Calibrating the iPod Nano Sport Kit

Posted At : August 26, 2006 11:36 AM | Posted By : earnshavian
Related Categories: After My First Marathon

I finally made a point of calibrating the Sport Kit this morning after over 5 weeks of threatening to do it! I decided to run downtown to the track at Lake Shore Park where it is rumored Oprah trains. According to my math on WalkJogRun it should be 4.21 miles each way. I reached the track in 34:25 but the Sport Kit expectedly overreported the distance at 4.57 miles. It was 85% humidity for the run according t the weather channel before I left so I made sure to stop and grab water at the fountains every mile or so. At one point I ran towards a fountain but I misjudged the rough ground at the side of the path and turned my ankle. After a couple o stretches I was able to begin running again without pain. When I reachd the track I was suprised to discover that the fountain by the track was pumping out hot water for some reason.

After catching my breath I started the calibration process. To calibrate

select "Nike+iPod" from the main menu on the iPod
select "settings"
select "sensor"
select "calibrate"
You see some instructions about how to set your natural running and walking pace for calibration purposes
click the center button to continue
You see an option to calibrate your walk or run pace
select "Run"
You can either run 400m if you are at a standard track or select Custom to select your own distance
select "400m"
select a playlist and then when you are ready it prompts you hit the center button to begin calibration.
at the end of your 400m track hit the menu button then select end calibration to finish

I double checked the run I had completed on the way to the track but it still showed the same distance and pace so it must only work for runs completed after calibration. I would like Nike to add a feature to their Nike+ website to allow you to apply your calibration to a selection of runs in your history. For example, I don't imagine that if I had alibrated the unit when I bought it and then again today, I don't imagine there would be a significant difference so I would actually prefer the site to update selected runs to reflect a correct pace and distance.

Since I know I tend to walk at the pace of the terminator I decided to calibrate my walking pace too - I'm not sure if it helps tune the unit even further but I doubt I'll be back at the track in the next 5 weeks so I thought it was worthwhile.

After heading inside the Park District Office on site for water from a cold fountain I walked back to the lakefront path. I stood and watched some of the people training for a triathlon swimming up and down from North Beach and then ran back at a deliberate 9 minute mile pace. Immediately I noticed that the pace reported by the iPod Sport Kit seemed far more plausible and it was easy to hold up and stick to 9:00 per mile. Taking in water at each fountain to accomodate for the humidity I felt great heading home to the point that when I saw my building as I turned the corner by the dog beach I hit the "power song" button to boost my speed for the remainder of the run. Bounding along to Outkast's "B.O.B" I upped my pace from 9 minutes per mile to 8 minutes per mile and finished in 38:12. The iPod reported 4.3 miles - much closer to the 4.21 miles than before so it seems the calibration really does improve the accuracy.

I've just finished my breakfast as I write this and taken 2 advil to help with any swelling caused by twisting my ankle. Hopefully I'll be able to get out tomorrow morning too and see if I can creep closer to my 80 mile goal before the deadline next Friday. Basically I have 5 days left to run 35 miles or 7 miles per day. Hmmmm. Like I said yesterday - it's a little disappointing not to hit the target but 80 miles in 4 weeks was always going to be an aggressive target so close after my first marathon.