My ipod just bit the dust, and after years of buying cheap used ipods off craigslist, I am thinking of going with one of the new nano’s with the Nike+. By the looks of things, in order to use it as anything more then a pedometer you also need to pick up the little clip for ~$20. Is this program just something similar to strava? Pros and cons? I love strava for riding (I just keep my phone in my jersey pocket) and I don’t really want to dish out for a Garmin so I can use the same program for riding. I also heard that you can use a website called eagerfeet.org to convert your Nike+ data to a format that can be uploaded on to Strava anyways in case you want all your workout data in one place. If anyone uses this set up I’d love to hear about it!
My ipod just bit the dust, and after years of buying cheap used ipods off craigslist, I am thinking of going with one of the new nano’s with the Nike+. By the looks of things, in order to use it as anything more then a pedometer you also need to pick up the little clip for ~$20. Is this program just something similar to strava? Pros and cons? I love strava for riding (I just keep my phone in my jersey pocket) and I don’t really want to dish out for a Garmin so I can use the same program for riding. I also heard that you can use a website called eagerfeet.org to convert your Nike+ data to a format that can be uploaded on to Strava anyways in case you want all your workout data in one place. If anyone uses this set up I’d love to hear about it!
I use the Nike+ sportsband for my long runs. I like it, because the band itself is lightweight. I do link it to the website, but I track my results on a spreadsheet offline.
my band got the distances all wrong, tried to fix it several times, its now collecting dust somewhere…
I run with the sportband. It doesn’t really tell me anything that I don’t already know from 15+ years of running, but as a pacing tool for a newer runner I find it’s pretty good. Once calibrated, my pace and mileage are dead on running on flat terrain and slight rolling hills. If you head up or down large vertical changes it tends to overestimate pace/distance (heading up) or underestimate (when coming down). Overall, depending on how hard I come downhill, it tends to even out and give a variance of about 1-3%. When running faster than 6 min/mi, for me I don’t see any incremental change. It seems to always report my pace as 5:55-6:05, even if I’m under 5. Makes for some issues with tempo runs.
As for the nike+ program, it is a little like strava in that it will record your run data and allow you to review pace vs. time/distance, but with the ipod, you will not see any route information. For that you’ll need to use either the iphone gps app, or drop ~200 on the gps watch. And if you’re running with the app, you may as well just use the strava app, as there is an option for run. Ultimately, I just leave my nike run data on the nike site, and my ride data on strava. Then record all the info into the Polar PT5 suite.
If you have an iPhone and want to use a HR monitor, I would recommend the Wahoo Fitness app paired with the Wahoo Bluetooth HR Monitor. I use the Wahoo Fitness app for cycling and running. This also allows you to sync your workouts to Nike+, STRAVA, etc. I use this app because I have friends on both Nike+ and STRAVA so this lets me connect with them online. I just got into the sport so this was a cheaper option for now until I spend $$$ on a Garmin.
I put over 1000 mi on a Nike+
What I liked about it:
Cheap and simple.
Worked with my ipod- which I wanted to run with anyway.
Sometimes scary accurate (once calibrated).
Reasonably good instantaneous pace
Very motivational. Web site with training plans, challenges, social. Really got me wanting to run run run
What I didn’t like about it:
Just when you thought it was accurate… it would really mess up big time and be way off. So- I couldn’t always ‘count’ on it.
Fine on the flats when running my regular 8min/mi pace, but change up the pace or run steep hills, and it would be way off.
the web site lacked any details. the pace/time curve was more just graphics than actual info.
Once I went garmin- I gave my Nike+ to a friend and never looked back.
If you don’t want to haul your phone around, like to run with music, and want a way to track distance and pace, I’d say for $20, it’s an excellent choice. It’s simple and effective. You don’t need to use Nike shoes- you can get a little pouch that goes on your laces that will hold the Nike+ sensor, so that’s not an issue. The SwitchEasy one was my favorite. the ‘pouch’ is hard plastic and clips onto your laces, which is much easier to move between shoes.
are you willing to run with your phone? In my experience comparing with my friends with GPS watches and smaller gizmos, smart phones still win when it comes to GPS accuracy (I have an iPhone 4). Nike+ has a great app experience, as does Runkeeper. Here’s a comparison of some of the top running apps that I found useful:
http://blog.outrunyou.com/2012/10/31/nike-plus-runkeeper-strava-mapmyrun-running-app-review/
If you want the data to end up on strava anyway, why not just use the Strava Running App?