Bill Menees's Blog

A few months ago I started a new website: NashDash.com. It contains a few running-related utilities that I've written when I couldn't find versions I liked elsewhere online. Currently, it contains:

• Single-Result Age Grading, which gives detailed age grading information for a single race result.
• Multi-Result Age Grading, which gives basic age grading information for an entire set of race results.
• Time Calculator, which allows you to enter expressions and formulas that use numbers, times, and dates. This is great for calculating paces, average times, etc.
• Unit Converter, which allows you to convert a quantity from one type of units to another.

I use the Time Calculator a lot. It's handy-dandy for calculating average interval paces, estimated finishing times for a given pace and distance, etc. I use the Single-Result Age Grading everytime I PR, and I use the Multi-Result Age Grading after important races like the Flying Monkey Marathon to see how everyone did relative to age grading.

Please check out what's there and let me know what you think, either through comments to this post, through NashDash's feedback link, or through email.

I have plans for other utilities that I may eventually get around to writing and publishing on NashDash. I've done some of the work on the following utilities, but they're not ready for general use yet:

• Pace Chart Generator - A lot of these exist on the net, but I have ideas for a generator different than any other I've seen. This is a low-priority item but relatively easy to code, so I may write it on some rainy day.
• Training Plan Generator - This would let you select or create training plans and then apply them to a calendar. For example, you could pick Hal Higdon's 5K Advanced training plan and choose to start it on Monday, April 6, 2009. Then you could view a printable calendar page and/or generate an iCalendar file that could be imported into any calendar program (e.g., Outlook, Google Calendar, iCal). This would be cool, but it's a big project, and I don't have much need for it. I've written about half of this, and I've imported about 60 good training plans I've found on the net. But it'll take a lot of motivation to ever finish this utility.
• Low-Cost Race Registration - It annoys me that Active.com charges such huge "processing fees" for race registrations, and they cram so many ads down your throat while overcharging you. I've done a lot of design work on implementing a low-cost race registration system so local running clubs (e.g., Nashville Striders) can offer race registrations without customers getting nailed for huge fees. I really want to implement this one day. This would benefit tons of people.

Labels: Running, Software