Fear and Loathing and Nike Plus

So, I appreciated Amanda and Elisa's "gift" of a Nike Plus system ... I really did. But they sure made it harder to live in denial.

For the uninitiated, Nike Plus is a relatively inexpensive (if you already have the iPod) system put together by Nike and iPod that's kind of like a super advanced, super cool pedometer. Just plug a little computer thingie into your iPod and pop a little sensor dealie into your shoe (I hope I'm not getting too technical here), and it pretty much tells you what to do from there. You can get all fancy with it, tracking workouts of your friends and family, comparing past and present workouts, and programming in your favorite songs, but I haven't tried any of that. Yet.

Truth be told, I didn't want to know how far I was running. People ask pretty often (something about starting a blog to write about your running makes people think you actually want to talk about your running ... weird). I liked being able to honestly say, "I don't know, I just run for 30 minutes." You see, it's one thing to mention (as I have, several times) that you're a slow runner. It's quite another to know just HOW slow. In trying to prepare myself for the worst, I had convinced myself that the worst was true, and that made me terrified to confirm my gloomy suspicions.

Turns out, I run a pretty respectable (I think) three miles in 30 minutes. It's no Usaine Bolt (oh, what am I saying, it's no Average Mountain Brook Mom), but I'm still pretty proud of it. Runner's World gives training advice for ten minute milers. Running three miles means I can easily handle a 5K.

Plus, I'm pretty sure that's what Miranda on Sex and the City ran when she was training for the NYC Marathon (she picked up the pace after a dating situation with a fellow runner went bad ... guess I have to start sleeping with my training partner if I'm going to run faster). I have been validated by pop culture, and, in my book, that's success!**

You can buy a Nike Plus system at The Trak Shack.

**For the record, I don't equate pop culture with success. I don't have a running partner. But, even if I did, I wouldn't sleep with him just to improve my time. Body shots, maybe.