Every Day is Thanksgiving

On my run today I was reminded that every day, for me is Thanksgiving. Sure we don’t have the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, most of us can be thankful for something.

For me, whether I’m having a good day or a “bad” day I am extremely thankful for everything I have and today I want to make sure everyone knows this.

Today, Erin, I want to know that I’m thankful for you every day. You are a great human being. I am a better person for knowing, loving and spending the rest of my life with you.

Nike+ GPS Sportwatch Update (GPS)

Last night there was a GPS update on the watch. It was either the update or the perfect day: 66, sunny, no clouds, but the GPS synced up immediately when I walked out of the house.

Great watch day, amazing run day.

Nike+ GPS Sprotwatch Update–11/27/2011

Got a couple new updates today on the sportwatch today including:

• Improved mapping accuracy for better looking maps
• Improved instant pace
• Enhanced quickstart features

We’ll see how this effects the experience, and as always they are updating satellite data. In addition to the updates, there are some new features as well:

• Stopwatch: Time up to 50 laps with a tap (tapping the screen initiates a lap)
• Alarm: Ability to set an alarm on the watch (I guess it’s getting more watch like)
• Time set: Ability to set time on the watch (used to be set only by satellite)

Not huge added features, but nice none the less. It’s good to see some of the basic features coming to the watch. I’m looking for more basic running features as well eg. Heart rate zone training and ability to program variable intervals with warm up and warm down.

Any questions about the watch, drop a comment and I’ll  get back to you.

Nike+ SportWatch GPS–It’s First #fail

For about 3 months I have been using the Nike+ SportWatch GPS. It’s ultimate strength has been it’s ability to track distance easily and accurately. The TomTom GPS, coupled with the Nike+ Pod I have not had a run that did not track distance, until today.

With both the Pod and the GPS active, there were no miles recorded. The odd thing is, the route was recorded but the watch still reported no miles after being uploaded. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here it is:

Nike+ SportWatch GPS–Nike Connect Update

Not sure what the updated did, but one came out today, very exciting. Also got a video message from a Nike Athlete congratulating me on running 5 days in a row. I kind of like that feature though it’s a little creepy when your computer starts talking to you out of the blue when you are not paying attention.

Note on the performance of the watch. It’s still a solid GPS watch.

Nike+ SportWatch GPS–First Disappointment

The last time I wrote about the watch I was praising the accuracy and consistency of the watch as a distance tracker. In addition, the use of the goals provided that extra motivation to get out there and execute the daily workout.

Today, I was disappointed. Once again I’m tracking down a distance, time and frequency goal. In addition to my reliable watch, I had a real running partner as well, and had a great workout. When syncing the watch to the computer, I got the login screen that I got the first time plugged my watch in. After attempting to sync three times, I unplugged the watch and looked at the watch history (this is very easy, just two button presses) and sure enough, the watch says “No Runs Yet.”

The watch has gone back to factory settings and today’s run is lost. I’ll keep you up to date, but if this happens again, the watch is going back to the store .

Week 5 With Nike+ SportWatch GPS

Another good training week with the Nike+ GPS watch. The screen, simple controls and accuracy of the GPS remain to be the strength of this watch.

This week I got to really feel the pressure of the Goals feature of the Nike+ website. It was the final week for my 2 Nike+ Goals. One was distance and one was for speed.

I had reached the speed goal earlier in the week and I was congratulated when I synced the watch by and elite athlete, that was nice . The distance goal, on the other hand, seemed out of reach. The distance goal was in my head from preparation and well into my long run this morning. As the run progressed the idea of one more mile for the goal motivated me. After doing this mental exercise 3 times the goal was met and the run was that much more fulfilling.

This type of motivation, like a good running partner, was amazing. Tomorrow new goals will be set, and I look forward to hearing the next athlete sing my praises for achieving those goals.