posted by Chris Barber
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I read an article in Wired magazine about Nike+ that was pretty interesting.  The article not only delved into the technology and development of Nike+ but more interestingly to me, the data it was able to collect and what Nike learned about runners.  There are a couple of quotes from the article I would like to comment on:

“There’s something about seeing what you’ve done, how your pace changes as you go up and down hills…” I’ve used a Garmin 205 before to help me pace myself running up and down hills.  As a serious runner trying to get the most out of my work-outs, I have found that this instant feedback allows me to either speed up or slow down when needed.  I know I’m going to run faster downhill and slower uphill, but being able to see me current speed helps me mitigate the amount of effort I am putting in based on the grade of the hill.  It’s not an exact science, but I am able to determine my optimal pace for each hill based off of past experiences.  Even though I am perfect,  I can admit that I’m not exact.  I only deal in Macro baby!  I’ll leave being micro and exact for Science.

“Everyone understands speed and distance.” This is Nike’s reason for not adding other gadets to their device like heart rate moitors or GPS capabilities, which is probably why the product has become so popular.  Not matter how long you’ve been running or if you’ve never run before in your life, everyone understands speed and distance and quite honestly, that’s all you need to know to achieve a running goal.  All of the other stuff may help you reach your goal, but what you really need to know to set and attain your PR is an understanding of what speed and distance your body perform at.

“But once they (runners) hit five runs, they’re massively more likely to keep running and uploading data.  At five runs, they’ve gotten hooked on what their data tells them about themselves.” It’s like the 20 minute rule, you have to create a habit of running.  According to the data from Nike+, it takes 5 runs to make running a habit.  The best habit you’ll ever have only takes 5 times.  Less than a week?!  I’m going to tell every new runner that asks me for advice, “Pick 5 days this week to go running, and make sure you do it each of those days…now give me 20 bucks.  I get paid to be a running expert!”

“…people change their behavior – often for the better – when they are being observed.” This is referring to an experiment that a factory once did, changing the conditions of the workplace positively and negatively, to see what things effect productivity, but they found that no matter what they did, productivity increased.  The study gave rise to what’s known as the Hawthorne effect.  So as a new runner trying to start the new habit, running with a friend, group, or running club will help you stick with it.  You are more likely to make running a habit if you have other people counting on you to run, or even better yet, make sure you run at a fast pace.  I always seem to run faster on a group run without meaning to or challenging anyone.  I’m not sure why this is.  Maybe I’ll hit up Science on Facebook or his blackberry and ask.

I can’t tell you about the Nike+ product itself although it sounds very interesting, especially for new runners;  however, I can tell you that the article in Wired magazine is really interesting by itself.  Check it out you 21st century digital boy you.

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