Product Endorsement

I was recently gifted a Nike Triax v10 Pedometer. My first inclination was something to the effect of "wow that's very nice - but do I really need another watch?" After all I already have a Timex Ironman Triathlon watch and a Polar Heart Rate Monitor watch. Truth be told, I did sort of have my eye on the Garmin Forerunner GPS watch.

After briefly thumbing through the instruction manual I figured I'd take it for a test drive on my Monday evening hill work out session. Unfortunately, I was late and rushing to get out the door and didn't take the time to fully familiarize myself with the operation of the watch. Though I had a good workout, I had no idea what my time was because I kept pressing random buttons on the watch. Alas.

When all else fails, read the instructions.

So I did. I took the watch (and instruction booklet) down to the track to properly calibrate it, which turned out to be a very simple process particularly since I followed the step by step instructions.

The watch comes in two parts: the actual wrist watch and the Pod that attaches to your shoe. The Pod measures your rate of acceleration and deceleration 100 times per second and transmits a signal to the watch which in turn calculates your distance and pace. The Pod is small and light. Nike claims that when properly calibrated the watch is some 97% accurate. I must confess that in road tests the pedometer is actually very much spot on.

On Thursday I went out for a long run in a route in Virginia that I am not familiar with. The Nike Triax showed that I ran 11.11 miles. I then retraced the route in my car using the odometer. The car odometer showed 11.2 miles - a difference of less that 1% and when you figure in the fact that I may have cut a corner or two while running... Well, let's just say the watch is pretty darn accurate.

In summary the Nike Triax v10 is pretty nifty and in addition to being a good pedometer it boasts a full set of features you would expect from a quality timepiece. Big props to both Nike and the giver of this gift.

Side Note: I am in Virginia at my mother in-law's. The community she lives in is wooded and surrounds a lake. It's quite nice but the 11.11 miles of Virginia hills are killing me. See the photo on the right. Seriously, I am talking about 11.11 miles of rolling hills. AUGH!

Also, I have come across deer twice more. I have now seen more deer in the past two weeks than I have in the past 10 years.