iPod Nano
A Great Gadget of Goodness
The iPod nano enables you to track your mileage and pace and listen to your favorite podcast or playlist. I highly recommend this little gadget for your running equipment arsenal. As Nike puts it… “It gives you feedback on how you’re running, while you’re running…” It’s like a little coach in you ear. Sometimes, world-class athletes like Lance Armstrong throw a few words of encouragement your way. I’ve listed the equipment you need (and price) and provided pics and descriptions below. - iPod Nano ($149 new; $99 refurbished)
- Nike Plus Sensor Kit ($29)
- Nike Armband ($29)
- Nike Shoes ($99) or my preferred method;
- Shoe Hack ($10)
- iTunes (free)
- Nikeplus.com Account (free) The iPod Nano is the only one that works with Nike’s sensor. Go online to Apple’s refurbished section (like I did) and get one for about $99. I’ve had mine for more than two years now and it works great!
The Nike Plus (a.k.a Nike+) sensor kit comes with a sensor for your shoe and a receiver for your iPod. You can pick one up at various retailers including, Apple, BestBuy, Circuit City, etc.
The Nike armband ensures you don’t have to hold your iPod everyday during training. The folks over at Nike are pretty smart. They made a nifty armband that is a bit longer than normal and is able to fit your music machine and have room for the sensor.
You don't necessarily need the $100 Nike shoes. Yes, you can get something like the Air Zoom Structure Triax+ 11 for $99, but you can also use your existing pair of shoes and pull a “shoe hack” like me.
The Marware sensor+ pocket is cheap, useful and fits right on your existing shoe’s shoelaces. It works just fine and allowed me to keep my beloved Mizunos!
If you don’t already have iTunes on your Mac or PC - get it! It’s free and easy to download and setup. It automatically asks if you want to submit your workout to Nikeplus.com.
Get an account at Nikeplus.com as it's the perfect online running log and companion to your training schedule. It tracks distance, time, pace and calories burned while displaying it all in great looking charts. It looks good and saves you time from writing down everything and trying to do the math to calculate the details. Also, you can join virtual running teams and races, set goals and create running routes.
Overall, the iPod nano and Nike plus sensor combo are nice additions to your marathon equipment list. They’re functional, non-intrusive and make life much easier. Plus, you can rock out to Tiffany and nobody needs to know!
Return from iPod Nano to Marathon Equipment.
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