Super Ginormous

Tag: exercise

  • Nike+: 3rd Week

    Nike+ Goal: Burn 5000 calories in 4 weeks.

    Today marks the start of my fourth week of walking with Nike+. Here are some stats so far:

    • Number of Workouts: 11
    • Total Time: 5.8 hours
    • Total Calories: 5845
    • Total Distance: 15.35 mi
    • Average Pace: 23’06″/mi
    • Farthest Workout: 2.56 mi
    • Fastest 1-Mile: 20’51″/mi

    I have not been tracking weight loss, though I should. (I’m hoping to buy a scale here in the next month or so.) So far though, I am really pleased with my progress. I feel better. My pace is quickening with each walk. I’ve logged some fairly long walks, and each is helping to build my stamina more and more.

    I set several goals for myself after my first walk with Nike+. This morning I accomplished one of my goals: burning 5000 calories in four weeks. I succeeded with 8 days to spare. My next caloric goal is to burn 6000 calories in four weeks. It’s a little more aggressive, but not impossible. As far as my other two goals are concerned:

    • Walk 50 times in 16 weeks: I have walked 10 times. I am current 1 walk ahead of my target.
    • Walk 100 miles in 16 weeks: I have logged a total of 13.3 miles towards this goal. I am 5.1 miles behind my target, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to regain momentum in this area by walking more frequently. I’ve been averaging around 3 walks a week. This week I’ve walked four times, and plan on walking at least two additional times this week. If I can bump my average to around 6 walks a week, logging at least 1.1 miles per walk, I should be able to reach this goal without a problem.

    Walking has become a game of sorts for me. Yes, there are obvious health benefits that come with exercise, but right now I am enjoying the improved walk times, pace, distance, etc. AND getting exercise. It doesn’t feel like work or a chore, because I am having fun with it.

    RunnerPlus has been invaluable with keeping track of my daily progress. Look for another update in the coming weeks.

  • An alternative to Nike+

    Since this post gets a good bit of traffic, I think it’s worth noting that you ought to check out RunKeeper if you happen to own an iPhone 3G/3GS. Not only does it not require a dongle, it’s more accurate and doesn’t require the latest hardware (3GS) to run.

    Well, I am nearly two weeks into my walking challenge and so far so good. I’ve walked a total of 7 times since August 17th, for a total of 8.59 miles and 3,291 calories burned. Considering my lack of activity prior to the 17th, I’d say I’m off to a pretty good start. Walking with the Nike+ sensor and being able to track my progress has made walking fun for me. It’s exercise meets video game in a way…

    My only beef with Nike+ so far is the website. The all-Flash interface is certainly nice on the eyes, but it doesn’t offer the functionality I’ve come to expect from sites that offer “social” features. It should be easy to direct people to your profile page, but it isn’t. You should be able to see how your friends are doing, but you can’t.

    1. If you want to share your progress, you have to do it via Nike-provided Flash widgets. You cannot link directly to your profile on the Nike+ website.
    2. The only way you can keep track of friends is through challenges (or via widgets – IF they happen to display them somewhere). Then and only then can you click on your friends’ name … and see their last run, and total run time and distance.

    Neither of these are deal-breakers for me, but they’re annoying. That’s why I am excited about RunnerPlus.com. It’s everything that Nike+ isn’t. It has profile pages. It has friends. It has better visualizations of run/walk data. And it works with or with Nike+. (You can set up your profile to sync up with your Nike+ account if you like. Otherwise, they offer a software solution that allows you to sync your runs/walks without having to bother with iTunes or NikePlus.com.)

    RunnerPlus has:

    • Better, more accurate visualizations.
    • Calendar-view … so you can see which days you walked and how far.
    • Profile pages with easy to remember URLs! Here’s mine: http://cdharrison.runnerplus.com/
    • Friends! You can see how they are doing and they can see how you’re doing.

    In short, it has more to offer than the official NikePlus website, and that’s a good thing. If you’re using Nike+, do yourself a favor and check our RunnerPlus.com. You’ll be glad you did.

    Thanks for sharing this site with me, Patrick!

  • Nike+ – Getting Started

    Nike+ iPod BoxThis morning marked my first official walk with Nike+. I have added a new page to the site utilizing widgets from NikePlus.com showing my goals and last 5 runs/walks. Initially, I’ve set the following goals for myself:

    • Walk 100 miles in 16 weeks.
    • Walk at least 50 times in the next 16 weeks.
    • Burn at least 5000 calories in the next 4 weeks.

    Since I set these goals up after my first walk, it won’t count towards them. Kind of a bummer, but not a huge deal. Also realized that I need to recalibrate my sensor. When I first set it up the other night, I only walked a half mile, so my pace was much faster overall. When I walked this morning, I ended up walking close to 2.5 miles, but the sensor only registered 1.95. Again, not a huge deal, but I am hoping to get the sensor better calibrated to me so future walks will be more accurately measured.

  • Nike + iPod

    nike+ipod closeup in packagingScott and Patrick have Nike+ for their iPod nanos, and recently started competing against each other via NikePlus.com. Kim’s had an iPod nano for a little while now. I’ve thought about getting Nike+ for it for some time, but never acted on it. Then Mike made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: If I got Nike+ and walked 100 miles he’d PAY me $2/mile. Yesterday, I picked one up from CompUSA. Last night I calibrated it by walking a half mile. Tonight I start logging miles.

    In the meantime, I’m going to see if there is someway to display my progress here on the site. I know this is something I can and will do, and it’s about time I get off my ass and do something about my weight.

    Once I log at least two runs/walks I will start displaying my progress on the sidebar via a WordPress Plugin for Nike+. Look for this to be on the site within the next two to three days. (I’d display it now, but I haven’t logged anything yet, and the plugin returns PHP errors if no data is found.)