Sean Alexander

For over the past year, I’ve been running pretty regularly, something I’ve equated over the years to boring and likely to result in an injury since I had double Achilles tendon surgery as a 7yo kid.  But then my son had a similar surgery last summer (much less invasive) and I started to run for him –  and for me.  Since then I’ve lost 20lbs, back to the weight I was as a Sophomore in Undergrad and I credit running and a good tools including SparkPeople.com and tracking my progress using tools like Nike+ and RunKeeper for keeping me motivated.  I’m not doing marathons, but a few 5K intervals with elliptical help keep me fit(ter) and I’ve shaved from a 10:45’ mile to a 9:14’ average.

But I’ve burned through two Nike+ Foot Pods and am on my 3rd set of Mizuno running shoes, and found a Garmin Forerunner 305 too much and lacking in different areas, this hobby is starting to get expensive.  I moved to Runkeeper due to the better accuracy of the GPS for tracking my movement and not needing to calibrate the way the foot pod requires. 

Enter Nike+ GPS, a much needed improvement to Nike’s solution.  The new version uses the accelerometer in your phone, calibrating to your movements.  I have yet to try it but over the next few days I’ll give it a workout on the open road and treadmill, schedule permitting. 

Here’s the official list of improvements:

• Download it on the go and start running anywhere. With this app in hand, track every indoor and outdoor workout easily, without a sensor.
• Record your pace, distance and run route using the iPhone’s GPS and accelerometer technology so you can focus on the road ahead, and relive your run later.
• Anytime you’re up for a challenge, push farther, faster, or longer to better reach your goals. Then celebrate your victories with fun, motivational messages from Nike’s top athletes.
• As you run, get voice feedback on how you’re doing or tap the map to see where you are. Then activate your personalized PowerSong for an extra boost.
• Quickly send each run to Nikeplus.com where you can brag to friends, join challenges, set goals and connect with the rest of the Nike+ community.

The Nike+ GPS app was designed for the iPhone, but it’s also compatible with the iPod touch (without the mapping capabilities).

Did I miss a mention of this in Steve’s keynote last week?