Once A Runner…

Nike+ iPod Is Gonna Go to the Gym

iLounge has an item posted yesterday that shows Nike and Apple want you to take your Nike+ iPod to the gym with you so you can use it to record your workouts on new Nike+ iPod-enabled cardio equipment. Sounds like a good thing for people who already do the gym as well as those who might want to add some cross-training activities to their program.

The whole story is at News: Nike + iPod program to expand to gym equipment.

When that hits gyms in my area, I know I’d really feel more motivated to get in some cross-training. I’m kind of compulsive about being able to keep track and this would package the gym workout into the overall system for me.

A New Addition to My Wish List

I found Podophile a couple of days ago, a nice blog with lots of good stuff about Nike+ iPod. And that’s where I found my new watch — or the one that will become my new watch when Nike finally releases it — the Nike Flight+. Podophile has the details in this post: Nike+ iPod Watches Confirmed: New Details and Photos. The Nike Flight+ is the model a little over halfway down the page, a watch that controls the iPod through the Nike+ Sport Kit dongle.

Currently, I wear the Zodiac Sea Wolf that my dad left me during the day, but I don’t risk that baby out on the roads. Instead, I have a Casio with a broken wristband attached to my reflective vest. I wear my iPod Nano (the 3G one) in a Nike Sport Armband and have to wear it upside down to manipulate the controls. Odd, yes, but it works for me that way.

The Nike Flight+, on the other hand, would free me to control the iPod from my wrist. I just think this arrangement would be much more convenient while actually running — whenever I can manage that again. I could continue to wear the armband, of course — but right-side up from then on — and never have to crane my neck to see what I’m doing. And I could choose to carry the iPod in a pocket instead, since the Nike Flight+ becomes the controller for the iPod and I wouldn’t have to actually be able to reach the iPod controls.

Pricey? Yeah, maybe so, but probably convenient enough for me that I’d consider it well worth it. So, it’s going on my Wish List — though it’s probably more fair to say that I will hold it out as a reward I will give to myself once I start running again. Plus, well, it’s a gadget, and I like gadgets.

Update: I was obviously too excited to see the dates on the posts. The Nike Flight+ should’ve already been released last May, but apparently wasn’t. The Nike Amp+ mentioned in the Podophile article is available, though. I wonder if I should just get that one, but it’s not really what I’m looking for. Neat gadget in it’s own right, but the Amp+ doesn’t have all the features I wanted.

I’m Right, I WAS Wrong

I did the math after this evening’s walk in the blustery 29F wind chill. The Nike+ reported that I burned 305 calories. The math shows me that Nike+ assumes I am actually running instead of walking because my weight times .75 times the miles equals 303 calories. Since I’m walking, it should be my weight multiplied by .53, or about 30% less.

So, I just have to remember that the total is 30% lower than reported. No big deal, really. I can adjust and live with it. Since I’ve dropped some weight so far, I can expect to drop more over time, just not as fast as I was thinking.

Right now, to be honest, I’d just like to drop enough to be able to run at all. Being this heavy is not working well for me — my knees aren’t built to motor my fat butt around. They want me to lighten the load a bit for them… and I’m trying.

Patience and perseverance. The keys to getting there. I’m going to need them both.

How Many Calories AM I Burning?

I’ve been pretty much taking the figures Nike+ gives me at the end of a walk at face value, but now I’m not so sure. Granted, I haven’t yet calibrated my Nike+ for walking and running. I’m not able to run any appreciable distance to make it worthwhile right now, but I may have to once I’m able to start running again.

I’m certain that I’ve decreased my intake of calories somewhat, but I’m not strictly counting calories. I’m starting to think I may have to reevaluate my weight-loss goals a little bit. Not really a huge problem, actually. Or else I may just have to decide that losing weight is something that will happen over time and accept it as a by-product of improved general fitness and not an end in and of itself. Probably a healthier approach for the long run anyway.

What brought on the doubts, though, was an article by Amby Burfoot from Runner’s World: How Many Calories Are You Really Burning?. That running burns more calories than walking is not exactly a surprise, but the interesting part is the difference between Total Calorie Burn and Net Calorie Burn — something of which I was aware but really never paid a whole lot of attention.

I’m going to have to keep this chart from that article in mind as I factor weight-loss objectives into my overall physical fitness regime:

            Your Total Calorie Burn/Mile     Your Net Calorie Burn/Mile
Running     .75 x your weight (in lbs.)      .63 x your weight

Walking     .53 x your weight                .30 x your weight

According to that chart, what’s in the sidebar probably doesn’t really represent my progress towards pounds lost in exactly the way that I was thinking. I have to assume they represent Total Calorie Burn (TCB), but they are still a positive factor nonetheless. More calories burned plus less calories consumed will equal steady weight loss. And as long as my Net Calorie Burn (NCB) plus restricting my eating a little totals to a 500-calorie/day deficit, I can expect to lose around a pound/week.

With what I’m doing right now, I’m just probably going to have to expect to hit a plateau soon and for progress to slow, or else augment NCB with further restriction of calories.

Once I can run again, of course, I believe things will improve more dramatically.

Nike+ Is A Pretty Good Motivator

After hearing Paula Radcliffe and Joan Benoit Samuelson congratulate me twice each for milestones over the past two weeks, I was starting to wonder who else might pop up soon.

Well, after an early attempt at jogging again tonight — that didn’t last too long before both knees lodged their complaints! — and right back to walking. So, I settled into a good stride and slowly built up as I went along. I pushed past the scheduled 30 minutes, as usual, but this time I varied my route considerably and wound up going three miles instead of the normal two and change.

This time it was Lance Armstrong who congratulated me — for my longest workout so far.

So, not only am I able to listen to a playlist on my iPod Nano that is mostly classic rock songs that were playing on the radio in my high school running days, but the Nike+ also gives me these nice motivational sound bites from several famous athletes which I can discover as I hit different milestones along the way.

I can recall a time or two when Frank Ridgley brought along a transistor radio when we all ran a group workout. This new technology makes things a little more interesting and more fun.

Oh yeah, I finally put something on the “About” page — the link is in the header above — that I hope helps to explain what this blog represents… to me at least.