The Case of the Missing Run

I went out for a quick two mile run this weekend, running with my Nike+ Sport Kit as always. When I went to upload my run data, I plugged in my iPod, launched iTunes, and nothing happened. Nothing! iTunes never gave me the “Your run data has been uploaded . . .” message, and my latest run didn’t show up on the Nike+ website. I knew that the run was recorded in my iPod - I could tell by viewing the Totals data listed in the History section of the Nike+iPod menu (Nike+iPod -> History -> Totals) - but no matter what I did, I couldn’t get the run to upload.

I tried the usual tricks: Close and open iTunes, unmount and mount the iPod, relentlessly Google the symptoms. While my Google searches turned up a lot of great tips, nothing seemed to match my particular situation. Thankfully, I was able to learn enough from the troubleshooting steps to resolve my problem and upload the missing run.

How Nike+ Workout Data is Stored

Nike+ workout data is stored in the iPod nano in XML files. They’re deep in a hidden folder called iPod_Control, easily found as long as you’ve enabled disk use on your iPod and you can view hidden folders in your file browser (Explorer on Windows, Macs apparently require a program called inVisibles). All of your workout data can be found by browsing to iPod_Control\Device\Trainer\Workouts\Empeds\<empedId>.

Basic Data Recovery Steps

Most of the recovery instructions I found focused on two folders in the <empedId> folder, \synched and \latest. The data files are named for the date and end time of your run, 2008-05-10 11;27;41.xml for example. Find the missing workout in \synched, copy it over to \latest, open iTunes, and voila, the “lost” run will upload and all of your problems are solved. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for me.

My Unique Problem - Found and Solved

What I found in my \latest folder was a file named .tmp. I opened .tmp with my favorite Windows text editor, Notepad++, and found that I had a file full of good run data. I knew from my research that the file should be named according to the date and end time of the run. I dug into the file and found the date and start time of my workout: <time>2008-05-10T11:06:16-05:00</time>. Then I found the duration: <durationString>21:25</durationString>. A little simple math told me the file should be named “2008-05-10 11;27;41.xml.” I renamed the file, launched iTunes, and my “lost” run was immediately uploaded to Nike+.

Links that Saved the Day

While I wasn’t able to find any troubleshooting steps that addressed my problem specifically, the links below gave me enough good information that I was able to find and recover my missing run. If you’re having similar problems, I suggest checking out the detailed steps in the tutorials below.

From the Apple discussion forums, haplogroupk shares how to re-upload run data. If your iPod dies on you in the middle of your workout, Gabe Anderson show you how to rebuild your run data in his article, “How to Hack Nike+ Run Data.” Gabe’s article was especially helpful in that the instructions are particularly detailed and multiple screenshots are included.