Back in December, I had asked my wife to purchase a Nike+iPod Sport Kit for my iPod. I have a friend at work who had one and I had seen him get excited about running. I was interested in losing some weight, and this item spoke to my inner-geek.
I can't say enough about this item. Basically, it's a digital pedometer that transmits data from it's location on your foot (or in your shoe) up to your iPod. Your iPod (or iPhone) then tracks your pace and total distance for each and every run you perform. You can calibrate the device by running a known distance after any given run. While you are running, you can listen to your iTunes library. At specific intervals (each Km or Mile), a voice-over will briefly interrupt your song and let you know how far you've gone, or how far you have left to go.
The best thing about this product, however, is the accompanying website. After one or more runs, when you sync your iPod/iPhone to your computer, iTunes will send your running data to http://nikerunning.nike.com. There, you can track your runs over time. This, for me at least, is the ultimate motivator. I like seeing and visualizing data about my runs. In addition, the Nike Running site also allows you to set goals, train for a specific distance, or join other runners in 'competitions'.
I've been running for 2 months now, and I can honestly say I would not have stuck to it without my Nike+ device. I'm now running 3-4 days a week, 4 to 5 miles per run. My average time for the mile has dropped from 11:45 to about 10:00 per mile. In addition, I've lost 12 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I'm seriously considering running a half-marathon in September. I'll probably use my Nike+ Coach to start training 12 weeks before the event. Want to see my progress? Here's the link:
I've re-launched my website yet again. This time, I'm ditching WordPress for Mango Blog. (Gotta stay true to ColdFusion!) Stay tuned for more.