Best Impulse Buy Ever ...

For anyone who truly knows me, its no secret that I am lazy and have little, to no motivation. (Example: a previous post I wrote entitled "What's My Motivation?") Well, I finally talked myself into going for a run today and I came to a startling revelation; I love my latest impulse purchase.

Believe, I am no stranger to the impulse buy. Trust me when I say I buy a lot of shoes, A LOT of shoes. But recently on a trip to the mall (probably on a mission to buy more shoes) I wandered into the Apple Store, and found the Nike Workout+ program. Its a simple chip that plugs into your iPod and a small oval shaped button that pops into your running shoe(you have to own a recent pair of Nike running shoes). The button acts like a pedometer, logging your steps and it transmits that data back to your iPod. Its quite amazing.

As I ran today after work, tired, rundown and hungry I realized this device is the most genius invention for unmotivated runners, ever. Instead of running all willy nilly and never knowing how long I've run, in terms of distance and time, it displays right on my iPod screen. Yes, I understand that any regular pedometer or watch can do that, but a pedometer can't talk to me in a nice lady's voice (or male voice whichever you prefer) and tell me "1 mile completed, pace 10 minutes per mile." And my favorite feature, especially on a long run, the option of having a "power song" for those times when you hit the wall and really need a spine tingling beat to keep you going. So yes, I've fallen in love with a piece of technology. It has managed to motivate me more than any coach or running partner.

I just may stick with this running bit after all, until it gets cold and dark. Hey, its a piece of technology, not a divine miracle.

02/27/2011: P.S. While browsing Amazon.com I found this cool gadget. Its a sensor case for anyone who would like to use the Nike Workout+ sensor but doesn't have a pair of Nike shoes.