The 1000 Kms Distance Club

The day has come, I have completed 1000 Kms on my nike+ipod. It took me 10 months to reach this goal. According to logical calculations, I ran almost 100 Kms every month, 3.3 Kms every day. 

Sounds easy, but trust me, it is tough.  These 10 months I experienced some excitement, some fun, and a lot of pain. I have emptied at least 

4 bottles of Iodex

1 tube of MOOV

1 tube of anti friction gel (too shy to mention the name :p)

2 packs of vicks vaporub

2 bottles of cough syrup

2 bottles of Dettol

10,000 litres of drinking water ! 

I disposed at least 5 underwears, 5 baniyans, 4 T-shirts and 3 pairs of socks. (These were all dedicated to my Training plan) Soon after Mumbai Marathon in Janauary, I will have to dispose my shoes too ! They are just 1.5 years old, but have sustained my whole weight for those 1000 Kms. 

1 Km = 1320 steps. 1000 Kms = 13,20,000 steps. (Thats 13 lakh 20 thousand steps !!!)

My knees, hamstring muscles and calves  deserve a huge kiss from me for this. 

Normally our heart beats @ 72 BPM. While running at my pace, it beats at around 135 BPM.

I completed 1000 kms in 90 hours = 5400 mins. So for 5400 mins of my life, my heart had to beat at almost twice its average rate.  Dude, my heart is precious. 

To make my heart beat at 135 BPM, it requires a blood supply twice as fast than its average time. My lungs were a great contributor in my heart's achievement. 

My lungs were able to perform so well because I could breathe enough air during my runs. So should I thank my big nose ? \o/

Nike+ipod

I recently purchased one of the most awaited gadget for ipod nano- The Nike+ipod. Actually, it was launched long ago in 2006, but was made available in India recently. It costs Rs 2000 in India and is available in Nike showrooms, Thought of buying it, but finally ordered it from US thru a friend. It costs 30$ in the US. The product is quite a hifi gadget for ipod users, but the catch is, it works only with Ipod Nano. And, There's a catch from Nike too ! it fits in selected Nike Shoes. The gadget consists of a small sensor and a receiver. The sensor goes inside the shoe's sole and the receiver fits to the ipod. Thats it ! you are ready to run and track your workouts.

I had recently purchased new Reebok shoes worth 3500 rs, and I was not ready to pay more to buy those Nike+ compatible shoes. So after a little research, I found a wokaround. Instead of the sensor fitting inside the shoe's sole, It works quite accurately if it is slipped between the shoe and the shoe lace. So, along with the sensor, I order for a shoe pouch too ! It cost me 8$ and I cursed myself why did I spend 300 rs on this stupid pouch ? anyways, it is quite reliable and once you fit your sensor, you can forget about it.

So, finally i attached the shoe pouch to my reebok shoe, inserted the sensor, plugged the receiver to my ipod and I was ready. My ipod automatically detected the sensor. I got audio feedback in a female voice. This was the best part. It seems as if you are in some outer space and you are guided by someone. In addition to the audio feedback provided by a generic male or female voice (user's choice), there are pre-recorded congratulations provided by Lance Armstrong and Paula Radcliffe whenever a user achieves a personal best (such as fastest mile, fastest 5K fastest 10K, longest run yet) or reaches certain long-term milestones (such as 250 miles, 500 kilometers). This "celebrity feedback" is heard after the usual end-of-run statistics.

After I finished my run, I connected my ipod to my computer. Itunes automatically detected my run and sent the data directly to Nikeplus website. Here I got my statistics of the run, graphs, comparisons with previous runs, my position among other fellow Nikeplus runners around the world, in india, in Bangalore. Also, I downloaded a smal widget which will let you know how much I have run. It is placed in this very blog in the left hand side. There are a very few users of Nike+ipod in India, but I am sure, people who are fond of jogging/running, this one is a must have. existing ipod nano users, you have just another reason to do a workout.

I have already surrendered before this gadget.