Category Archives: shop

Nike and Garmin

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This wasn’t the blog post I was thinking about a couple of days ago. I had grand plans to write on the plane ride home recapping the trip but ended up feeling so tired and uninspired, but I promise trip recap to come soon.

While I was out on a run in Baska Voda, I noticed that my watch, the Nike+ GPS SportWatch had condensation in the screen. However, when I got back inside the hotel room, it disappeared. I didn’t think much of it again until a couple of days later when the screen started flashing on and off. Needless to say, my watch was telling me something…

A very sad Nike+ GPS SportWatch

A very sad Nike+ GPS SportWatch

Long story short, I contacted Nike+ support who, by the way, are super friendly and very fast to respond. They gave me two options – 1. Send back the watch, wait for an inspection to determine if the issue is covered within warranty and if so, Nike will send me a new watch within 14 days. Or 2. Advance exchange where they send me a new watch which will arrive in 3-5 business days and I send my watch back. If the issue is covered within warranty, I do not get charged but if not, I will be charged $120 (they will have my credit card on file). Since this was the day before we were leaving Croatia and I knew I had a busy week ahead of me away from home (I know, again!) with a work conference and then a family event, I really needed a watch as soon as possible. Also, I started having doubts about sticking with Nike. They haven’t released a new watch in a while plus the press lately about them firing the wearables team and reviews from people with similar issues that I was seeing continued to have problems even with the replacement. When the watch started acting up, I took it as an opportunity to research the other devices out there. Even if I went with option 2, I wouldn’t have a watch at the earliest until the end of this week which is unfortunately too late for me (I’m not sure what that says about my addiction to run / track with a watch).

Interval workout on the new Garmin Forerunner 220

Interval workout on the new Garmin Forerunner 220

After much research, I settled on the Garmin Forerunner 220 (I will still be sending back my watch to Nike for inspection and hopefully a replacement) and was able to order it from the hotel room in Croatia the morning we left and the watch was already waiting for me at home before we even landed! Thank you Amazon! I was very torn between the Forerunner 220 and 620 but due to the extra cost and uncertainty of whether I wanted to run with a heart rate monitor currently, I chose the 220. If you’re in the market for a new watch, be sure to check out some of these great reviews: The Wirecutter, DC Rainmaker, and Runner’s World.

Alzheimer's team at Tuesday speed practice

Alzheimer’s team at Tuesday speed practice

I ran an interval workout with the Alzheimer’s team last night and on the treadmill tonight with the watch and it seems to work great. I love how it is so light and the menu is easy to navigate as well. I am still in “test” mode with the watch though and my CTO (I mean Josh!) is helping me with importing all the Nike data and updating the mileage tracker on my site. It’s a fairly big transition given how tied I was (and still am) to Nike with the watch and FuelBand. Over a year and a half ago I attended a Garmin event at a local running store and I was the biggest Nike supporter out there but I am starting to change my views. A detailed review of the Garmin Forerunner 220 will come once I’ve had the time to test the watch more and evaluate the data aspect as well.

In the meantime, I assure you that even if you don’t see the mileage tracker update, I am running and in full marathon training mode. Stay tuned for my travel and watch updates.

Hopefully a thumbs up for the new watch

Hopefully a thumbs up for the new watch

Do you run with a GPS watch? Which watch do you run with?

New clothes, shoes, and running streak?

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I was so mad at myself last weekend. I had grand plans to start running regularly again on Saturday and I failed to do so until Monday. Instead I spent it hanging out with family and friends, lots of eating, and spending time outdoors. I also finally decided on all the new purchases I made.

–Sandals from J.Crew, a couple of shirts from Madewell, two items from my Stitch Fix order (by the way, I really think the stylist did a much better job this time picking out items and I was so happy with this order that I already placed another one for July), a couple of shirts from Gap, and Josh and I both got new running shoes!

Keeping the infinity scarf and black shirt from Stitch Fix

Keeping the infinity scarf and black shirt from Stitch Fix

–Josh, the non-runner runner, is trying the On Cloudrunner shoe which instead of synthetic cushion, it uses “clouds” or as I will call it air pockets in the bottom of the shoe to create less impact when your foot strikes the ground. Also, the shoes are supposed to be able to last more miles than the conventional running shoe. Of course none of this really matters for Josh since he cares more about comfort but it is a very interesting technology for shoes.

–I am trying two new models of sneakers. Asics Cumulus 16, which I already took out for a shorter run this past week. They felt a little stiff at first but by the end of the run, I liked them more. My other pair are the Mizuno Wave Rider 17. The last time, many years ago, when I tried Mizuno shoes I didn’t particularly like them. However, the woman at the New Jersey Running Company (remember my new favorite running store) sold me them and they seemed to feel okay when I tested them on the treadmill in the store. I haven’t run outside in them but will try test them out this week. Since I’m in between training cycles, I figured this was the best time to try all new sneakers.

Testing out my new Asics Cumulus sneakers

Testing out my new Asics Cumulus sneakers

I finally logged a couple of miles in on Monday, as did Josh in his new sneakers. When I heard about the Runner’s World 40 day running streak from Memorial Day to July 4th, I figured I should try it for motivation (which in hindsight is ridiculous because I was just beating myself up for taking a leisurely recovery from the Brooklyn Half). I was five days into the streak and started having doubts. Finding time to run every day is tough, even if it is just for a mile. I usually try to fit in a bit of cross training during the weeks and a short run means doubling up on my workout but also more dirty laundry! Also, our team’s training started this weekend and I’m worried about burning out again with cramming too much in my schedule. So… Saturday morning before my allergist appointment (which was long and scary, but I did learn I am allergic to dust mites), I was all set to wake up early and run, but decided not to and instead start writing this blog (if you’re writing about running, that should still count, right?)!

Meeting up with the Alzheimer's team in Central Park

Meeting up with the Alzheimer’s team in Central Park

I made for it during the Celebrate Israel Run yesterday in Central Park. When I race half marathons or 10Ks, I always think to myself at the 4-mile mark how if it were a 4-miler, I would feel great about myself. So I signed up for this race to prove to myself that I like 4-mile races. As soon as I started running, I was thinking to myself how I wished it were a longer race so I didn’t have to run as hard. Ha, the grass is always greener on the other side. I ran a hard race and it definitely felt hard the entire time. Every time I felt like I was trucking up the hills, I focused on my breathing. As it turns out, my trucking along was at a fairly speedy pace (at least for me). I ended up breaking my record by over a minute — official time of 33:25 at 8:22 min/mile pace.

After the race, a couple of teammates and I went to grab a quick breakfast before meeting up with the team for the first official team practice for the New York City Marathon. We didn’t make it over to the start but did catch the team go by about a mile in and it was so awesome to be in the middle of Central Park cheering on your friends in purple when they least expected it. I have a feeling that it is going to be an awesome training cycle! Can’t wait to join everyone again tomorrow for my first official practice.

Happy National Running Day (for Wednesday)! What are your running plans for this week?