Nike+ Me 2.0

After a month with the Nike+ system, I figure it's time for an update.

Before I committed to this program I was mostly a casual runner, doing my 3.5 mile neighborhood course a few times a week, never seriously committing to running, because, let's face it--running is boring. No matter what runner's high I might achieve, I'd still much rather be kicking a soccer ball. However, since playing a team sport is a lot more difficult to organize than throwing on some running shoes and hitting the pavement, running it will be if I am to stay in shape for that day that I return to the soccer pitch (or futsal, stay tuned!).

However, with the Nike+ system I have forced myself to achieve and exceed both distance and pace goals. No longer left wondering how far I might have run, I am instead greeted with a detailed visual representation of my progress. The ability to track and graph my runs, along with the knowledge that my friends are racking up miles motivated me to run past my previous 3-4 mile comfort distance. When Josh sent me an ichat message saying he had just run 6+ miles, I went out the next day and did the same. It felt awesome hearing Lance Armstrong come on at the end of my run to congratulate me on my longest run. A couple days later I ran to Forest Park, then ran on the trails, and came back--& I couldn't wait to see how far I'd gone--8.26 miles.

Without this system I seriously doubt I would have even considered running more than twice as far as my usual route takes me.

I should also thank Mr. Cabel Sasser for motivating me to run as much as I did. Since I'm not always an early adopter, I waited a week to get in on the action, thus allowing my friends a head start on the mileage challenges. Seeing Cabel consistently push his first-place lead gave me the extra motivation to run 6 days a week, and jump from 13.58 miles one week to 25.84 the next, and 32.02 in the final week of the 30 day challenge.

Running 20 miles in 3 days before the end propelled me into first place, and still Cabel almost caught up with me! (I suppose I owe some thanks to the WWDC folks for keeping him occupied.)

I love the amount of stats you can see with the Nike+ system, especially when you find out you finished 158th in total mileage for the week. Now, if only it told you how many people were in the system, but I think it's safe to assume there are thousands. I've already decided to take it down a notch this week, but I'll be back to show when I hit the 100-mile mark in a few days.