Equipment Review - Nike +

Let's face it. Just about anyone and everyone that is into running is also into knowing about, if not obsessing about their performance. Keeping track of one's performance and progress is human nature. It's been bred into us and taught to us since we entered kindergarten... if not earlier. When I was in grade school, as long as I was doing well, I couldn't wait to show my report card to mom and dad. Hopefully as well as the marks there'd be lots of great comments, the more info, ( and hopefully praise) the better. Most of us aim to please others as well as ourselves. Scorecards are one way of knowing how we stack up and how we progress.

For years runners used stop watches and gradually digital wrist watches to keep track of their times. They worked, but they were purely one dimensional as they only measured the amount of time one ran, or (with lap timing) the amount of time we took to get from one point to another.

Many years ago these options were expanded by marrying the digital stopwatch with heart rate monitors. Polar was a leading company and products were introduced to market as far back as 20 years ago.

With the relatively recent introductions of a myriad of digital technologies in recent years a number of other options have come to market to help enjoy running and expand the type of information a runner can track.

I'm talking about the world of heart rate monitors combined with GPS and distance tracking such as the popular Garmin 50, 305, 405, as well as Ipods combined with distance and duration tracking such as the Nike + system.

First of all, I truly enjoy listening to podcasts while I run. Initially, while running the Couch to 5K plan, I've used Robert Ulrey's podcasts to keep my on track with the intevals in the program. I'm not a fan of looking at a watch frequently so I enjoy the opportunity to have the podcast be both my entertainment and my coach / timekeeper. I'll discuss some of the worlds great running podcasts in a subsequent post.

Now that we resolved I'm running with an ipod, the idea of tracking my run with the same Ipod is quite appealing. Why have 2 gadget's when one will do the job?

Nike +

The Nike + seems to be a pretty reliable little tool. For about $30 on top of the price of the Ipod you get a device that tracks your speed, distance, and time for each run. It then presents it graphically to you on one of two websites. http://www.nikeplus.com and http://www.runnerplus.com

Thes sites will show each of your runs individually or in a summary bar graph form.

The Nike + website, as well as tacking your data, allows you to enter numerous challenges where your data will be tracked for a particular team or club. It's an additional motivational tool.

I prefer the runnerplus site as it seems to mysteriously present more detailed information than the Nikeplus site from the exact same Nike + data.

On both sites, the individual run is tracked on a graph with the x/y axis representing speed and distance. Individual data points are tracked at each mile / km along the route. Runner plus tracks both the individual segment's statistics as well as the cumulative statistics for the run. Nike + only show the duration for each km/mile whereas Runner+ shows both at each milestone. In other words, you know how long you took for the whole run as well as for each individual mile or kilometer along the way. One very strange point is if you compare your run data at the milestone miles or kilmoters on the 2 sites, the numbers are different. They have the same info at the end of the run, but along the way at the various milestones they have different data. I won't get into the details as to why, but much that I've read indicates that runner+ is the most accurate of the two sites. I therefore now, only use runner+. Why confuse the issue? (Unfortunately, you must upload your date to Nike+ then import it to Runner+. You cant go directly to Runner+... It's only a few keystrokes however.)


Despite the positives I have found a few drawbacks with the product however.

There is no actual legend on the graphs, showing speed. The wavy line is higher if you are going faster and lower as you go slower, but there is nothing that shows how fast the line represents.

Wouldn't it be nice if the Nike + had a small heart rate sensor that it could connect to as well. What about a sensor that could clip on a bike? They are available in more expensive devices. I went for a long bike ride today, and I'd love to upload that data to Nike +. I can't do it. BTW, you can't manually enter any data into the system. It only handles data captured from the device itself.

Nike has recently added some cutesy characters similar to Wii characters that will dance on your computer screen and tell you how your last run went. But really, it's a strange product enhancement to a product that has fundamental issues yet to be properly addressed.

That's my single biggest beef with the system. Essentially it seems like there is quite a bit that could be done or should be done to give the user more info. It's just doesn't have enough info. The lack of detailed interval data on the nike + site is also clearly a drawback if one doesn't want to use the 3rd party runnerplus site. Hopefully Nike spends more time on the core Nike + website before they go off doing any other little bells and whistles.

Considering a 3rd party site like runnerplus does a better job than Nike makes the Nike + site definitely feel like it's 1) either a work in progress ar 2) a work that is gradually being abandoned. There is a lot that can be done on the software side. Clearly Nike should be able to do better. They probably sell millions of dollars worth of this product and yet, they seem to be holding back on significant functionality on the website. Essentially the hype is greater than the actual content.

Overall, it certainly appears to me that we have a classic example of getting what you pay for. The old expression "No bucks, No buck rogers" holds true. The Nike + systems is pretty inexpensive, but the more expensive Garmin systems, do much more as you go up through their price range.

I guess I'm starting to see why people that really get into running are looking more to the Garmin's for the data tracking and are leaving the Ipods for the entertainment of podcasts and music.

I not only want to improve, I want to see the scorecard. I want more info, just like back in grade school.

That's why the one of the Garmins will be probably be on the Christmas wish list.

Week 5 is now a wrap. I'm a 20 minute Man!

That was interesting. It's probably been at least 15 years since I've run 20 minutes non stop. I may have done a session or two on a treadmill a few years back, but 20 minutes of pure roadwork has not been something I've done for a long, long time.

Here's mu log: http://www.runnerplus.com/run/5255-431790/

Anyway, I can't say it anymore, because I did it today.

I was a little concerned as I headed out, because we're back to pretty warm weather. 25C but with 75% humidity so it feels like well into the 30s.

Regardless, being it's only 20 minutes running I decided to head out anyway and give it a go.

I must say I'm not beyond the point where the thought patterns keep on telling me to walk a while every so often. Maybe someday that will stop, but for now the thought creeps in about every 2 minutes or so, especially in the last 6 minutes of the run.

For now, however, I just put up with it and keep going. When the 20 minutes of running was complete I really think I could have run any more at all. That's the beauty of this program. It constantly takes you to the edge of your abilities and increases that point as you continue to improve. You're always at the edge.

My stats today were 4.61 K in 37:49 for an average pace of 8:12 per KM. The pace of my running in the middle km. (that had no walking portions) was 6:50 per km. So it looks like a 5k in the range of 35 minutes is what I'll be ding in a few weeks when I do my first race. Nothing special but it will be a nice benchmark for the future.

Yessss!
I redid C25K W5D2 today

and am quite pleased by the result.

It was a coolish day @ 22 celsius and 13 kpm winds but the asthma didn't kick in.

I don't have accurate stats as I accidentally turned off my workout on the Nike + at the 27:03 mark. However I went for a total of 37:36 . I'm not sure of the distance but it's somewhere in the 4km range.

I was very pleased with the workout as I never really felt like quitting the run early.

I think a pleasant change here was listening to a different podcast that took my mind off the running. Being I didn't have many intervals to track I just listened to a spoken word program and the time flew by.

Next up is W5D3 and my first 20 minute run.

C25K W5D2 today.

I ended up walking the last minute of the 2nd 8 minute run in today's program. A bit of asthma kicked in and I simply felt a need for more air than I was getting.

The stats for today were 4.34 KM @ 8:42 minutes per km for 37:51 minutes.
466 calories

I think I'll repeat Day 2 for my next run before moving on the the 20 minute non stop run of day 3.