Nike+ How I Love You So

When spending hours in front of the computer, it's important to incorporate some physical activity into your daily routine. Unfortunately, physical activity usually brings up ideas of slaving over a treadmill and doing something you're repulsive about. At least those were pretty much my sentiments before I got on the Nike+ bandwagon, about year late I might add.

Nike Plus - Nano and Shoe

It has been about two weeks since I got Nike+'d up and I've jogged 10 miles. Going from sitting in a Herman Miller for 10 hours a day to jogging emphatically just doesn't make sense does it? Nike got it right when they unleashed the Nike+. I'll tell you why: stats. I love knowing that I burned off 581 calories over 5 miles just as much as I love knowing that this site received 300,000 page views last month.

At first I hated Nike+. It's brutally honest. What I thought was a 3 mile course was closer to 2 miles.

Nike+ GraphIn this case, dips correlate to traffic lights I've had to wait at.

Unless you were tied down to a treadmill or wore some unsightly pedometer, never before have you been able to know exactly how far you've run, much less put it on a website and compare with others or follow personal goals. Did you know that going from my place to my 9am class is 0.70 miles coming from the West and 0.84 miles from the East? Neither did I until I started keeping track with Nike+.

Whenever you sync your iPod, iTunes relays your Nike+ data to Nike's website where your detailed running stats are displayed in a variety of formats - graphs, charts, maps, you name it. Nike just sold me a UI for running and I love it.

Nike+ Goal
Nike+ Map

Nike+ brought upon a paradigm shift for me and countless others. Sports cars wouldn't sell if manufacturers didn't list 0-60 times and I wouldn't find running fun if I didn't know how many miles I conquered. Nike+ gets the Stammy Seal of Approval (SSA).

Are you a Nike+ user?