Do Day: Nike+ Follow-Up

So I finally got my Plus calibrated correctly. (Now that I know it can work, I can call it by it's nickname.) Just a quick history: My first run was outside along the Hudson River on MLK Jr. Day when it was a little under 20 degrees. I ran about 6 and a half miles at a pace I estimated to be between 7:45 and 8 minutes/mile. I "ended workout" to hear the surprising results—distance clocked in at 1.11 miles and average pace at approximately 46 minutes/miles. Chilly Vanilly-stle, I blamed it on the cold, yeah, yeaaaah. But after checking out the problem online (through various sites (not WebMD) and im convos), I came to realize the issue may have been two-fold:

1. I did not calibrate my Plus pre-run. (This is especially important for people with the sensor pouch tied to their laces vs. owning Nike plus sneaks.)
2. I had the sensor turned the wrong way. (It should be facing up—orange side toward the sky.)

Feeling lack a jackass, I went to the gym last Tuesday evening after work to give it another shot. I got chivaned again. (For those who don't know, "chivan" is a word I came up with in high school. It means dissed and can be used as a verb in any tense. Most often I'd call out a friend's name, he'd turn around to find me gone or talking to someone else. He'd look around confusedly until I'd suddenly acknowledge him and hit him with a proud "Chivan." Get it? I was 7 years old in high school.) Anyway, I attempted to calibrate on the treadmill 4 times in a row using 1 mile as the distance each time. The closest I came to correct distance and pace was .15 miles shaved and :50 added, respectively. I certainly was not going to upload these runs to nikeplus.com, and honestly, I was ready to give up.

That was, until this past Saturday afternoon when I was home on Strong Island for my girlfriend's mother's 60th birthday party. It was a surprise and deserves an entire post, which I'll never write because having our relationship status visible on Facebook is more than enough info for everyone. Either way, I wanted to be relaxed, energized, and looking thin in the face (immediate results seen) so I decided to take it to the streets (yes, the streets of Dix Hills). I calibrated like a good boy should and was, as you can imagine, shocked to hear the right distance and pace. And then I was inspired to go double on my 2.5 mile training for soccer season loop. (I'll run you up quick...two times!) Here are upload- and post-worthy results:


I'm still expecting some trash talk from Adrian, who called Mike and I out by challenging us (as you can see on the link) to beat a 4 miles at 6:15 pace. Anyone who runs knows I'm not even close. That minute-ten per mile is probably not going to happen. Thus, I may just ignore that pace thing and counter with a distance-focused challenge. (Of course that won't happen until he heals—can't take advantage of an injured old man. :)) Also of note, the next time I got on the treadmill the distance (and thus, time/mile) was off again. I've heard this is normal. Is this true even for certified Nike plus shoe wearers? Either way, it still sucks for the winter.

Regardless, this week's Do Day is a follow-up to the last line of my first DD post. I think every other week will feature a different doer. (And while running may be a theme as I am most likely going to train for the NYC Marathon, the doers will be diverse.) Profiling people on a weekly basis is a bit too much—I wouldn't be able to carve out the time to do them justice or keep my life open to spontaneity. Which sounds like a line for the ladies (they love spontaneous dudes), but as you see I have a woman, so you be sure it's about protecting Seth time.