This past weekend I splashed the cash (in my case, plastic) on a pair of Nike Structure Triax running shoes, a Nike+ iPod kit and Nike iPod armband. I’ve tried the gym thing, but I never found much motivation going week in and week out. It wasn’t enjoyable and definitely not measurable. But this is exactly what Nike+ have created. A way of tracking every single run, calorie lost and kilometre passed. Not only can you track your personal stats, but you can share your stats with others, challenge other Nike+ runners, set goals for yourself and even create routes with Google maps in one damn sexy UI! Nike+ is officially running 2.0.

I first read about Nike+ from Paul Stamatiou and how he has fallen in love with it. He has even starred in his very own Nike+ commercial. So about a month ago, Tyler went for his first Nike+ run and that was it. I wanted in.

My first Nike+ run

I have just got back from my first run and I almost died. I am probably the most unfit I have been since high school. I managed to run around 3km’s. (I calibrated the device for about 500m, but my first timed run is 2.7km’s). One thing I am proud of is that I managed to run the entire way, no walking. There were definitely times where I contemplated walking, but kept telling myself to “run through the pain Jason!”. Below is a graph of my first run.

As you can see, my pace fluctuated a lot as I was trying to find a comfortable pace and rhythm to run at. The other thing I tried to do was when I flipped onto my Power Song (Bleed it out by Linkin Park), I really gave it some stick! The Power song is a track you set before your workout that when you hold in the centre button on your iPod it immediately skips to that song and gives you a boost. Very neat feature.

I have fallen in love…

with that women who whispers in my ear how far I have run. She tells me how long I have run for as well as how far I still have to go. She really sounds hot. :-) I don’t think my Fiance minds if I have an affair with her twice a week. She keeps me in shape you know.

Map my routes

Another really neat Nike+ feature is being able to create a map of your route. They use Google maps for the mapping software, so for us South African’s its not the greatest, but at when I zoom in to the maximum level, I can make a map out a pretty decent route.

Spot the beach along my run. Oh yeah.

So thats Nike+ in a nutshell. I absolutely love it. I love being able to track each and every aspect of my runs, graph them, share them, set goals and resolutions, challenge other Nike+ athletes, the list goes on. There is also a few flash widgets that you can add to your blog, which I will be adding to my blog redesign.

South African Nike+ Bloggers

I’m looking for other Nike+ bloggers in South Africa. I’m sure there are a number of us, and would love to set up a few challenges and team events. So far I know of 1. Mr. Tyler Reed! Please email me or leave a comment so I can build a decent list of us Nike+ bloggers here in SA.

Time to go and claim brownie points from the Fiance for a massage. :-)