Nike+ iPod Sport Kit

Check out my new toy!! Now I will never have to worry about whether I am running enough when I am not on a treadmill. This thing will tell me when I've gone a certain distance and my pace. Plus, I can log all the miles on the Nike website. Purchased at Dick's Sporting Goods because I had a gift certificate.

Anyway, I had to run a few laps on the treadmill to calibrate it. I was nervous, because it was registering that I was running twice as fast as I was (which would be nice, if I could actually run that fast). But after all that, I did some test laps and found it pretty darn accurate. It would probably be moreso if I calibrate it on a track, which I plan to do the next time I'm at one.

I took it outside -- I felt like a marionette whose strings were just cut -- and did a mile (I was a bit tired because this was supposed to be a rest day, but oh well).

When I finished, they gave me my stats (pace, calories, time, miles), and Paula Radcliffe congratulated me for running my longest workout so far (ha ha...). Upon coming home, I hooked my iPod up and had this uploaded:

Yeah, pitiful mileage today, but this was just a trial. That dip in the graph I believe was when I forgot to pause at a light. If anyone wants to challenge me, my screenname on the Nike website is SlowJuj.

No more estimating distance by time! A push of a button tells me how long I've been running, how far I've gone, and my pace. You can even pause the workout at street lights. You can also see this information on the iPod screen if you care to look while running. Other features include: custom as well as set workout distances (these actually give you automatic feedback after certain distances, versus having to push a button to hear them), a powersong of your choice at the touch of a button, and storage of past workouts. You can choose to run without music, a playlist, or shuffled music.

Bottom line: this thing is everything I expected!