App Review: Nike +

App Review: Nike Plus (Nike +)  

     

A birthday present to myself in 2010 after I got some new Nike shoes, I had just began running and Nike was a starting point for me. This app cost $1.99 at the time (but now is FREE). I've always assimilated Nike as the Apple of fitness; they are constantly revamping their technology, perhaps the reason Apple come to mind.

This app has gone through many changes. I first bought it because of the draw it has for competitors like me. If I wasn't running a race, I wanted my runs to be as competitive as possible. It now features coaching for 5k, 10k, 13.1, and 26.2 races, challenges you can create with friends. It also allows you to compete with your friends showing you how much they have run in a month and a week. This is sometimes my motivator for getting in a few more miles. 

I really like the badges features. You can collect badges for running on certain days (i.e., Halloween, New Years, Cinco De Mayo, etc). You also can get them for how much you run (2x a week, 2 times in a day, 4 active months, etc). And badges are also acquired by kinds of runs (beach, road, forest, track, sharing your runs via social media, running at night, morning, etc). 

This too keeps me active and challenging myself. 

Like I mentioned before this app has made a lot of changes. I ditched it in January 2011 after it crashed on me during my half marathon training. And ditched it again in February 2012, after several crashes. I would get so frustrated after it would crash and not save any of my data. I still rely on my apps to keep track of my pace and route. I'm sure one day I will cave and buy a fancy Garmin or something, but until now I really rely on my apps. I've now been using it for a year with a 99% success rate on recording and storing data. In the cases when the app crashes and fails, I've found a feature that allows you to manually add a run, so you are still able to us  your miles towards receiving badges, trophies, and such.

It has a feature where it can track you both outside and on the treadmill. I am now so glad for the above mention addition because the treadmill feature is awful. It tracks way too quickly. Nike  + now has my fast mile recorded at a little over 4 minutes, yeah right :). I'm fast but I'm not a bullet. So I now don't use the Nike + app to track myself anymore on the treadmill. I just add them on after. 

The app will also keep track of your accomplishments: Fastest 1k, mile, 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon, marathon runs. I enjoy this feature because it is in one spot and I can reference it easily. It also allows you to track your shoe mileage!! And lets you know when they need to retire. I LOVE this feature.

As I mentioned, I usually use 3 apps at once for a few reasons: (1) I can't pick one I like. (2) To keep track of my distance accurately. (3) I use them for different reasons. Nike + has the slowest GPS tracking. Usually my other two apps are pretty close to each other, but Nike is usually anywhere from .5-.25 off. This isn't a big deal on those shorter runs, but when you run 26 miles that .2 matters A LOT. Or sometimes in the challenges when you run with others, you want to be done and running an extra block can sometimes be a pain. I could go in and edit my run, but that makes me feel dishonest :).

Pros:

Great for competition

Motivating

Incentives

Challenges with friends

App has great features

Constantly updating

Tracks shoe mileage

Cons:

Treadmill record feature not good

Not as accurate at recording distance.