Walking with Nike+iPod

I added a new widget to the right column yesterday for my Nike+iPod walks (hopefully runs in the future). I didn't plan to get the Nike+ system, it just happened that way. I annually get the same type of Nike shoes; the previous year's Structure Triax, and the most recent version my mother gave me at Christmas, the Structure Triax 11 added the Nike+ module to the left sole. As a cost cutting measure in January, I got an iPod Touch so I could drop my Blackberry plan from T-Mobile, so I ended up with the two most expensive parts of the system there. Holly gave me the module to slip into my shoes for V-Day, and that rounded out the circle, or triangle, whatever.

The whole thing is pretty slick. When I get ready to go out on a walk, the module is already in the shoes, so I just press the Nike+ app on my iPod Touch. I then choose from one of four workout options; Basic, Time, Distance, or Calorie, to set what parameters I want my workout to follow. For the first three walks, I went with Basic, to see how it fits together. Then, I choose a playlist from what is already on my iPod Touch. I like listening to podcasts, so I have a smart playlist of my Leo Laporte podcasts loaded, then I'm off. A neat feature involving music is the option to select a power song. There is a button enabled during the workout that if you press it, it plays your chosen song to get through a tough portion of your run (in my case, walk). When I get back from my workout, I sync my iPod to iTunes, and it automatically uploads the workout information to Nike's website, where I can review the data graphically and share it with web widgets on this website and Facebook. The Nike site also has an interface with Google Maps to map run courses and distances.
The entire experience, like anything I have tried to do with my iPod, is really easy to use and simple to navigate.