Fantastic Apps: Nike+ GPS!

So starting this morning, Rich and I decided to wake up at 5:00am and go to the gym before work.  We both want to get healthier, and with 10/10/10 yesterday, it seemed like it was a good time to start.  Hopefully I'll start to see 10lbs fall off... and another 10.... and another 10.  :-)

Just this weekend I downloaded the new Nike+ GPS app.  For those of you unfamiliar, you can get these special Nike running shoes that you put a little sensor in the sole of them... then it hooks up to your iPod and tracks your time and distance as you walk, jog, run.  You can choose any playlist on your ipod and listen to your favorite tunes while you workout.  If you run outside, it can track where you run using the GPS function on your phone!  It's pretty sweet technology.  I already had the Nike shoes for it (thanks to a Christmas present from Rich last year), and just a few weeks ago I purchased a new sensor for the shoes... so its seemed like a logical purchase to upgrade to the new app and try it out.  Rich and I got up to work out this morning, and even though I was on the treadmill, and it couldn't track where I was going with the GPS, I still decided to give it a whirl...

...and it was SO awesome!

So with the new app, you can update your facebook directly through the app to let people know that you started a workout.  Then... for each person who "likes" or comments on your status, it gets sent directly to your phone and you literally hear like 10-15 seconds of cheering!  It's so cool that your friends and family can cheer you on.  Luckily for me, living in California, when I work out at 5:30am... its really 8:30am in Michigan, and I've got lots of dear friends back home who (were awake! and) commented on my status.  It was such fantastic motivation!!!!  Between those cheers and the Glee sountrack blaring in my ears, I was so pumped to be at the gym and work out... even at 5am!

So... I have to share... this might seem like nothing to some of you, but to me, it was a big deal.  During this workout, I ran constantly for 10 minutes for the first time that I can EVER remember!  Usually when I'm on the treadmill, I'll do 2 minutes of running, 2 minutes of walking, running, walking, and so on.  I'm a big guy, and thats all I can really do.  But this morning... I said to myself, "I'm gonna run for 4 minutes today".  I got to 4 minutes and I felt like I could go for more... so I stopped looking at the time and just watched the TV's in the gym (thankfully, that early in the morning they were playing TBS reruns of Saved By The Bell!  lol)...  Next thing I looked down and I was at 7 and a half minutes of running... so at that point I said, "you can make it to 10 minutes!"... a couple Nike+ Facebook cheers later, and I made it all the way to 10 minutes.  I haven't been that proud of myself in a very long time. 

So to Bonnie, Brian, Sue, Aaron, Lisa, Cassie, and my Sister... THANK YOU for cheering me on this morning... even from thousands of miles away!  It really helped me!