This review will come in two parts, today’s blog will concentrate on the aesthetics of the watch and compare it alongside the Garmin and Mobile phone apps. It will very loosely talk about how accurate it is as I will be reserving full judgment until Sunday when I will be doing a proper measured event. I have always assumed my Garmin watch to be pretty accurate but it seems unfair to compare the readings unless the distance is accurate…

My first impressions of the watch were that it certainly looks a lot nicer than my 405, time has obviously been spent trying to create a stylish watch perhaps people will wear casually. However, it is pretty chunky which is understandable considering what is in it. The box had limited instructions but that seems common now with tech – enough guidance to get you online and to read more.

Technically you could just go out for a run without syncing the watch – however, most of the watch settings are configured through the Nike connect app so it’s wise to be ‘online’ with this watch. It seems unlike the Garmin counterpart this watch has very little it can do without being online, to it’s defence the Garmin offline tool is pretty pants but i’m sure useful to some (and there are paid for offline tools too). Odd things are configured on the computer and not the watch, most peculiar was watch sounds. In my opinion that is something which belongs in a settings option on device?

I already have a Nike account so can’t run through that process, when I did it many years ago it was simple so I assume it still will be! After plugging the phone in (unhiding the USB connector in the strap) the watch talked with the Nike site and seemed happy to connect. Once fully charged it was time for a run…!

As I’m on the recovery stages following the marathon so far the distances run with it have been relatively short. The watch is pretty damn easy to use there is no denying that. With only 4 menu options; clock, run, history and records, it’s pretty difficult to get lost! Selecting ‘run’ presents you with more options determining whether you will be using the shoepod (which is supplied – one up on the Garmin), heart rate monitor or GPS – chose what you want and that’s it away you go!

As I mentioned earlier, when running there is very little displayed, given the size of the screen I would have expected a better use of display to at least give the option of more information. For me if running with a HRM, I like to see, at minimum, time elapsed, distance and heart rate. I would also like to see average pace just so I don’t have to do maths in my head as I run. From what I can tell on this device I have the option of 2 blocks of information, everything else I can get to via the buttons but requires fiddling whilst running, never good!

After finishing the run and connecting it to the computer via the USB device, which I found a bit odd and dated – I would have expected Bluetooth sync or something similar! I checked the online site. I hoped Nike had done a bit of work online since I last visited, the site used to be pretty cool, a visual masterpiece, clean and simple. All good apart from the last point, why have a complex device but only present information in a basic way? Fortunately, tucked away was a button that said Nike+ Beta, now this was better! Much more granular information displayed but still well designed. Nike have obviously spent a lot of time and money on this site and it has been worth it.

The whole process from start to finish was seamless and very easy. This watch is perfect for the casual runner due to it’s simple interface. However, there is one thing that let’s it down, the cost. If this device had come in at around the £100 mark I think I would have been happy to recommend it (as I do the Garmin 305′s) however at nearly £200 it seems a bit pricey. Especially considering the Nike+ app for the iPhone is about £2 and I would expect the target audience to be the same? As I don’t have a 4g iPhone I haven’t compared the watch and the app but I would expect the results to be very similar!

I’m still really surprised by the decision to make these, they are pretty much solely for runners so no good for cyclists or triathletes and by the time you have added £50 for a heart rate monitor it competes with the likes of Timex, Garmin and Polar of which I suspect all of the later are more useful especially for multi disciplines. I always expected a Nike+ watch would come but not with a GPS built in. I wanted and hoped for a simple and small device which could interface with the iPhone app providing readouts from that, I suspect if such a device could be created it would be cheaper too!

I will reserve final judgement until next week following the 10k. Ultimately if the watch is 100% accurate then regardless of my thoughts on it’s look or functionality, the watch does what it needs to do!

Initial verdict Garmin 405 (£182.08) vs Nike+ (£189), Garmin 405 wins, however for beginners and those on a budget the 305 (£116.12) trumps the lot of them hands down. Come back next week for a distance review!

After this  year’s marathon  I let my body recover how it should.  I completely rested for a whole week. No running, no gym – nothing. This is the longest period of non-exercise I can remember since starting running a few years ago. Following the detox week, I resumed with little sessions – 15mins here, 20 mins there. In between there should have been a couple of 60minute runs but I ignored them substituting them with whatever else I could do. I couldn’t be bothered to run…what was the point? Twice now I have had issues in the 4 marathons I have entered, and in my mind fairly difficult ones to overcome as I wouldn’t put it down to under-training. Why put my body through it again?

I wallowed, I was miserable, my mojo had left me, the thing that I had spent so much time waxing lyrical about and helping others with had once again let me down. Laura was clearly concerned for me, apparently it seems I’m a little moody when not running, although I don’t think this was her only reason for concern!

I mustered up a few runs last week and trying to push myself with an Audiofuel track. Whilst I was aware my speed would be slow, I hadn’t expected such a change of speed vs perceived effort. I don’t think I could even manage a mile at the pace I ran 13.1 for at Dorney about 2 months ago. Sole-destroying!

On Saturday I happened to be in Newquay on a Stag Weekend, I had an empty day so decided I would take my kit and just run. Whilst I put my Garmin on I didn’t care how fast I was going or how long I was going out for. I didn’t plan a route I just threw on my camelback and went for a run.

Mental note to self – even when you don’t care about speed or distance do a little recce of the area first, in particular the profile! I was blissfully unaware as to how hilly it would be until I had run for about 3 minutes and saw a huge hill. Up, down, up, down and that’s how the run went, not to forget the wind too which also added to the ‘challenge’. However, on this day it didn’t overly bother me, it didn’t matter how fast (or slow in this case) I went up the hills and if I really wanted to I could have just bypassed them, but I didn’t and the photos from the top were my reason not to.

After about 7mile I was feeling a little low on energy, I had gels in my bag but I was in a seaside town and an ice cream seemed a whole lot better idea!  I had planned on calling it a day at that point, I was a stones throw from the hotel and had covered 10k so was happy but the ice cream gave me a change of heart pushing me on for another couple of miles.

Returning back to my hotel, happy but tired I finally took a squint at some of the other watch data and unsurprisingly it was very slow however it doesn’t matter. I don’t care. Not all runs are winning runs sometimes they need to be enjoyable and this was!

Sometimes it’s good to just run and not race…!

It’s the Wednesday before the Great Manchester 10k on Sunday and I’m yet to receive any racepack or number. Judging from Facebook, Twitter and other forums I am not alone. What’s going on?

Apparently race packs were sent out on 20th April, although I believe from cobbling together data sources they have still been going out as of yesterday. If they went out on the 20th April, even given the bank holiday I would have expected something by now so something seems a bit fishy.

For a race that isn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination I would have expected better, I would also have expected an email by now informing me that there is an issue which there clearly is.  It shouldn’t be up to us to chase, social media like Facebook is good for this purpose if people know that mechanism exists.

To inform you of what is being said on Facebook. If your number hasn’t arrived you can collect it here on Saturday and they will be around on Sunday before the race. Speaking personally if collecting Sunday expect a queue!

“All race packs are now in the process of being posted out. If you do not receive your race pack for any reason you can pick up a replacement pack from the Customer Services Desk at Manchester Central (formerly the G-Mex) either on Saturday 14th May between 12noon and 5pm, or from 7.30am on Sunday 15th May. For the Customer Services Team call 0844 846 2111“

It’s interesting seeing comments on forums as to what people have been told about missing numbers and late sending – the best one was ‘runners lose them if sent too early’. Well I’d rather know I’d lost it than not receive it in the first place!

I haven’t run a ‘Great’ event for some years and having been unsuccessful in the ballot for this years Great North I won’t be doing that however I will be watching out to see if the same issues happen there too!

Let’s hope it’s on my door mat when I get home tonight!

N

On my marathon blog I mentioned how I was given a Motorola Defy to play with from Vodafone. This phone is the ideal runners phone what with it being small as well as waterproof. However, somehow whilst in a rough state at the St Johns tent the phone went walkabouts and I thought this would be the last time I saw it. I frantically asked around the st johns tent and no-one new where it was. I tried to call the phone soon after the end of the race but it went to a dead tone. Gut feeling was it was gone for good.

About 5 hours later I had a sudden thought, I wanted to see how good a running app would be over such a long distance and in the crowd so on the start I fired up Endemondo and didn’t stop it. In theory then I should be able to log onto Endemondo website and track the phone to wherever it got too before it was switched off.  I have uploaded two images – the left it the run route for the day upto the passing out and the right is a massively zoomed in picture of the road the point I ended up.

In the middle of the right image is the St Johns tent I ended up in. From the left picture ou can probably make up a fairly straight route into that – that’s me running. Then it turns into a spiders nest, what could that be? All of a sudden it clicked, someone from St Johns obviously had it in their pocket and each line was then heading to pick someone up and bring them back to the tent! Jackpot, I had a lead!

As we were away the following week the investigations continued through Laura’s parents but a week later my hopes where somewhat dashed. St Johns had nothing and neither did the London Marathon Group. My initial thought that someone had maliciously pocketed it was coming true. I was preparing a shame blog about it all, with the only consideration being how harsh I could be!

On the back of an event which saw Laura’s suitcase not making it to Gatwick and then all of a sudden in a van outside our flat without warning I said to Laura to double check there were no messages on her phone voicemail (about the case). When she checked her VM there was one un-listened to message. It was a nurse from St Johns, she had the phone. She must have got Laura’s number off it before the battery died. I rang her and she was really happy to hear from me and put the phone straight in the post.

So that is that, the phone survived the marathon although sadly did not make it to the finish line so gets no VLM medal.

Great phone.

It may come across a bit hypocritical of me to talk about hydration during races as this is one of the areas I am investigating following the Marathon. However, when I’m not running I do try my best to keep my fluid intake as high as possible. I have a few neat gadgets to help (surprise surprise) and also throw some electrolytes into the mix…

Hydracool

This is one of the most impressive bottles EVER. It has a cog in it that rotates every time you draw water from the bottle and measures how much you have taken in. It has a 24 hour timer and you can programme it to say how much liquid you want to consume and it will display percentage info etc. Pretty damn cool and geektastic

Vapur

I got these a few months back and have come in use especially when I have done a run following a commute. I fill up one of these bottles, clip on the side of my bag and by the time I have got to my destination it should be empty and weigh nothing so no hindrance in my bag during my run. They can also be chucked in the dishwasher and freezer the first is a bonus as keeping bottles smell free is a challenge in itself and the later I’m very much looking forward to in the summer as the weather warms and I’m out running in the sun! They come in various sizes and colours and whilst I’m no rambler/climber (insert any other sort of out door sport here) I can imagine a whole magnitude of uses for these handy water pouches.

Nuun (Electrolytes)

I try whenever possible to take at least one of these a day regardless of training regime. They are zero calories and add good salts to the body. I’m not going to preach about knowing the full benefits of electrolytes but for one it forces me on a daily basis to have at least 500ml of fluid as sometimes I need the prompting to not just drink tea! I do believe they have a help with muscle recovery, crucial when endurance training!

On that note it’s probably time for me to take on some H2O

N