Running and my GPS Watch

It was warm enough to run outside, but the rain did not cooperate. I like getting out to a park on Sunday and running on a trail instead of on the concrete. I still think that running on the crowned roads is bad for my knees. For me running is all about keeping my knees healthy. I want to run as hard as I can without wrecking my knees, so I can't run anymore.

One of the my happy discoveries this year was my Nike GPS watch. It works with the $20 shoe pod that I keep in the sole of my Nike shoes, and it tracks the overall distance by GPS.

While I am running, I can see how fast I am going. This is important to me, since in a race I always always always run too fast at the beginning, and then die at the end. With the watch you can see how fast your are going, and try to throttle back.

When you get home you can plug it in to your computer and look at where you ran and how fast. It even shows the elevation, so you can tell whether you slowed down going up hill.

There are a few tricks. If you have not used it lately, plug it into the computer so it can update satellite locations. Try to get it connected in a true open area without overhead wires and metal poles. If you connect it once, and then turn it off, you can connect the second time much faster. It helps to connect to the satellite if you stay still.

The Nike system is best with the footpod for instantaneous speed. You can buy a shoelace mounted holder for non-Nike shoes. I use one on  my Asics.

The Nike watch is called the Nike+ Sportwatch GPS. It is made by TomTom.