Everything is better with an app - even running

I had figured given the crappy summer we had that there was no way I'd be spending any time outside running this fall, but since we've had a nicer fall than we've had summer, I've been able to get outside quite a bit and go running.

Well, that and I got the Nike+ app for my iPhone and I've been looking for an excuse to use it before the winter confines me to the treadmill. I'm always a sucker for good technology, but good technology that gets me more interested in exercising is a great bonus. I really like this app. Sure, at base level, it's a glorified GPS that tells you how far you've been running, but its ability to keep stats on how longest run, fastest run, etc., lets me dig around in the stats and pull out fun little tidbits that keep me motivated to keep running.

Like today, for instance, I beat my personal best 5K (OK, personal best from the last 3 weeks I've had the app) by a full minute and 20 seconds, and my bum knee held up, which was nice. In the 8 runs I've charted with the app, my farthest run was 6.32 miles, my fastest mile was 11:13, and I've run a total of 29.65 miles.

And because it is a glorified GPS, I don't have to worry about mapping out routes anymore and can just run and run and let it tell me how far I've gone. That's freed me up to explore different running paths in the neighborhood and try new areas. The app was also very recently updated to include a social networking component, so it automagically Tweets and Facebook updates my runs, annoying the daylights out of ... er, inspiring my friends.

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