Nike + iPod Test Run

January 16, 2009

I bought a Nike + iPod pedometer as a Christmas stocking stuffer for someone, but ended up keeping it for myself when I found out the likelihood of that person running outdoors for exercise was about 1/1,000,000. It's a pretty classic case of selfish gift giving!

I took it running with me today for a first-time trial, and was impressed overall with the design and packaging - very neat little gadget.

The Nike + iPod just comes with two pieces: a receiver attachment for any model iPod Nano, and a sensor to be placed in your shoe. The setup was extremely straight forward - basically plug and play. Once you stick the receiver into your Nano, a new menu pops up titled "Nike + iPod". Flipping through the menu chain, there are options for a basic, timed, distance, or calorie-goal workout. A modest list of settings allows you to change the voice (male or female), select units of measure (miles/km), input your weight, or calibrate the sensor. My favorite setting, though, HAS to be the "Power Song" setting, which allows you to choose one song that you can switch to at any time during your run. Mine, of course, is "Viva La Vida" - song of revolutionaries! At the end of your Power Song, your iPod picks up right where it left off in your playlist.

According to my Nike + iPod, I ran 5.45 miles in 49 minutes. The setting I used was for a timed run, and the voice kicked in every 5 minutes to tell me how long I'd been running, and then every minute for the last 5 minutes. Personally, I wish I could set the system to give fewer updates, like maybe every 10 minutes, or even holding off until the halfway point. It kind of sucks when you think you've been running for a long time only to be reminded that you haven't actually gone that far. What a buzz kill! I'll probably turn the voice off next time around and just use the display, but I can see how it would be useful for running intervals.

The last feature that I thought was kind of neat is the downloadable content from iTunes. You can download music tracks that have famous people like Lance Armstrong guiding you through a workout.

Oh, and on a last note, the Nike sensor was designed to fit into Nike Plus shoes, but I just slipped it below my Asics laces and it worked fine.

I was going to finish off with a clip of the Simpsons where Homer buys Marge a bowling ball for her birthday that says "Homer" on it. But since I couldn't find that - here's some other bowling entertainment. I understood "Homer" and "bowling center". How about you?

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About Me

I'm an entrepreneur who's steadily become interested in health, nutrition, and fitness over the last couple years. With this blog I'm hoping to keep motivated to get ripped and beyond!