I came across Nike+ some time ago, but I never thought much of it until I read how Paul started using his pair of Nike’s. I then saw the Nike+ kit at a Nike factory store in Durban, but I still wasn’t completely sold. I (am) was a sprint athlete in high school and hated long and middle distance events, I thrived on the adrenaline rushes of 100m and 400m.
My sprint training programs had me spending a fair amount of time in the gym lift and pushing weights for strength. However, after high school I lost my knack for sprinting and my dream of making it to the 2008 Olympics due to injury and then later a new set of commitments. At the beginning of December I stopped going to gym and decided that in 2008 I will focus on the health and fitness of my body, rather than becoming muscle bound.
This shift lead me to buying a pair of Nike+ running shoes so that I could join the other bloggers who run as well. I spent most of my Saturday this past weekend shopping for the perfect Nike+ shoes. I found a black pair that was going for R1400, but I wasn’t prepared to pay that much. After almost giving into buying the black pair, my girlfriend spotted a pair at another store and I knew they were the pair I wanted. They cost me R900 and the iPod receiver was another R400. I ended up spending R200 less than what I budgeted for, bargain.
I was able to free some time this afternoon to take a quick run, of which 800m was just calibrating the sensor. I am a very competitive person and refuse to believe I am unfit, until proven. Well my Nike+ setup proved that I am well unfit. Unfortunately the low level map views for my suburb aren’t too great on Nike+ so I can’t plot accurate routes. Instead, I guessed a route and calculated it at 2km, it came to 1.9km exactly.
As you can see I started off fast, in my super athlete pace and slowly but surely ended up walking a long way back. The first major dip represents my chest starting to tell me that I am old and unfit, while the second major dip is my legs telling me that I am not a super athlete.
It’s going to take me some time to get the the level of fitness that I consider good enough. I am enjoying the Nike+ system thoroughly and I recommend that anyone who is serious about running or simply a beginner and wanting to start out, use this product. It’s like a portable treadmill, thank you Nike, and because I have to, thank you Apple.
Great pair of shoes Tyler! That plotting thing is pretty decent, I must say! I felt I should spend nicely under budget, as running is something I can see myself falling out of, but it’s been a week and I’m still going strongly!
So tell me, are your legs absolutely broken? I’m telling you, it’s taken a week for me to wake up and be able to actually walk around! 1.9km isn’t too bad, what I usually do is run for 15-20mins, stopping for 1min in between to stretch.
It’s tough starting, but I feel great for doing it. Good luck Tyler and keep us updated, it’s awesome to see other bloggers taking interest! Makes me think we need a Blogger Jogger website to track everyones movement for motivational purposes
I started running again a while back, unfortunately I’ve inherited bad knees and after 3 weeks my knees were buggered. Took up cycling instead. Does Nike+ support that?
Steven – That’s unfortunate mate, at least you’re able to cycle
I want to know more about this tracking thing (portable treadmill) – is it strictly for Nike+ shoes, cos if so, I will cry, or is it a sensor I just purchase? Busy looking on the site atm..
Ah ok, it’s a sensor which gets placed in the shoe and then connects to the iPod Nane – oh well :/
@Chris M: Thanks dude, yeah that would be cool for those who don’t have the Nike+ system and to see how many active blogging joggers there are.. thanks for the wishes. My legs are fine, I did pre and post stretches, luckily I know all the ins and outs of beating fatigue thanks to my old sprinting programs.
@StevenMcD: Ouch, sorry to hear that. I love cycling, if Nike had a system that could track that as well then I would buy it, but at the moment they don’t. Nokia have something that you could try: http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/main/index.do
Ye, back when I played provincial tennis, hockey, swam and did javlin and sprinting, I also used to know the ins and outs, but now at my old age, I’ve forgotten it all
Keep it up! Will chat again soon
hey bud, thanks for the bday wishes! yeah im loving the nike+ipod, think it gives me a chance to be a nerd and an athlete at the same time. i do the run and just cant wait to upload my data and compare with other runs!! well enjoy, ill be watching your widget for some improvements in times!!
I’ve been waiting for you to take the plunge..before i did
Run mofo run.
@courtz: No prob, hope you had an awesome day. I’ll be keeping an eye on yours too.
@Garsen: Haha, stop looking for a new car and get Nike+!
@Tyler I think for the first time ever I’m going to say this: “Pity I don’t have a Nokia”
aren’t you the same guy who’s been going on and on about Apple products?