Nike + iPod - making running bearable
Ive been trying to get into running a bit recently, mainly in an attempt to get prepared for a mens 10k that ive been forced into partaking in at the end of June (i can barely manage 3k). Don’t get me wrong, i love a bit of physical activity, especially Tennis or 5-a-side football - ive just never been much of a runner. Too often ive been passed in the street by a red-faced, wheezing and sweat-ridden middle aged man in a flourescent cagoule and Ron Hill trackpants and thought to myself - ‘what a joyless activity that looks like!’ - well, now i have had to join those disheveled and pain-ridden ranks in pounding the local pavements.
All this would be rather grim if it wasn’t for a rather nifty wee gadget that ive been using to prod me along - the Nike + sensor for iPod Nano. Id heard about the thing from a few friends and thought, ‘pah, gimmick!’, but i have to say ive been proved wrong - the Nike+ is a great wee bit of kit.
Is the Nike + sensor any good?
Essentially - you stick a sensor in your Nano and attach another to your left trainer (you don’t need the official Nike shoes) - you can either buy a dongle or make your own (i used this method - works fine). Once you’re up and running simply calibrate the device to your pace and away you go. The accuracy of the Nike + has been questioned in some quarters, but in my experience it’s pretty much spot on (see HowStuffWorks guide to nike +). Whilst out on your run the Nike + guy talks to you, to remind you of what distance you have left - and, when when you beat your best distance look out for a sporting legend congratulating you - nice touch.
Community humiliation
What’s great about the Nike+ is that the fun doesn’t end after your run. Plug in your Nano or iPhone (has Nike + inbuilt-you only need the shoe sensor) to iTunes and your run data is uploaded to nikeplus.com. Here you can see a graph depicting the peaks and troughs of you performance, as well as the major details from your run i.e. - distance, time, calories burned.
One of my Nike + run graphs - a little unstable!
Nikeplus.com also acts as a running social-network, you can share your runs with friends, and indeed compete against them in set goals.
So, there we go - at least the Nike + iPod is making physical failure fun!
