It knows exactly how far you've run, how far you have to go, your pace, and even has the right power song to get you moving! Thats the iPod Nano by Apple with the Nike + Sport Package, shown here.
I got one for Christmas, and at first I have to admit, I thought it was a waste of money. Now? I don't know how I could train without it! I suppose it's kind of like owning a Tivo. The Nano is of course just a small iPod, capable of holding from 4-8 gigs of stuff, music, pictures, even movies. The Nike + package is a small sensor about the size of a quarter that you can put on, or in, your shoe, depending on the shoe, and it uploads your walking / running, mileage to the Nano.
At the push of a button it can provide a male or female voice to tell you your distance, your current pace, how far you have to go, etc. When you are done with your workout, you just plug your Nano into the computer and it uploads your info to Nike+.com where you can see your runs, it really is cool.
What I like about it is that you can create goals, challenges, resolutions. You can invite others to your challenge, earn virtual trophies and medals. Theres a leader board too. I must admit, I am still trying to get a handle on all of it, but it is intuitive enough to get you going. During one of my training sessions it counted down the mileage to me...the last 400 meters always gets me running.
The entire cost, brand new, can be anywhere from $180-350, depending on if you buy the special running shoes form Nike that hide the sensor. I didn't buy the shoes, I bought a kit to put the sensor on the shoelaces of my New Balance shoes, and my Nano is the low end 4 gig one, as if I will ever get 4 gigs on there anyway!
Right now the way the Nike + website works, it is hard to see someone else's info unless you join a challenge, which I think is kind of stupid. If a person wants to make his / her info public, what is wrong with that? So for the moment, that is why there is no link to my info on Nike+. If any of you have one of these out there, let me know and maybe I can set up a challenge for us after the marathon.
Anyway, I love it, and I highly recommend it for people who plan on doing a lot of walking, jogging or running. Be forewarned, I have read that it doesn't really work that great on treadmills... so hit the streets!
So, you can run with a nano. I've held off on getting one because I run a lot in the rain and it would probably kill it.
Posted by: Margaret | January 11, 2008 at 19:41