First Problem:

I don’t want Nike running shoes.

I have sissy feet and can only find 2 or 3 models of shoes that I can run in… and none of them is a Nike with the cute little cavity in the insole for the chip. No problem, just search Google and you will find several ways to attach the chip to your shoe.

  • You can cut the outline of the chip into the middle of your sole inside the shoe (under the insert around the arch) with a razor blade knife and then either carve it out with with the razor blade or use a dremel for a little more elegant job.
  • You can get some heavy duty velcro with adhesive on the back. Stick one side to the chip (on the underside where the sleep button is, just don’t cover up the sleep button). Stick the other side to the tongue of the shoe at the bottom where the chip can be also held down by the laces. Some people put a couple of stitches through the velcro on the tongue. I keep planning to do this. Someday I might.
  • You can buy or make pouches that you can string the laces through. They are often designed as a running “wallet”. Just make sure it can’t slop around too much.

I found a picture that looks just like my arrangement at www.macuser.com/images/shoe_mod1.jpg

Second Problem

Accuracy and Calibration

Some people have reported that the device is dead accurate out of the box. Others complain bitterly. Here is my two cents. I was ecstatic the first time I ran with the chip, because my pace as 1-2 minutes faster than I thought. Then I realized it was not accurate. Here are some things to think about.

  • I calibrated it on my second run. You can select specific calibration runs, but these are short. What I think some people don’t realize is that after a basic workout, you are given the option to calibrate. So if you have a 2 or 3 mile route that you know exactly how far it is, I would think this would be much more accurate.
  • On my third run, it still seemed a tad off, so I again calibrated it after the fact and picked a distance half way between the Ipod distance and the measured distance. That way I was using some info from the first and the second calibration.
  • It now seems to be accurate. But it depends on how OCD you are (sorry, obsessive-compulsive) whether it is good enough. It is about +/- 2% as long as you run a loop
  • I find it is not so accurate when you run only one direction and do not return. I think this is because it is off a bit on uphills and off the opposite way on downhills, which averages out
  • Others have pointed out that it also will become more inaccurate if you run a significantly longer run than you calibrated, since your stride etc will change

Great scott !! This has gotten long. I guess I had more to say than I thought. One more post on this topic and I will move on.

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