Gadgets

I am so not a gadget person. I don't get all excited about the latest cell phone or video game or any of that, so this is quite surprising to me that I made such an impulse purchase. After reading about Roni's experience with the Nike+ iPod, I decided I had to give it a try. I'm nowhere near purchasing a Garmin, so for $30 this seemed like a nice fit for my beginner level. One catch: I have an iPod mini and to use this gadget you need an iPod nano. Hmmm, haven't I been wanting to upgrade for a couple of weeks now? Just another reason to splurge!

I'm a total bargain-hunter, so I searched and searched for the best deal on the 6GB vs. the 4GB. I really wanted to the green, since it's my favorite color, but since I only have less than 1 GB on my current 6GB mini, I went with the 4GB that only comes in silver. Not a huge deal, I'll just get a green case for it ;). Then, I couldn't find the Nike+ in stock anywhere around here. For some reason, I stopped in Circuit City on my way to pick up Cecilia, and I almost bought it there, but I started feeling guilty for spending so much $$. I had to pee, and Target was right next door, so I ran in there. And of course, I checked to see if their website was wrong about having no Nike+ in stock. Well, it was my lucky day! They had one hanging there, just waiting for me to grab it. And bonus - get a $15 gift card when you buy the 4GB. So, I bought that and then used the gift card to help fund the $30 Nike+.

So, onto my run. It was great!! Best run yet. I decided I was just going to listen to my own music (note to self: make some decent 35 minute playlists!!!) and run 3: walk 1 until I hit 2 miles. Well, since I don't have Nike+ shoes (I have my ugly, but fantastic, NB 882's) and I didn't calibrate the Nike+, my mileage was a bit off. I opted to do a 2mile program while running on the treadmill. The treadmill said I did 2 miles in 31 minutes, while the Nike+ said I did 2.5 miles in 31 minutes. Either way, I seriously trimmed my time time and I completed all of my 3:1 intervals with a 5 minute warm-up and a 4 minute cool-down. See for yourself:

So, yeah, totally cool, but not entirely accurate...yet. I've always had a feeling that my treadmill was a bit off (it's old and clunky and not really of the highest quality to begin with, which is why I hope to hit the real roads soon!). Plus, the online software has some really cool features like training and goals. Oh, and the best part is on-demand voices telling you your stats as well as Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods congratulating you when you PR. Definitely worth the $30 IMO, so far.

Even though I didn't run until 9pm tonight, I made it a point to go sit on my deck with my book and a mojito because I was looking forward to it all day. It's almost 11:30pm, I'm beat, and I'm ready to go watch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy (I'm so behind on my viewing!). I feel great, had a great run, and I'm hoping I can shed 1+ lbs before I leave on vacation next weekend. Going to have my jello and cool whip now because I totally earned it. Plus I think I have about 5 pts to use up...oh, wait, I just used 3 of those on my mojito. ;)