Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Something about running gives me chapped lips. I think it’s the fact that I have to breathe out of my mouth instead of my nose. All that air rushing past my poor lips makes them parched by the end of a workout. Most of the times, I only crave water because my lips are chapped. Lip Balm helps some, but the Overnight Lip Treatment from Chapstick is better than normal lip balm because it lasts through the whole workout instead of needing reapplication halfway through.

This stuff was designed to be used overnight while I sleep, so it stays on my lips the whole workout. It has been my favorite for a long time, but I keep forgetting to pass on this tip. I guess I thought I have more important things to write about than lip balm. The truth is, however, the more comfortable you are during your workout, the more likely you’ll do it again. If all it takes is a little container of Chapstick to get you out the door every day, then I wish I had told you sooner.

My Goal Disappeared

When I heard about the Nike+iPod and how it synced with an online system, I was bugged. I was worried that they might charge me a monthly fee to access my data. The idea of having to be online in order to look at my running data also bothered me. I didn’t even think about flaky programming.

Last week, Nike+ updated the Goals section of their website so that it tells you how you can earn trophies and ribbons on their site. Sure, that’s great. I liked to know that there are other ways to compete, but when they did the update, they lost all my goal information.

I had logged on to see how far along I was on my goal to run more often and it was gone. Sure, I could create a new one and I was only one week into the goal, but it was depressing to start again. It was as if those other runs didn’t mean anything to Nike. They just wiped my progress on that goal without even warning me.

That’s why I hate online software. Companies are able to make changes without notification and they can wipe out my data with one blow. I would much prefer a software program on my computer that does the same thing. I like being able to share it online, but I was really bothered when I lost my goal and all the progress that I had made.

Leaderboards

I found another section on the website called Leaderboards that is pretty cool. It is a list of all the people running with Nike+ and rates them based on distance, duration, fastest 5K and fastest 10K.

You would think that it’s totally depressing to be number 4883 on distance, but I like to see where I am and to see if I can get higher on the list. I would like to know 4883 out of how many people total. 4883 out of 4883 is not so good. 4883 out of 10,000 is great! Even if I’m dead last, though, I like to know that I can run a little more to get a little higher on the boards.

Something must be wrong with them though. How could Ghost Cyber run for 42 hours 44 minutes and 08 seconds? It must be a mistake or something. I’m sure there are ways to fool the system, but I don’t care. As long as I’m able to get from 4883 to 4880 and beyond, I’m happy.

Mileage

I’ve heard some complaints from other people that it doesn’t record the correct mileage. It’s true. The Nike+ isn’t a GPS system. It can’t tell precisely where you are running and calculate the mileage perfectly. All it can do is measure the speed at which your foot is moving.

Using the Google Pedometer, I have calculated the mileage for all my runs and the Nike+ has been within .02 to .05 miles of accuracy on every one. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough for me. The best part is that I know while I’m on the run approximately how far I’ve gone instead of having to get online when I get back and calculate it. I can’t wait to run with the Nike+ on a trip.

Two Week Evaluation:

Despite software problems and minor mileage inaccurancies, I am still loving the Nike+. It has gotten me back on the road running. After three years of treadmill running, it’s so invigorating to be running outside again and it’s all due to the Nike+. It’s like a treadmill for the outdoors!

I’ve been raving about the Nike+iPod running gadget, but I haven’t touched on the iTunes aspect of it all. They have been creating workouts that you can play on your iPod. I was unimpressed by celebrity trainers, so I didn’t try them. That was until they released a workout created by Crystal Method.

• The Crystal Method :: The official web site
• Drive (Nike+ Original Run) – The Crystal Method [iTunes Link]

I’ve long been a fan of Crystal Method and techno music in general is great for running. Now, they’ve created a workout mix that starts out slow for your warmup, heats up to a nice fast beat and then slows down for your cooldown. It’s a total of 45 minutes, so if you’re going on a longer run, it might not be long enough, but for most workouts, it’s plenty.

I really enjoyed working out with this music because it was tailored for a workout. The voice overs in the songs say things like “keep your eye on the road” and “I’ll show you! You ain’t never seen!” After three minutes of warmup, the singer tells me, “It’s your time. It’s time! Come on!” I couldn’t help but run. With five minutes left of the workout, the singer tells me, “So, we’ll say our last goodbyes now.” It’s a great cool-down song and a perfectly auditory signal that it’s time to stop running and walk.

I’ve really enjoyed this 45 minute song mix. Most of my workouts take about 30 minutes, but I have been going an extra 15 minutes just to hear the end of the song. It was totally worth the 10 bucks to buy it.

The entire North American continent is dealing with a heat wave, so exercising outside has become miserable for a lot of people. If you are considering buying a treadmill, check out Wendy’s tips on getting a bargain.

• About.com – Treadmill Tightwad: Finding Treadmill Bargains or Creative Alternatives by Wendy Bumgardner

One thing I would add to this comprehensive article is garage sales. New Years resolution end with garage sales. It’s really easy to cruise the garage sales looking for a treadmill because you can see from the street whether they have what you want.

Additionally, if you are really serious about getting a treadmill for cheap, you can ask at every garage sale, “Hey, I’m looking for a treadmill. I know they’re kind of heavy to move. You wouldn’t happen to have one to sell, do you?” The treadmill that is gathering dust in their basement but is too much of a long shot to go to the bother of carrying up for the garage sale might just find a home with you.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is to be willing to ask. Asking for what you want takes very little time, but many times it rewards you far more than you ever thought it could. You might just end up with a treadmill for free!

Slashfood has a great health gadget entry here where they give you a list of many of the different ways to keep track of your eating using your cell-phone or Palm.

• The wireless foodie – Slashfood

For more detailed reviews of some of the products mentioned, see my entries here:

• The Sprint MyFoodPhone: Starling Fitness – A Good Idea with Costly Execution

• Palm Diet Programs: Starling Fitness – New Year’s Resolutions with Palm

There are so many options to keep track of your eating. From a pad of paper to a software program in your phone, these are tools. If you don’t use them, they don’t work. You don’t need an expensive plan or feature on your cellphone to keep yourself eating healthy.

Archimage is trying to teach young adults and teens the importance of eating healthy and getting exercise by incorporating those ideas into their new video game: NanoSwarm. Here is a preview trailer for the video game.

I couldn’t help noticing that they gave me the perfect evaluation in the dialogue of the game:

“It’s bad. It’s bad as I’ve ever seen it.”
“How bad?”
“End of the world bad.”

I like to say that this video game will help kids eat healthier and choose exercise, but with writing like this, I wonder if they’ll be able to stomach the game enough to learn anything. Kids are incredibly good at spotting baloney. This videogame might set off that baloney-detector and sit unplayed in the cabinet under the television set.

Via: Video games for healthy eating – Slashfood

My Nike+iPod finally came in the mail on Tuesday evening at 8:30 pm. I was so excited, I made Mike download the new iTunes and iPod software, so I could calibrate my Nike+iPod that very evening.

The Nike+iPod consists of two items: one sensor that attaches to your shoe (a little red and white pod) and a receiver that attaches to your iPod (the white box at the bottom of my iPod). The sensor is meant to fit inside a special pocket in Nike shoes, but you can use it with any shoe if you purchase a Shoe Wallet. Here is a picture of me putting the sensor into the Shoe Wallet.

I was worried about the sensor and whether it would read accurately in the Shoe Wallet instead of being in the overpriced Nike running shoes. Fortunately, the software allows you to calibrate it. I got on a treadmill, walked .25 miles and calibrated it for walking. Then I did the same thing with running. It worked pretty well and after taking it on my first run, it looks like it’s pretty accurate. It said I ran 1.39 miles and Google Maps Pedometer says it was 1.27 miles. The difference of 0.12 miles isn’t going to make or break me, but I would like to see if I can get it to be a little more accurate. After a few more runs, I should be able to tell you more about the accuracy.

I was also worried that the Shoe Wallet would flop around and be a distraction on my foot, but it was secure. It stayed in place during the run and I didn’t even notice it there. I bought two, in fact, so my shoes could match. I put my house key in the other one, so all I needed to carry was the iPod.

While you’re running you can press the middle button anytime to hear how far you’ve gone and how long you’ve run. I chose the female voice. She doesn’t sound computerized at all, which is a benefit. She reminds me a little bit of the Star Trek computer voice. All those statistics (distance, time, and pace) are shown on the iPod screen in addition to the name and artist of the song playing. I really only pressed the middle button once to hear the stats. It was so much easier for me to just look at the screen.

The coolest thing about this whole thing, though, is the software on Nike.com that keeps track of all my runs. Here is a screen shot of my runs:

Since I’ve only gone on one run, it doesn’t have a lot to show, but I found it so pleasing to see it on the screen after doing my run. I was very skeptical of an online system to keep track of my runs. It kind of bugs me that I can’t download this data to an Excel spreadsheet, but seeing my information on the screen still gave me the positive reinforcement that I crave when I’m exercising regularly.

When I logged onto Nike.com on Tuesday night before I even started running with the Nike+iPod, the first thing I noticed was the section called My Goals:

It lets you choose a goal based on frequency, speed, distance or calorie expenditure. I saw the phrase “More Often” and it was exactly what I needed. Even though I have a race coming up, I have been slacking off on my running. I really want to start running again regularly and this software knows exactly how to do it for me. I am one run into making my goal and I feel so proud of that little green bar.

When I finally do complete that first goal I’ve set, it will show up here, in the trophy case.

This is where all my best times will be recorded. Since I’ve only done one run, the totals are not impressive at all, but I can’t wait to beat those times and distances.

The Nike.com website really understands how to make running like a video game. Beating my high score can keep me playing a video game far past my bedtime. Beating my best time or longest distance is a way for running to become more like play and less about drudgery. I’m excited to see how this affects my running over the next few months.

This handy little gadget solves the Nike+ problem. If you don’t want to spend 100 bucks on a pair of shoes that might hurt your feet on long runs, you have another option: The Shoe Pocket.

For ten bucks, you can use this velcro shoe wallet to hold the Nike+ sensor with room to spare for a house key, identification and a credit card. Suddenly, the Nike+ iPod trainer looks like something I’d be willing to spend my hard earned money on.

Since the Nike+ sensor is an accelerometer, not a pressure sensor, it should work in the Shoe Pocket. Other people have tried it and say it works great. I’ve ordered both and I’ll give you my full review after I’ve had some time to play with them.

Idea Via: Use the Nike + iPod Sport Kit on any shoe with help from a Nike accessory – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Nike has finally fixed its online ordering so you can order the iPod Tune Your Run shoe pod and iPod controller without buying the very expensive shoes that may or may not hurt your feet

• NIKE+ : Tune Your Run $29

The pod is still designed to go into a special slot in the Nike shoes and won’t be easy to use with the shoes that really work for your run, but I’m sure there is some way to make it work. For $29, it’s a lot less expensive than some of the Polar alternatives.

For More Information:

• Starling Fitness » Tune Your Run With Nike and iPod

This is the office setup I want. A computer powered by me walking on my treadmill. Why can’t I buy this?!

Click here to see the full comic:

• PC and Pixel: 07-09-06