My Take on Nike +
When I started adding running intervals into my walking route, I either did it for as long as I could or tried to reach a certain landmark along the way. As my running intervals got longer I was curious about my distance and pace. So initially we drove the distance to see what it was and I kept track of the time for an estimate. Then my husband told me about the Nike +. Since I already had an Ipod nano and it was only $30, I decided to try it out. Of course it ended up costing a little more because we bought a pair Nikes to go with it.
It has worked very well for me. The nike + tracks the distances pretty accurately, and tells you how many calories you have burnt based on your gender and weight. When I first bought it I did not have my heart rate monitor so it was a good way to estimate how many calories I burned. It motivated me to go faster and beat my previous times and improve my pace. I remember the first time I made it through a 5K run, I was very happy and proud. I like the corny feedback, “that was your fastest mile to date” spoken by Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods. The Website is excellent. It is an excellent way to track your progress, set goals, and be a part of a virtual running community.
After a while I stopped wearing nikes, but I have continued using the nike +. I just attach it to my laces with a pouch, it has worked just as well.
I know that the nike + does not work well for everyone. My husband is a perfect example. His mileage is always wrong. He has even recalibrated it and never can get it to be accurate for some reason. And he even wears nike + shoes. So I know it has some problems, and it is not as good as having a gps watch, but it is also a lot less expensive, if you already have an Ipod. So for a recreational runner such as myself that just wants to keep track miles and pace without spending a lot of money it is a good fit.
Slow and Steady Still Finishes the Race
-Middalia Wayman
Filed under: My Gear, Running Blog
hm my problem is i don’t have an ipod, and even if i did i don’t like carrying stuff while I run. i use mapmyrun.com to map out runs in advance so i know the distance and use a cheap watch to record my time. in lieu of a pace readout i memorize the first few mile markers and check the time as i pass them to see how fast i’m going in the beginning. a garmin 305 would be ideal though – no earphones, nothing to carry, tells me the most important thing: my speed/pace.
Great Post! I think this is one of those things that runners love to talk about when you find another runner (second only to where do you run). So here is what I have to say about the Nike +. When I run it is usually either on a marked trail or on the treadmill at the gym, so tracking distance isn’t a problem and basic pace is only a simple math problem (The Nike+ does a good job at both of these things by the way). The thing that is really unique and the reason that I continue to use/love the Nike+ has nothing to do with the hardware or the basic features (where the garmin would be competitive).
Not only does the Nike+ do everything I need it to (distance, pace throughout the run – so I can see which hills slow me down or where I am dogging it, training coach, etc…), but there are two things that set Nike+ apart from everything else out on the market…
First is the way it allows me to store and analyze my running history. It is super simple to track my progress – I can see every run I have ever run and compare the pace over the same track, fastest run (ml, 5k, 10k, etc) to see if I am improving by time range and over all. It also will set up a training program to help me improve my speed. The interface that Nike+ has created is revolutionary – not only in the running space, but as a web app in general.
The second and the more compelling thing for me is the Nike+ community. I love the fact that I can interact with hundreds of thousands of runners around the world who use Nike+ – to do everything from distance competitions to seeing the best trails in my area (mapmyrun.com copied Nike+’s functionality). I also ran my first race in almost 15 years the 2008 Nike+ Human race and it was a very connecting experience. Almost a million people around the world ran around the world on the same day and I was able to see my time placement in the entire group (it was in the 14,000’s).
So yes I am a Nike+ fanboy, but can you blame me when I get all of this for $30 since I would run with my Ipod anyway.
-Andrew
Nike+ Fanboy
Mike, it is not practical if you do not have an ipod and have no interest in using one. If I did not like listening to music while running I probably would have thought about investing in a garmin as well, and I still may someday. But for now this works for me.
Great post. I love the nike+ and doing the challenges on the Nike+ site. It really helps me know how I am doing. I know it is not 100% accurate. But, I assume that it is equally inaccurate each time I run. Soooo, relatively speaking I know if my pace is better or worse.