You guys, I’ve been betrayed
By Chrissy | Today's run: 1.05 miles
Today, my worst fear was confirmed:
RUNNING IS EVEN HARDER THAN I THOUGHT.
I never would have suspected this was possible. I mean, I was already convinced running was really, really hard. And any casual observer of my running routine could verify that: I’m an uncoordinated, panting, red-faced, sweat-drenched, stumbling, crying mess. I regularly run right up to the brink of exhaustion, and then immediately need to lie down on the ground because my knees are wobbly and the world is starting to spin and I think I’m going to throw up. And that’s just after I run, like, a mile. I knew exactly how hard running is.
Or so I thought.
Ever since we got our Nike+ things, my sister and I had noticed they weren’t reporting the same distances. And the farther we ran, the bigger the gap became — the other day, my Nike+ said I’d ran a half-mile more than she did, even though we were running next to each other the entire time. But I didn’t pay too much attention to it; I kinda just figured hers was wrong. Logical, right?
But my suspicions grew last week during my treacherous treadmill workouts. On Tuesday, I ran along at what I had considered to be a quick pace — to the beat of “Such Great Heights” — for what was undoubtedly the sweatiest 42 minutes and 46 seconds of my life. When I finally stopped, the Nike+ lady proudly (I could hear it in her voice) announced that I had gone 4.77 miles — my farthest run ever! — at a pace of 8 minutes and 57 seconds per mile — my fastest run ever! I was triumphant.
That is, until I moved the magazine I was reading off the control panel of the treadmill. At which point I was stunned to see the treadmill’s calculation of my run: It said I had gone only 3.75 miles, and though I don’t remember my exact pace, it was far over 10 minutes a mile.
Which is kind of a big difference.
In light of this information, I did what any rational human being would do: I decided the lousier result was wrong. Because, really, why should I believe the treadmill? It’s big and dumb and boring and almost launched me through a plate glass window into the Kennedy Club Fitness parking lot. My Nike+, on the other hand, is tiny and fun and tells me what a great job I’m doing and has never once tried to murder me. I had no reason to doubt it.
But still, I had this nagging little thought in the back of my head that maybe, just maybe, my Nike+ was less than accurate. So today my sister and I went over to San Luis Obispo High School to test it out.
We did a test lap around the track to calibrate our Nike+ things, then set out for what we had optimistically planned to be a five-mile run. Except, have you ever tried to run five miles on a high school track? That’s 20 laps. In circles. On a dirt track. Surrounded by a chain-link fence. With a view of the parking lot.
I honestly don’t know how Larissa did it. I thought nothing could be more boring than a treadmill, but oh boy, was I wrong. At least the treadmill had Pat Sajak.
After four laps, my sister was like, “I’m kinda over it.” Which I was glad to hear, because I was thinking the same thing.
So we stopped running, I took a gulp of water, and then I checked my Nike+. It said that I had run 1.05 miles, which sounded about right, and that my pace was … 10:04? Jigga what?
Now, it’s not that I find it impossible that I run a 10-minute mile. That actually makes plenty of sense — I’m slow. BUT. This whole time, my Nike+ had been telling me I was better. Faster. Stronger! The very first time I ran with my Nike+, way back at the beginning of this blog, it clocked me at 9:18 per mile. There’s no way I’ve gotten slower after a month of running. And that can only mean one thing:
My Nike+ is a damned liar.
Well, I guess it also means one other thing: I have a heck of a lot more running to do before Oct. 11.
3 Comments
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I guess I better test out my Nike+ to see how far it is having me run (or not run). I will test it with my Garmin Forerunner 305 and see what that both say for distance.
My sister and I also determine that the Nike+ really has to be watched. The other day she ran 10 miles and it said she ran three. And yesterday we ran 10 miles together (well, my Nike+ said we did), and hers said like 14 miles or something. I’ve measured mine a few times and it seems fairly accurate but hers is WAY off.
[...] the Nike+ [...]