I just got back into running after a five year break. This was hands-down the best investment I made (after new sneaks of course.) My favorite aspect of it is the competitive nature of the website that is linked when you upload your runs to iTunes. (It's a Nike site.) On the site runners can track their progress, become "friends" with other runners to offer encouragement, and even challenge other runners to online "races." There are also customizable "goals" that can be set up such as, "Run 30 miles in the next four weeks," or "Go on 8 runs in the next two weeks" to keep runners personally motivated. (I used to do this with a paper/pen on my fridge!) Challenges (races) are broken down by levels so a newbie runner like myself, is not competing against someone who logs 30miles a week.
It took me a few runs to get the hang of the controls (I was constantly having to take my nano off my arm to check the screen), but now it's easy.
Why five stars:
-Nike's website is amazingly simple to use. I can't wait to get out for a run to move up a space (or two) in my races. Coming home and plugging in my ipod has turned into, "Ewwww, I wonder if I moved up a spot on the scoreboard?!"
-Easy to learn. Simply plug into your ipod - no advanced knowledge required. Lace up sneaks, and run.
-My husband (who's not into running) just bought a pair of sneakers because he was so impressed with my excitement over the online challenges. I think it brought out his competitive nature. (I give him three weeks before he has his own Nike+)
-At anytime during your run you can hit a button to get an update on your pace, distance and time. (Also automatically let's you know every 10 minutes - or by distance - and at the "halfway" mark.)
Note: You do NOT need to buy Nike+ shoes to use this system. Plenty of off-shoot brands make sensor cases that attach to shoelaces of any running shoe. I found mine for under $7.
The only thing that kinda bums me out is that there are no replaceable batteries, so when it's out of juice you have to buy a new sensor. (About $15, which isn't bad. A new battery would probably cost about that much anyway.)
Also - remember that while the sensor is in motion - it is using battery! Be sure to take them out of your running shoes if you use them for other activities. (Supposed to last 1000 "active hours.") Nike + iPod Sport Kit - USA (OLD VERSION)[Retail Packaging]
I don't work out, or I should say I didn't before getting this, the truth is I've been wanting this but refusing to buy it since it was announced. It works with the Touch 2nd gen + all the Nanos, but they can't make one that works with my 1st Gen Touch ARRGH! With that said, I broke down and bought a Nano 5g and the Nike + Sports Kit on Easter Sunday. I see some reviews where the people are complaining about how it's not very accurate. It's very possible some of them didn't put the sensor in right (I'll bring this up in next paragraph) I paid $29 for it, and honestly it does a pretty damn good job tracking my jogging. It's not spot on, but for $29 I don't expect something that will be accurate to the hundredth of a mile. I don't own the Nike + shoes (yet) I have some Reeboks and bought the Nathan pouch for the sensor. Supposively the sensor is even more accurate when used with a Nike + shoe, but I get within 3-4% which is good enough for me. I think it should get down to 2-3% once I go to a proper running track to calibrate it. While even 2% off might be too much for a lot of people to deal with. It's perfectly fine with me. I bought this for 1 reason, because I wanted to start walking/jogging and I thought it sounded cool and looked like it could be fun.
It delivers on the cool and fun part. It's VERY easy to set up, just make sure weather you use a Nike + shoe or a 3rd party pouch that you put the sensor in face up, that's with the Nike & Apple logo facing up. Before you start using it for real you need to calibrate it, walking and running/ Now I haven't worked out for ages (5'11 210'ish lbs) so I did the minimum distance for the running calibration, which is .25 miles. Not vert far but I thought I was going to stop breathing after I completed it lol. It's the best idea to calibrate it on an actual running track. Like at a high school or college. I don't have access to one, but when I do I'll re-calibrate it for 1 mile - hopefully by then I'll be able to actually run an entire mile :D After you calibrate you can start walking/running. When you're done, hook up your iPod to your PC/MAC and it will ask if you want to auto sync the data with the [...] web site. You create a free account on there and can start tracking your usage. You can also track it directly from your Nano/Touch and there's even some basic stats directly in iTunes - Distance, pace, calories burned, farthest workout and a few others. The Web site's where this starts to really shine. You can set goals and it tracks your progression, you can also join or even create your own challenges. This is another point where you really start to see just how damn cool this product is. There are hundreds of challenges out there, and if you don't see one you like, just start your own. There are hundreds of thousands of active users on the web site, so the challenges are definitely fun. And they have them for all experience levels. A beginning runner can join one where they'll run 20 miles in a month, or an advanced runner can join one where they run 5 miles a day. Thru the use of the pedometer there are step goals, yesterday was my first real day using it. And today I hit my first step goal "climb a 100 story skyscraper" (4500 steps) Each time you sync it updates your progression, and I must say it was cool to watch the animation go up each time I synced today. I hit 100% and felt accomplishment. There are dozens of these goals. The non pedometer goals are for distance/speed/number of runs. You can customize each and add as many as you want. Each shows your progression whenever you sync and have new workout data on your Nano.
Last cool feature, I mean really cool is the Power Song. It sounded neat to me when I first heard about it, but kind of corny too. Last night I was running and was starting to hit my wall towards the last few minutes of the jog. So I pressed the power song button, which will play a song or a playlist that you specify in the Nike+ Setup. When Gonna Fly Now (Rocky's Theme) came on, it really did give me a boost. I was abel to finish up the last .12 miles - don't laugh I'm out of shape and 35. I officially love the Power Song feature. Since I have a few songs I consider power songs I made a smart playlist in iTunes that will randomly sync a different song to my power song playlist every day I sync. Gonna Fly Now is kind of a de-facto "pump your ass up" song to most people. But you can use whatever floats your boat.
I know this review's long, but I wanted to break down everything about this, I know I've only been using it a few days, but I can already see how the goals/challenges on the web site are going to keep me motivated to push on. At $29 it's a great deal IMHO, even if you don't have a Nano or Touch you can pick one up for pretty cheap. I don't think I could bring myself to jog/run without this. It makes the workout interesting. Another cool feature, if you set a workout for lets say a mile you get a female (or male if you set it) voice telling you when you're 1/2 way and when you have 200 yards left. On longer runs it gives you voice updates more often, but I haven't done over a mile yet so I can't comment on them. Also the voice congratulates you when you've set a new distance/time/speed record. Which is very motivating, hopefully the lady won't yell and cuss me out if I have a crummy workout where I'm slow and pathetic lol.
I have a Touch & a Nano, and honestly as much as I wanted this on my Touch because of the big screen, the size/weight of the Nano is perfect and I'm actually no longer upset it doesn't work on my 1st gen Touch. Nike has really came up with a winner here, and I believe the ultra large community on the web site pushes it over the top. It also doesn't hurt that Nike seemed to put a lot of thought and time into the web site and hopefully will continue to update/add to it. I'm really curious to see where Nike+ is in another year. Hopefully I'll still be using it then. - Nike Ipod - Nike - Running - Ipod Accessories'
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