Nike and Apple are teaming up to give runners and walkers more data on how far they have moved and how many calories they have burned. This article intrigued me because it seemed to claim that running is “…Really Worth It”.
Now I’ve been ‘running’ off and on for many years. I still jog 2-3 miles nearly every day. My dog makes me. But I remember reading The Complete Book of Running over 25 years ago. I carried it with me when I moved about the country. Back then I really ran – miles and miles in heat and freeing rain. And then, in 1984, the author, Jim Fixx, died of a heart attack WHILE RUNNING! That tended to dampen my spirtits for a while.
So, I was really interested in this article about Nike and Apple and how they were going to tell me that all the pain and sweat was really worth it. But, they don’t. All they are really giving is some real time statistics. Kinda cool. But not enough to get me to buy $100 shoes and a $30 gadget for my IPod. And it still doesn’t tell me if all the running is really worth it. Will I live longer? Does it matter if the pain in my hips keeps me up all night?
I thought that as a really cool idea by the two companies. I would say it is more geared to the really intense runners who need to analyze and break down their run. The average runner probably has no use for this.