Usually, when I login to my Nike+ account, I view my personal challenges and the 400mToGo challenges. However, the other day I was cruising around some of the other Nike+ content and I came across the Distance Club.

Distance Club Milestones
100MI, 500MI, 1000MI, 2000MI, 3000MI, 4000MI, and 5000MI

The the basic mission of 400mToGo is to appeal to Nike+ runners of all abilities. When I came across the Distance Club, I couldn’t believe the tremendous distances that some of my fellow Nike+ runners had logged. I was especially amazed at how many people have reached the top three milestones:

Milestone: Number of Runners
3000MI: 105
4000MI: 34
5000MI: 14

User ChuckJonard, one of the 14 at the 5000MI milestone, has logged a total of 8,728.13 miles at an average pace of 19 minutes 32 seconds. What an accomplishment! I’ve definitely found my newest source of inspiration. These amazing accomplishments prove, with persistence, patience, dedication, and determination, nothing is impossible.

Back in the day, if you wanted to map a running route by distance, you had a couple of options: drive a route and track mileage with your odometer, grab a map, a ruler, and a calculator, or pick a route that was measured by someone else and hope their calculation was correct. Thankfully, with the advent of online mapping, that’s no longer the case. Route planning, mapping, and distance calculation is now a simple matter of a few clicks of the mouse.

So, what’s a pedometer anyhow? According to this Wikipedia article, a pedometer is “a device . . . that counts each step a person takes by detecting the motion of their hips” in order to calculate distance traveled. I guess that means an online mapping tool that calculates distance traveled isn’t really a pedometer, but now I’m just being pedantic.

Seeing as how each of the three online pedometers below is a Google Maps mashup, the “best” tool becomes a matter of personal preference.

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The New Balance LOVE/hate campaign has begun, and it’s even better than I thought it would be. Very clever ads, in my opinion. As is common nowadays, New Balance is attempting to take their campaign viral by posting the videos on YouTube. Below are my favorite ads from the campaign.

LOVE/hate Rain: “. . . nothing spices up a relationship like a hot, sweaty, make-up run.”

LOVE/hate Bench: “You broke up with running last week, and now you see running everywhere, looking really, really good.”

See the other LOVE/hate videos at YouTube.

Ever since I purchased my Nike+ kit I’ve been relying on the collected data not only for motivation, but to track my training as well. I’m currently on hiatus from any serious training until June, when I start training for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon. My fellow bloggers and I have all expressed the need to train smart. Part of my “smart” training strategy is to give my body a break - especially my knees.

My current regimen now consists of three types of running:

1. Up to 4 miles outside
2. Running to the gym (~1.12 miles from my house), working out, and then running home
3. Up to 4 miles on the treadmill

This has been my routine since early March and it feels great. My knees are holding up and I haven’t had any problems with motivation due to the fact that each workout is different.

This change of pace is helping keep me on track.

One feature I would like Nike to readdress is the way Nike+ rewards runners with certificates on the Nike+ Web site.

Presently, Nike+ e-mails customized achievement awards to Nike+ members when runners reach certain mileage markers. It’s a great idea and a great way to motivate and congratulate runners of all abilities. At the moment however, certificates are only sent out when runners reach the 100, 500, and 1,000 mile milestones.

I ran my first 100 miles with Nike+ on February 6, 2007 and did not complete 500 miles until over 11 months later on January 19, 2008. That means I went almost an entire year without any extra motivation from Nike+, a long time if you are a novice or beginner runner who needs as much motivation as possible.

It would seem a smart move for Nike to maintain the user’s interest in healthy exercise and to keep them coming back to the Nike+ experience. My suggestion would be to distribute certificates every 50 miles instead of at the 100, 500 and 1,000 mile mark. I think this would reach out more to the average runner and typical Nike+ user who may only run or walk approximately 25 miles per month. Knowing that each additional milestone of 50 miles brings with it a certificate of achievement could really help motivate some people to continue running over a longer period of time.

It seems the past two weeks have been almost too much to bear, not just for me, but for everyone I’ve spoken to - my co-workers, my parents, the waitress at the bar last night, etc. The weather’s been horrible, work’s been piling up, and there’s definitely some sleep deprivation in there too. Despite all these obstacles, I still find myself running and working out, as do my colleagues, friends and acquaintances.

I’ve been thinking about the dedicated and talented athletes that will soon be participating in the Olympics. They’re the elite of the elite and have dedicated their entire lives to training and preparation. The recognition these athletes and their trainers receive is well deserved - medal or no medal. They made it to the highest level and should be proud.

You know who else should be proud? All of the weekend warriors out there, who, despite having kids, jobs, and other obstacles of life in their way, still lace-up their shoes and step onto the pavement. You might not receive a gold medal or have the national anthem playing for you in front of the entire world, but you’ve accomplished something just as worthwhile. We don’t have all the time in the world to train and may only be able to go running when it’s convenient, but we do what we can when we can. So, the next time you finish a race or just jog around the block, remember that you’ve accomplished a GREAT feat - you’ve stepped up to the challenge.

Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character. — T. Alan Armstrong

J.D. of Get Fit Slowly has decided that he wants to run a marathon, and he posted this past weekend about his first day of marathon training. J.D. is a great writer and the post was a lot of fun to read, but what struck me about the post were the important lessons about training I learned by reading between the lines.

Seek Guidance from Those in the Know

Have you set a training goal for yourself? Awesome! Do you know what it’s going to take to accomplish your goal? If not, don’t be afraid to do a little research and to ask for guidance when and where you need it.

“To meet this goal, I need help. I need a coach. Fortunately, Mac’s wife, Dr. Pam, is able and willing to offer her help. She’s Coach Pam to me now.”

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Jamie, the Diabetic Runner, has put together two running challenges for the Diabetic Runner 2008 Challenge: the DR1K and the DR5H.

“I started this challenge for the vast community of blogging runners and diabetics. I’m hoping to inspire many to do great things, to push themselves to extraordinary heights, and to raise awareness of diabetes, and the United Nations’ designated “World Diabetes Day” held every year on November 14th.

…And no, you don’t have to be diabetic to join the challenge.”

The challenges are both year long challenges. The DR1K challenge is 1,000 miles in 2008, or about 20 miles per week. The DR5H is 500 miles, or about 10 miles per week.

I’m not diabetic myself, but Courtney’s story really got to me, and when I saw that she was involved in the DR Challenge I decided that I’d give it a go myself. I wanted to challenge myself to run more, to run harder, and I wanted to help spread the word. I chose the 500 mile challenge, and as I’ve only got about 60 miles under my belt this year, I’d better get moving!

Visit the DR Challenge page to sign up for either challenge. If you’re a Nike+ runner, you can scroll to the bottom of the page and find links to join the DR1K or the DR5H Nike+ challenges.

Good luck to all the Diabetic Challenge runners!

Gasp! You mean you can cheat technology?! You can, yes, but it’s not only morally wrong, it also won’t help you to become a better runner. We weren’t sure whether to publish this article or not because we certainly don’t condone any of these tactics, but just to prove that it is possible for an insidious runner to cheat the system and to highlight potential cheating with the Nike+ system, we’re going to share these ideas with you.

1. CREATE IMAGINARY RUNS
   Can’t be bothered to run, but you want to win a challenge? Simply use the Nike Plus Edit Web site to quickly create an XML file based on your imaginary 50-mile run before work today. Add the XML file to your iPod, and then before you know it, iTunes has uploaded your mileage to your open challenge(s). Pure evil personified!
2. TRICK iTUNES
   Did your run not go so well today? Wanted to run 10 miles but only ran two? No problem! Edit your most recent run before you upload it to Nike+, and trick iTunes into publishing your pretend workout!
3. CALIBRATION
   Calibrate your Nike+ incorrectly, on purpose. Tell your iPod that you are going to calibrate over one mile, but only run half a mile. Oh how impressed your friends will be when you slash your personal bests by 40% over the space of a few days!
4. MULTIPLE IPODS
   Why use one iPod when you can have two, or even three?! Attach a sensor to each running shoe and BOOM! A 10-mile run suddenly becomes a 20-mile upload. Slightly expensive, admittedly, but people with a lot of money are probably more likely to cheat than those who do not, don’t you think?
5. WEAR NIKE+ ALL THE TIME
   This is the least serious way to cheat as technically, it does involve exercise that you are responsible for. Simply wear your Nike+ device wherever you go! Walking around the house, strolling around the mall or the grocery store, all those footsteps soon add up! But why stop the evilness there? If a friend or a relative is going out somewhere, attach your chip to their shoes and ask them to record their mileage on your behalf!

Remember, you can cheat all you want online, but when it comes down to that real race against real people, we will all know who has been telling the truth and who has not. Be warned!

When I was running the Couch to 5k program, I almost always ran in the morning, really early in the morning. Since graduating from C25K, I’ve found that I simply don’t have the motivation for those early morning runs. Sure, I frequently run before work, but I’m not getting up at 5am anymore.

One of my favorite times to run is over a long lunch. I’ve got a gig (and a boss) that’s flexible enough to allow for a long lunch if I come in early. Coming in an hour early gives me time for a two-hour lunch, plenty of time to head to the house, jog around the neighborhood, grab a quick shower, and make it back to work with time to spare. It’s a great way to get out of the office, clear my head, get some fresh air, and energize myself for the rest of the day.

When’s your favorite time to run?