Drenched

For a few minutes I actually forgot that I even ran at all this morning- I guess those 3 mile runs literally do feel like nothing now!

This morning it was crazy foggy- like, I could only see about 30 feet ahead of me.  I was really glad that my route only crosses major roads in two places, because I'm sure it would be very hard for cars to see me through that dense fog.  On one hand, the fog was kind of nice because it had a bit of a cooling effect, but on the other hand it just felt ridiculously humid because it was still quite warm out.  Whenever I squeezed my eyes shut I could feel all the water droplets that had collected all over my eye lashes.

If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen that I tweeted this morning when I got back home:

And it was true- the picture I tweeted proved it!

Ok, so maybe you can't tell that well by the photo, and some of it is legitimate sweat, but I was twice as drenched as I normally am after a 3 mile run!  My hair looked like I had just gone swimming- and that has never happened before!

I was pretty annoyed at the end of my run this morning though- even though I gave my Nike+ a great review a couple weeks ago, I think I'm going to have to go back and amend that review.  My sensor has been disconnecting frequently and it doesn't say that it's a low battery, so I don't really know what the problem is.  I run the same 3 mile route every week and today it got stuck on 2.9 miles and refused to record that last tenth of a mile even though I kept running past my normal stopping place.  I looked at the Garmin Forerunners a little bit- I like that the 305 has the heart rate monitor with it, but I haven't done much comparison shopping around yet.

Do you use a Garmin Forerunner? Tell me about it!!

Nike+

I love the Nike+.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it's a sensor you put in your shoe that keeps track of your distance, pace, time, and calories burned.  It translates all of this information either to the Nike+ SportBand bracelet or to your iPod/iPhone (Newer iPods have the Nike+ program built in, but some older iPods aren't compatible or need the Sport Kit plugged into them).  I've seen the SportBand but never actually used one, so I can't really speak to how those work.  I love using it with my iPod/iPhone though.

I got my Nike+ Sport Kit shortly after it first came out (I think around January 2007 is when I bought mine).  I saw the commercials and thought it looked awesome- however, I didn't have an iPod that was compatible with it.  I was so convinced that it would be amazing that I bought another iPod specifically to use with the Nike+.  At the time, I believe it only worked with the iPod nano, so I bought the smallest, cheapest iPod nano available at the time since I would only be using it for running and I already had a larger capacity iPod that I could use to store my entire music library.  I also bought an armband for the iPod nano since that would be a pretty critical need if I was going to work out with it (I think I got it off Ebay- that's the best place to get cheap accessories for iPods).

I did not however, buy the special Nike+ running shoes with the custom spot for the sensor.  In my opinion, Nike running shoes are junk and I haven't bought any in years.  My solution for where to put the sensor?  Well, because I have bad knees/loose joints/flat feet I have orthotics with very rigid arches in them that my doctor had custom made for me.  I had these orthotics long before I got the Nike+, but it just so happened that the Nike+ sensor fit perfectly in the little pocket of space made by the rigid arch in my orthotic.  So basically the sensor was sandwiched between my shoe (currently the Asics GT 2150) and my orthotic, but it wasn't uncomfortable and I couldn't feel it because of the rigid arch that was already a part of my orthotic.  I realize not everyone has this same situation, but if you want to use the Nike+ and not the shoes, just Google search "Nike Plus sensor pouch" and you'll come up with all kinds of devices to hold the sensor instead of getting the Nike shoes.

Before I tell you about a few of my favorite things about the Nike+, I'll tell you the downsides.  In my personal experience and opinion there's only two:

1. Accuracy- for me the accuracy has always been pretty darn good, but I think other devices that use GPS to measure distance and pace (like Garmin) can be much more accurate and consistent.  The Nike+ needs to be calibrated when you first get it and then it's quite accurate- as long as you run a fairly consistent pace.  If your pace varies widely, the accuracy drops.  I always run a pretty consistent pace, so the accuracy hasn't been an issue for me.

2. Sensor life- The Nike+ sensor doesn't have replaceable batteries, so when the batteries die you have to buy a new sensor.  I'm on my 3rd sensor so far, but until I started this marathon training I was probably only using it a few times a month.  New sensors are $20- my first one lasted quite awhile, but my second one only lasted a few months (and I wasn't using it often enough to warrant a battery drain THAT quickly).  I've had my current sensor for about 7 months now and it's working great.  I use it every time I do a training run, except a couple of weeks ago it randomly quit working at the beginning of a long run- it's been working perfectly except for that one time, so maybe it was some sort of fluke?

I truly love this little gadget though, so on to my favorite things!

One of my favorite things about the Nike+ is that if I ever want to hear my "stats" (pace, time, distance) at any point during my run, I can just hit the center button on my iPod and it will instantly lower the volume of my music and tell me how I'm doing.  Since I know how far I'm going to run each time I hit the pavement, I input that distance before I get started and then throughout my run the Nike+ tells me every time I complete a mile without me having to push any buttons at all.

When you get home, you plug your iPod into your computer and all of your workout data is automatically sent to the Nike Running website and linked to your Nike+ account.  This way you get an amazing visual of all of your runs- here's mine from the past couple of months:

And here's the detailed screenshot of my 7 mile training run that I did yesterday:

Fancy huh?

My absolute favorite thing about the Nike+? I don't have to know my route before I get started.  I can just head out, run until I hit the halfway point, and turn around and come back.  I don't have to worry about mapping my run ahead of time because the Nike+ tells me how far I've gone.  A lot of times on long runs I map it out anyway so that I can run a loop rather than an out-and-back run, but if I'm in a hurry or in an unfamiliar place or if I can't get to a computer to map my run ahead of time, I don't stress.

Have any of you ever used this?  Do you use something else?

Fuel Belt

A few days ago I purchased a fuel belt so that I wouldn't get dehydrated during my longer training runs.  I have a history of getting easily dehydrated, so I figured this was a must if I want to complete my marathon goal.  I went to one of the running stores in Grand Rapids (Michigan)- Striders.  There were some belts with 2 bottles and some with 4 and I really had no idea what I needed.  A couple of the employees there were a great help though, and they were able to give me a better idea of what I needed.  They said that two bottles wouldn't be enough for a 20 mile training run, but if I planned my run to go by somewhere where I could refill, the 2 bottles would be enough.  They also suggested I try them on for size and comfort and said to keep in mind that the elastic can stretch out after awhile.  After I scoped out the selection, I decided to go with the Fuel Belt with 4, 8oz. bottles.

I was worried that it would be uncomfortable to run in, but I tried it out for the first time last Saturday during a 7 mile run and it was perfect!  I was so surprised at how comfortable it was!  I really like it.  I have yet to buy new running shoes (I really need some though!), but I think this was a good buy and will really help me get through those longer training runs!

Anyone else use one of these? What brand? How many bottles?  Do you like it?