Smitten Picks…{my Nike+ Sportband}.

Simon has this habit of taking my achievements and making them sound much better than they actually are.  For instance:

I can type 70 wpm; he tells people I type 90 wpm.

I was the editor of skirt! Magazine in Raleigh, NC; he makes it sound like I was the editor of Elle Magazine in NYC.

And, my favorite (other than this one):

I ran cross country in high school (and I’m using the term “ran” loosely – I did well to finish, most of the time); he refers to me as a “cross country champion.”

I finished a couple of 5Ks in college, but I hadn’t run in years before last year, when I decided I’d take it up again.  Simon’s a pretty avid runner – he did the London Marathon in 2002 and continues to run about 20 miles a week – so I thought doing it too would be a good way for us to get some exercise and spend time together.  I haven’t quite built up to his 5-miles-in-40-minutes pace, but I’m working on it.

For Christmas, as a little incentive, Simon bought me this: (cue angels singing, “Ahhhhh!!!!!”)

The Nike+ Sportband.

There’s a little sensor you wear in your shoe, and the guy at the sporting goods store told Simon I could just put it under my insole instead of buying the special Nike+ running shoes.

He lied.

So for two months, I stared longingly at my Sportband, feeling a twinge of disappointment every time I dragged my lazy butt out into the English rain for another unenthusiastic run.

But then came my birthday, and this:

The Shoe Pouch.

Thanks to my brother-in-law, who bought me this little lady for my birthday, I could finally strap on my Sportband and get to running.

Two weeks ago, I attached the sensor to my shoe…

…and the band to my wrist…

…and ran.

When I got back, I felt like this:

(I didn’t realize until I took this photo that I was also wearing a Nike hoodie and a Nike headband…dork)

I plugged the black bit from the wrist band into my computer, and watched my run graphed out on the Nike website.

It tells me how far I ran, how long it took me, what my pace was, and how many calories I’ve burned.  Then it records all my runs and tells me how I can improve my times and distances.

Brilliant.

It’ll still be a while before I’ve caught up with Simon, but at least I’m accumulating the proper gear.