By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

Salinan Kim Warren likes to run with a chip in her shoe.

The chip actually is a wireless sensor, the Nike+, that Warren has placed in the insole of her running shoe. When she runs, the sensor sends information to her iPod, which allows her to track running time, distance, pace and calories burned.

"If I'm on a 10-mile run, I set it on intervals," said Warren, a journalism teacher and yearbook adviser at Salina South High School. "In the middle of the music, it will pop in and tell you how far you've run."

Without the electronic technology that allows her to track her accomplishments as a runner on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis, Warren doubts she would have stuck with a disciplined exercise program for the past several years.

"Being able to see your results like that has helped me stay with it," she said.

Whether one is a couch potato or a triathlon champion, computer technology can make working out easier and more fun.

With a few keystrokes, easy-to-follow exercise programs can be located on the Internet and downloaded on iPods, iPads and smart phones. Computerized exercise machines from treadmills to stair climbers provide a variety of cardiovascular workouts, from alpine skiing to mountain climbing, while monitoring heart rates and tracking calories burned.

Even the most technologically ignorant can easily devise a program that tracks their progress and, most importantly, keeps them on the path to good health.

About 10 years ago, an online program called "Couch to 5K" helped Warren become the long-distance runner she is today. The eight-week program allowed Warren to start slowly by alternating walking and jogging while gradually increasing to a short run and then a full three-mile run.

"I've been a runner on and off for 10 years, but I've been serious about it for three or four years," she said.

For the past two years, Warren has run half the distance of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon -- 13.1 miles -- and this May she plans to run the full 26.2 miles.

Now Warren is hooked up to the Nike+ system and can keep track of her progress by plugging her iPod into her computer and logging onto the Nike website. She also has a Garmin Forerunner, a watchlike device that straps onto her wrist and keeps track of her mileage through a GPS system.

"It's satellite-based, so it's much more accurate to keep track of your mileage," she said.

Warren said all these devices are good tools to keep her motivated to run.

"I don't run with a group that motivates me," she said. "Having my iPod talk to me and being able to track my history online is very motivating."

At local gyms and health clubs, nearly every exercise machine ¬­-- from bicycle to treadmill -- is equipped with a computerized electronic screen or television that allows customers to design their own exercise program and track calories and heart rate.

"You want to make exercise as easy as possible," said Anna Simoneau, a personal trainer at Genesis Health Club, 1830 S. Ninth.

Simoneau cites the Arc Trainer as a good example of a state-of-the-art electronic exercise machine at Genesis. A cross between a stairclimber and an elliptical trainer, the Arc Trainer utilizes the "Nike+" chip to record one's workout and has a television screen into which an iPod can be plugged to listen to music or watch a movie while exercising.

"You can take the incline up high like climbing a mountain or go back and forth like a NordicTrack," she said.

Although nearly every exercise machine at Genesis has a television screen, iPod plug-in and computerized workout choices, none of it is meant to take the place of a personal trainer, Simoneau said.

"When losing weight, only about 25 percent of people get where they want to go, and only 5 percent can do it alone," she said. "A personal trainer holds you accountable and can accelerate the process. They motivate you. If you can't get through the door, then all the technology in the world isn't going to help you."

DeWayne Donaldson, chief executive officer of the Salina YMCA, agrees that technology shouldn't replace personal contact when it comes to health and exercise.

"You can't lose sight of the relationship you build up with a trainer," he said. "When celebrating victories and goals, you can't substitute machines for human contact."

That said, Donaldson is aware of how important it is to keep bringing in new and cutting-edge exercise equipment to the YMCA.

"These machines allow us to tailor workouts to individual needs instead of group needs," he said. "They make it more fun to work out."

With new and upgraded machines coming out almost daily, Donaldson said exercise equipment needs to be replaced every three to five years.

"With new technology systems today, companies are only supplying replacement parts for just five years," he said. "So it's in our planning process to replace these machines every three to five years."

No matter how state-of-the-art exercise equipment becomes, however, it's all for naught if one runs or works out with ill-fitting shoes.

"Basically, you get what you pay for," said Trey Vernon, co-owner of Salina Running Company, 122 S. Santa Fe. "Manufacturers don't care about technology. If you buy $20 shoes, they'll fall apart after 30 miles. Knee pain, shin pain, back problems are all flags that something may be wrong with your shoes."

And what do you know? Computer technology can even be utilized for sneakers.

Salina Running Company offers its customers a free digital foot scan and video gait analysis to help them find the perfect shoes. The digital foot scan measures pressure points on the feet, as well as arch height and foot length and width.

"It also will suggest insoles for your feet," Vernon said.

With the video gait analysis, customers are put in a neutral shoe and walk or jog naturally on a treadmill while being videotaped. The video then is played back in slow motion to check if their ankles roll in or out and to "determine what type of runner they are," Vernon said.

Good shoes should last 400 to 500 miles, Vernon said, or about six months if a runner covers 15 to 20 miles a week.

Investing in good shoes, he said, makes exercise easier and the chance of injuries smaller.

"People underestimate what good shoes can do for you," he said. "If you do a lot of walking or running, it can make a world of difference. Your feet are the basis of everything else on your body."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.