Who is the idiot? I am the idiot? Oh.
So this morning I went for my first run with the nike+ iPod kit. This kit basically consists of a small sensor that goes in your shoe and tracks your movement, while the iPod carries an attachment to pick up the info.
If you own a Nike trainer, then you'll have no problem carrying the sensor, as the shoe has a specially designed slot for just this occasion. However, if you are like me and own a Puma(or any other brand) trainer, you'll run into difficulties.
There are various products available on the 'net for making sure your sensor stays on your non-Nike shoe. I don't, however, have the proclivity towards forking out money for something I need now and will take two days to arrive. I decided to cut open my trainer, and stick the sensor in it the old fashioned way: with brute force.
The place I chose to hold the sensor was perhaps not the wisest choice... it was on the outside of the shoe. I chose this place because I felt it would not annoy my foot in any way, and I thought that the shoe material was sticky enough(on the inside) to hold the sensor in place.
So I went for my run. Immediately I knew I should have calbrated the sensor since it was telling me I had run 0.17 miles when I knew I had done a whole mile. I decided to address this when I got home. I walked back, because my extradordinary level of un-fitness had caused burning pains in my chest that wouldn't leave.
I was cold, hungry and in pain, but luckily within 300 metres of my house. I stumbled forward, as I had for the last 15 minutes, when the iPod suddenly told me that 'activity has stopped. Pausing work-out'. Wait, what? The only reason that activity would stop would be if I had stopped moving, or if I had lost the sensor. I was still moving. Uh-oh.
New sensors are 19, so I resigned myself to turning back and looking for it. Did I mention it was 4:30 in the morning? I could barely see my feet, let alone a piece of plastic the size of a 50p piece. After ten minutes of blindly searching the pavement for the sensor, I gave up and returned home.
Cut to 12 hours later. I'm walking back from Spar after having picked up some maltesers and Coca-Cola(I am a junkie. I need to stop this). I'm pretty down, since I'm going to have to shell out cash for a new sensor. Suddenly, I see it! My sensor! Lost half a day ago and then found amongst the shrubbery! Yes!
So what have we learnt from this? Well, three things:
- Trips to Spar can, in rare circumstances, be happy events.
- I am an idiot who needs to plan shoe-gadget-placement more carefully.
- Christmas miracles can happen. Even in January.