Wiired

After many delays, I finally went for my first run using the new Nike+ sports kit today.  For all those reading this that I promised a review for, it shall come, but not today.  I'm going to get in a few more runs before I write up a full review, that way I can have a better idea of it all in use.  Today I just want to give some details on my first run, for all those who are interested.

First off, I'll start out by saying, I'm not sure if it's just me, or if it's some runner-type thing, but lately I find myself searching Vox for "running" or "run" or any variation of the word and reading any posts from Vox users who chronicle their runs.  I find them all fascinating to read--always different, always unique.  Thus my reason for doing the same with my runs.

so today was a hectic day.  After staying up until 3AM with family visiting from Conneticut (hilarious story from dinner that night @ the Olive Garden that I'll have to blog about at a later date), I woke up around 11AM, said my goodbyes to the family, and played my horn for a bit.  Next, it was off to the beach with Stephen & Mom on a rare day that all 3 of us had off from work.  Absolutely stunning weather today, mid-eighties, sunny, blue skies, and good times.  After soaking up way too much sun, we headed home around 6 PM.  Instead of showering and relaxing, I felt the urge to hit the pavement.

Although I'm still waiting for Nike to ship me back the correct size of my Nike Plus shoes I bought (needed size 11 instead of 10.5), I was able to tuck the sensor underneath the laces on my comfy Asics.  It held securely enough that I wasn't too worried about it slipping out.  I put in a good stretch session, about 15 minutes total, doing the whole "30 seconds" rule for each muscle I could possibly think of.  After that, I wrapped the armband up, listened to the lovely lady tell me to "push the center button to begin your workout", and I was off.

It felt great running again.  I hadn't done so since last summer, and although the heat was still in the upper 70's, I didn't mind.  I had my brand new 4Gb nano blasting the cool tunes of the Nike+ 45 minute continuous track I purchased, comfy shoes, running shorts, Dri-Fit shirt, armband and Nike+ sensors to boot.  Sun was blasting me left and right, but I had the wind in my face as I hit the roads.

After about 6 or 7 minutes of running, I felt the urge to know some stats, to see how this whole thing was working out.  I knew it was supposed to automatically tell me at certain intervals my stats, however, I found it was too sporadic and not frequent enough for me.  I found myself just hitting the center button for updates more often than anything, which wasn't a big deal, just something I'll have to get used to.

As I got to about 3/4 the way, there's a large hill on my route.  I plowed through it, but as soon as I hit the top my mind was suddenly saying "quit, just stop here and walk the rest, seriously".  I had no intention of stopping though, and I just concentrated on the music and moving my legs.  I turned around, down the hill I went, and straight on home.  After I reached my street, I began truckin' it, moving to a long stride and really pushing my pace.  That's where the huge incline at the end of the run comes that you can see on the graph. 
A total of 2.3 miles for my first day, more than I thought I would do, and probably more than I should have done.  But I don't care, I felt great the rest of the night, and tomorrow I can just tell myself: "no pain, no gain".  The sensor and graph seem very accurate, and I was happy with everything overall.

I've included the graph for anyone interested.  I find the incline in the begginning most interesting, since I never felt as if I was increasing my pace that entire time, when I infact was.  Goes to show you how data and graphs like this can be useful for runners who want to train to a consistent pace and really stay true to it.

Lastly, found this interesting bit of running info that I'd never heard of before while searching on Google today.
 

If you’re like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

QotD: Play any instrument or speak any language, which do you choose?

Although I don't usually reply to the QotD, I couldn't resist this one.  The choice is clear for me, since I'm a musician and would die to be able to pick up any instrument and play it with ease.  Music is a universal language, so if I can communicate with any facet of it, I essentially don't need to know any others, right? 

While Intel officially announced it's line of Conroe desktop chips today, giving an official release date of July 27th for consumers, I'm still patiently waiting for Merom to come.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Merom, here's an excerpt from Wiki.

"Merom, Intel's first mobile version of the Core 2 processor, will be released in August 2006 and will replace the Intel Core Duo line of mobile processors. Merom will largely have the same features as Conroe, but with more emphasis on low power consumption to enhance notebook battery life. Intel has claimed that Merom will provide 20% more performance yet maintain the same battery-life as the Yonah-based Core Duo. Merom will be the first Intel mobile processor to feature EM64T 64-bit extensions."

While 20% performance gains sound too good to be true, the latest reports from independent benchmarking of the Conroe series chips are living up to their name and delivering similar performance increases, leading me to believe strongly that Merom will do just the same.

The issue remains though, of just when exactly Intel will start shipping these chips.  All the latest reports I could find online say "August", but does that mean early or late in the month?  You might be sitting there saying "who cares?" but I can tell you right now, college kids care.  As back to school time approaches, notebook sales are skyrocketing, and if Intel really wants to push these Merom's out there, they have to hit this time frame in a hurry or else they'll miss the majority of students purchasing notebooks now to play around with them before heading off to school. 

So hurry Intel, ship those Merom's before it's too late!

After learning of the partnership formed between Nike & Apple in May to create a new running product that would connect runners, their shoes, and their iPods, I've been hooked on the concept...and obsessed with reading everything I can and telling anyone I can, about it.

Directing all friends to the NikePlus (www.nikeplus.com) site I would simply have them watch the video, and listen to their reaction.  Nearly all of them said "wow" and proceeded to ask me "how much, when and where can I buy this?".  I then said wait that's not all, showing them the power of the community aspects of the NikePlus website once you sync your iPod and upload your run's data to the site...very web 2.0ish if you ask me...big community feel for a sport that is the most natural and global of all sports.

I've been counting down the weeks and days until its July 13th release and now it is here.  The first exclusive hands on report with the product came from CNBC's Darren Rovell, host of "On The Money".  Rovell is an avid runner, and tested the product first hand.  Afterwards he had this to say about it:

"This could really change the way people run, and the way people think about running."

I'll be picking up a shiny, brand new iPod Nano, Nike+ Plus Running Shoes, and the Nike+ Sport Kit on Friday morning and taking them for a test run.  Look for my impressions, pictures, video's and review right here sometime soon.

So after a fellow member of the TWiT army was kind enough to send me a Vox invitation, I have registered and set up this blog.  Right now I'm still playing around with things, but so far I'm extremely impressed with the nice mix of design, ease of use, and functionality they've put into it.  

For someone who uses many services such as Flickr for pictures, YouTube for video, etc., Vox's integration of these services is valuable to a blogger who wants to pull everything together when posting on their blog.  Uploading pictures was a snap, and considering I'm an avid Flickr user, it was a good match.

I've heard some complaints already from other users about the ads.  Considering the service is free to use, and offers a rich feature set, I really have no problem with them.  If you're a Pro blogger, perhaps it isn't for you, but for the other 99% of bloggers out there, its a refreshing upgrade from Google's Blogger service to say the least.

So, look for more posts and rants to come, I have a lot to say, and now a great place to say it.