away from the computer, he says. It was a small sensor in his shoes.

吉姆．史提金格之所以开始跑步，只有一个原因，纯粹只有一个原因而已。他说，不是因为买了新跑鞋，也不是因为想瘦身，更不是因为想远离计算机，而是因为他鞋子里一个小小的传感器。

Stritzinger, 45, belongs to a growing number of fitness fanatics who rely on wireless technology to monitor workout. Where pedometers once ruled exercise gadgets, thesevirtual workout buddies are taking off and adding more capabilities.

现年四十五岁的史提金格是个健身狂热者，而现在有愈来愈多像他一样疯狂热爱健身的人，纷纷利用无线科技来监测自己的锻炼情形。运动仪器一度是由计步器称霸，但如今虚拟运动搭档迅速流行起来，而且还添加了更多新功能。

A shout-out from Lance  兰斯．阿姆斯特朗大声鼓励

While Stritzinger is pounding the pavement and listening to music playlists, the Nike+ sensor sends information to an application on his iPod, allowing him to hear updates about how far he has run and how fast. A bonus: He gets a shout-out from Lance Armstrong through his iPod when he needs a boost.

史提金格在人行道上迈着步伐，一面聆听播放列表里的乐曲，耐吉+的传感器则把信息传送到他的iPod应用程序里，让他能听到语音更新讯息，好知道自己究竟跑了多远，以及速度有多快。另外还有一项额外的好康喔：那就是每当他需要再加把劲时，iPod里就会传来兰斯．阿姆斯特朗的大声鼓舞。

“I joke with my sons that I ran with Lance today,” Stritzinger says. “Trust me, I work a little harder when Lance tells me to step it up.”

「我还和我儿子开玩笑说，我今天和阿姆斯特朗一起跑步喔，」史提金格说：「说实在的，阿姆斯特朗一旦出声叫我卖力一点，我真的就会跑得更起劲呢。」

A novice to running until March 2008, he now runs 40 miles a week and planned to run a qualifier for the 2011 Boston Marathon. All he does is put on his shoes (the sensor is under the insole) and iPod. When he’s ready, he syncs the information from the iPod to a Nike website that analyzes his workouts, encourages him to sign up for challenges, both virtual and real events, and also offers coaching and a social network.

从二００八年三月起才开始认真跑步的史提金格，现在每周跑四十哩，而且计划参加二０一一年波士顿马拉松的资格赛，而他唯一需要做的就是穿上鞋子（传感器装在鞋垫下），带着iPod。他一旦准备好了之后，就会把iPod里的数据同步传送到耐吉的一个网站上，这个网站会分析他的锻炼情形，鼓励他接受进一步的挑战──包括虚拟和真实的活动──也提供锻炼咨询以及社交网络。

“I have running buddies all over the world,” he says. “I’ve never met any of them, but we communicate with each other all the time. Also, when I’m done with a run, my iPod automatically sends out a tweet [to Twitter] and posts a status report on my Facebook page.”

「我在世界各地都有跑步伙伴，」他说：「我和他们从没见过面，但我们常常互相沟通。此外，我每完成一次跑步训练，我的iPod就会自动传送推讯到推特网站上，并且在我的Facebook网页上发布进度报告。」

“I get instant messages from people congratulating me and telling me things like I’m inspiring them to work out.”

「其他人就会传送即时消息给我，向我道贺，还说我激发了他们锻炼的动力等等之类的话。」

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uninspired [͵ʌnɪnˋspaɪrd] adj. 无创意的; 乏味的

take up 开始学, 做, 喜欢上; 接受 to develop an interest in or devotion to

fanatic [fəˋnætɪk] n. 狂热者；盲信者

pedometer [pɪˋdɑmətɚ] n. 步数计；步程计  a device that measures how far someone has walked by counting the number of times the feet are raised and put down again

shout-out  蓄意明显的大声说话或是响应 a public expression of gratitude or recognition

playlist [ˋplelɪst] n.（剧团的）演出剧目表

bonus [ˋbonəs] n.【口】额外给予的东西，额外的好处

boost [bust] n. 推动；帮助；促进

qualifier [ˋkwɑlə͵faɪɚ] n. 预选赛，资格赛  a game or competitive event from which the winner will go on to compete in the next part of a competition

sync [sɪŋk] v. 使同步（= synchronize）

sign up 注册；报名登记 to agree to be a participant or recipient by signing one's name; enlist

status [ˋstetəs] n. 情形，状况，状态

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A simpler device may be enough  简单的仪器也许就已足够

Not everyone exercising is training for the Boston Marathon or wants all that information.

不是每个人都是为了训练自己参加波士顿马拉松而运动，也不是每个人都想要对自己的运动情形获取那么多的信息。

Steven Blair, former president of The Cooper Institute, a leader in physical fitness research, is happy with a pedometer. That’s not to say he doesn’t understand the appeal of newer devices. A professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina, he is embarking on research into ways technology can help people make healthy lifestyle choices at the Center on Technology Applications for Lifestyle Interventions.

曾在体适能研究翘楚的库柏学院担任院长的史帝芬．布莱尔，只要有个计步器就已心满意足了。不过，这不表示他不懂得新式器材的吸引力。身为南卡罗莱那大学的运动科学教授，布莱尔目前正在生活型态干预科技应用中心着手一项研究，以了解科技如何才能协助大众做出有益健康的生活型态抉择。

“The research in this area is beginning to blossom,” he says. “It is going to be big.”

「这个领域的研究已经开始开花结果，」他说：「所带来的影响将会非常大。」

But Blair says most people don’t need sophisticated gadgetry and can gauge the intensity of a workout by how hard they’re breathing or if they’re able to keep up a conversation while working out.

但布莱尔也表示，大多数人并不需要繁复的仪器，只要观察自己呼吸有多喘，或是能不能在健身的同时还一边和人交谈，即可判断自己锻炼的剧烈程度。

Getting results  获取成果

His daughter Ann Blair Kennedy, 37, has tried several devices and now wears a Bodybugg 24 hours a day, attaching the sensor strap to her left triceps. It beeps when she reaches her fitness goals and shows on a small display she wears on her waistband how many calories she’s burning.

他的女儿安．布莱尔．肯尼迪现年三十七岁，曾经尝试过几种不同的仪器，现在则是一天二十四小时都佩戴着：「寄身虫」，她把感应束带缠在左臂的三头肌上。一旦她达到健身目标，这具仪器就会发出哔声，并且在她腰带上的小屏幕显示她燃烧了多少卡路里。

She likes the “honesty” it brings her, requiring her to sync her calorie consumption and workouts with a website. She dropped her clothing size from a women’s 28 to a 14, losing 75 pounds over 1 1/2 years. She finished her first half marathon in December.

她喜欢这种仪器的「诚实以告」，她必须把自己的服装尺寸从女性的廿八号缩小到了十四号，一年半就减了七十五磅的体重。她还在十二月跑完了生平第一场半程马拉松。

“My energy level is great, through the roof,” she says. “And as my dad’s research has shown, if you’re physically fit, you’ll live longer.”

「我精力旺盛，活力暴增，」她说：「而且我爸爸的研究也显示，只要拥有健康的体适能，就能够活得更久。」

And in Stritzinger’s case, you might end up running longer.

以史提金格的例子来说，还可能会跑得更远喔！

“When I started out, I didn’t have a goal of running a marathon,” Stritzinger says. “I thought maybe a 5K if I was lucky.”

「我刚开始时，并没有把参加马拉松当成目标，」史提金格说：「当时觉得自己只要能跑个五公里就算幸运了。」

−by Janice Lloyd

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research [rɪˋsɝtʃ] v. [（+in/into/on）] 做/进行（有关）……的研究 to study about someone or something thoroughly

intervention [͵ɪntɚˋvɛnʃən] v. 干预; 介入

gadgetry [ˋgædʒətrɪ] n. 小配件, 小玩意

gauge [gedʒ] v. 估计，判断

triceps [ˋtraɪsɛps] n.【解】三头肌

waistband [ˋwest͵bænd] n. 腰带

start out 开始 to take the first steps, as in life, one's career, etc

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Vocabulary Focus

trim down 使细[瘦]些；削减… to reduce one’s excess weight

pound the pavement 在街道巡逻 to walk or run the streets persistently; to travel the streets on foot

step it up 加快; 增加; 促进; 卖力一点 to make progress and improve one’s performance; to come forward

embark on 着手, 开始 to start something, especially something important or new; to begin a project; to begin any process

sophisticated [səˋfɪstɪ͵ketɪd] adj. 复杂的，精密的 refers to machinery that is ahead in development and therefore able to do complicated tasks

(go) through the roof 飞涨  when the level of something increases very quickly

Nike+ Sensor

BodyBugg