Nike+, the Verdict and a Challenge
Furthest yet!
About six months ago I started using Nike+ both to help me run more regularly, and as a simple example of how design and technology could be used to enable and encourage behaviour change. Since then I’ve not exactly turned into Usain Bolt, but I have run on average once or twice a fortnight.
Come to think of it, the experiment may have been more effective if I’d leveraged Matthew Taylor’s competitive edge, who bought a Nike+ at the same time, but I haven’t yet been bold enough to pitch my fledgling running skills against him.
So far, so good, but now I’ve decided to up the ante by testing my new level of fitness on a half marathon (still a bit of a challenge, as the furthest I can run is about five miles).
I’m running in support of Practical Action – a great NGO who work in Latin America, East Africa, Southern Africa and South Asia and use appropriate (often quite simple) technology in a people-centred way to make people’s lives better. In their own words:
“Practical Action has a unique approach to development – we don’t start with technology, but with people. The tools may be simple or sophisticated – but to provide long-term, appropriate and practical answers, they must be firmly in the hands of local people: people who shape technology and control it for themselves.”
Confession is Good for the Soul
Not doing very well am I? 6.03km down, 67.97km to go. As my Nike+ training plan cheerily reminds me, with the end date of my training plan on the 31st January, that puts me currently 63km behind. And it all started so well.
I’ve really enjoyed the Nike+iPod experience though. Running with music is great (still trying to decide what my “power tune” should be), the kilometre countdowns in your ear are genuinely encouraging, the half way point (again spoken through your earphones) is handy – if like me you run in a straight line and then back again – and I did find myself that little bit more encouraged when I’d broken a personal best (admittedly easy when you’re just starting out). The only thing that’s really annoying is when you go for a run after midnight, then upload your data to the Nike+ website but it doesn’t count towards your training plan because it falls on the next day…
But I can’t use that excuse for a deficit of 63km. The reason for that is that I’ve been recovering from a bit of flu with a particularly long tail. But now I’m suddenly, wonderfully, better.
So I can either run 17km tonight, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Or I can give myself another month.
By the way, if you use Nike+, do join the team of which I am labelled “coach”, but am actually floundering second from bottom of the leaderboard.
First Run!
My First Run!
So it’s not a mammoth of a run. In fact, it’s only me returning from the 400m run necessary to calibrate my sensor (I recommend this to figure out what 400m looks like), but isn’t it great to see your (non)performance mapped out?
I’ve decided on a 5km target and have hastily devised a training plan that involves running 3 times a week (optimistic) and starting off at 1km, then adding 1km each week until I hit 5km:
Ambitious?
I’ll let you know how it goes. If you use Nike+, find me at this team.
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