200 Miles with Nike Plus
With my run on Tuesday night, I officially passed the 200-mile mark since I began running with Nike Plus. Now, I have run a few times without my iPod/Nike Plus, including the 13.1-mile half marathon. So in all actuality, I hit 200 at the end of 2007.
Officially hitting this milestone, however, gives me a good reason to talk about how great the Nike Plus system is and how much it has helped me stay motivated and continue to run.
The Nike Plus system is comprised of a sensor that fits into the bottom of your shoe and a receiver that gets plugged into the bottom of your iPod Nano. Once properly calibrated, the sensor in your show transmits your run data to your Nano. Then, once you plug the Nano into your computer, your run data is transferred to nikeplus.com.
At any time, you can log into nikeplus.com to review your recent runs, compare them to previous runs, participate in challenges, or set specific goals for yourself. You also have the option of mapping your routes via Google Maps and sharing those with your friends. To see more of how this works, check out Paul’s blog and view his Nike Plus commercial.
The next logical step will be when the sensor includes GPS, so your route will automatically be mapped. This would also be great to see how your pace corresponds to your geography. If a certain street has a really tough hill, that usually causes you to lower your pace, and it would be great to see that directly represented in your run data. But I digress.
To me, seeing my run data is really motivating. I love when I see my run as an almost horizontal line, which shows that I didn’t slow down towards the end of the run. Even better is when you see the line move up at the end.
I would absolutely recommend Nike Plus to any runners or anyone who is thinking about getting into running.
Speaking of running. The Shamrock 5K is quickly approaching and will be held on Sunday, March 16 this year. It’s a really nice run that starts by the Washington Monument on Charles Street, heads past the Harbor to Key Highway and ends at Power Plant. If you’re going to run, make sure you join our team.