Day 137

Yesterday's concern wasn't needed. I ended up getting to the hotel by Heathrow with plenty of time to run and they had nice, new LifeFitness treadmills. I was worried about things this morning, having an early cab to the airport, so I was up at 5:30, running at 5.45.

Day 136

A quick one this morning before leaving the hotel. I'm heading to London tonight and wasn't sure I'd have a treadmill or time to run. Especially with it raining pretty good outside.

1.08mi, 11:48min

I meant to run more, but I accidently popped the headphones out and then stopped the run on the Nano before I realized it. Rather than starting it up, I decided to head out since I was already late for work.

Day 135

I actually ran last night, but I had to rush out the door right afterwards for a lecture and then didn't want to buy another 24 hours of Internet since I was leaving in the am and posting this was all I had to do.

I felt pretty good, running faster than I have in any of the other Nike + runs I've tracked.

1.72 miles

20 minutes

Nike Plus

I heard about the Nike + system early in my running streak and set myself a goal that I wouldn't buy one until I hit day 100. Then at day 100 I decided that I was doing OK and didn't need it. It took a trip to England, where I wasn't sure I'd find a treadmill or be able to map things to get me motivated. So one day I went to Sports Authority and bought some new Nike Pegasus 25 running shoes, which I needed, and a Nike+ system. Then I hit Best Buy for a new iPod Nano to go with them. I'm writing about it, experimenting, and so it was a good business expense for me.

The system consists of a small sensor that fits in your shoe. There's a space underneath the liner in some Nike shoes, but there's also a $5 or $9 pouch you can attach to the laces of any other shoe. I figured I needed new shoes, so I'd get some Nikes.

From there you have two choices. There's a wristband and USB sensor that receives information, or you can use a Nano or iPod Touch, 2nd Generation. My iTouch is the first generation, so I grabbed a new Nano. It's small and there's a small sensor that plugs into the docking port on the bottom. I was slightly worried about it coming out, but it's proven secure.

Once you plug that in, you see a Nike+ option on your menu in which you can choose workouts and music to go with them. You do need playlists, as you can't just pick songs, so I learned the hard way one time that I needed a playlist to do a workout.

As you run, the pace, time, speed, and calories are recorded and then when you sync you iPod with iTunes, it automatically sends information to NikePlus so you can track your progress. It gets loaded up there and I usually grab the code to put that workout onto this blog. However it's also on the Nike+ site.

Do I like it?

I do. It's handy, and in places where there isn't a treadmil, or worse, the treadmill doesn't register well, it allows me to track progress. Not that I'm concerned about how far or fast I go (other than meeting the mile), I do like knowing. It's motivating, and fun.

The downsides? It's a little expensive, not the sensor ($29), and Nike+ is free as a site, but the iPod if you don't have one is $150 or more. I don't know how closely it registers. I calibrated the sensor, but it seemed a little fast to me based on my treadmill. It matched up pretty well, slightly behind the newer LifeFitness treadmill in the UK.

Overall I'm pleased and I'd recommend it to anyone that wants to track runs and likes the technology. It works well and simply, and I don't have to mess around to get my data recorded.

Day 134

I had a longer run, but was slightly more annoyed. There are only two treadmills that you can run on and both were in use for about 15 minutes while I stretched and waited. Finally one came free, the Precor that is old and doesn't work well, but I jumped on it. I wanted to get done before it was too late.

I went for 20, 10 with no incline before I realized it and raised it to 1. I was cruising, not wanting to slow myself too much.

1.91mi

20:00min

306 calories

Day 133

I had to hurry this one. Between people on the treadmill ahead of me and only 45 minutes between the end of work and dinner, I had to shorten things.

Day 132

A long day, flying over the Atlantic last night, little sleep, working all day, and then a run before dinner. The treadmill was a wreck and I'm glad I had the Nike Plus otherwise it wouldn't have been possible, or easy to guess my distance.

1.8mi
20min
2.0 incline