In an effort to get in shape and really challenge myself – as well as have some fun along the way – I’ve entered the 1st ever Men’s Health Urbanathlon in New York City. Sprad told me about it a long time ago, and ever since we’ve both wanted to enter. The registration was Wednesday, and we’ve both paid and submitted our application! In training for the race, I decided to buy the Nike+Ipod for my Ipod Nano. I have less than 2 months to get in shape…
The Urbanathlon will be held on Sunday, October 1st in New York City. As the web site describes it:
a city-based, multi-disciplinary race that will have men and women running, scrambling through urban obstacles, climbing and more. By incorporating New York City’s landmarks and layout, this one-of-a-kind event brings together the best of personal competition with the excitement of an urban playing field.
In other words, it’s intense! The race is about 9-10 miles long in all. My ultimate goal is to prove to myself that I can get into top shape again, as well as getting into the habit of working out regularly! I also believe the race is unique and will be a lot of fun, as it offers different challenges throughout the great New York City. How can you pass up the opportunity to run through central park, climb the 54 story high new World Trade Center Freedom Tower , and do an obstacle course and rope wall on the piers??
To train for the race, I plan on working out at least an hour a day each day. I’m going to work on running long distances (6+ miles), running on inclines, riding a bike, and mixing them all together. I’ll also throw in pushups, pullups, abs, and maybe some weights. I need to work a lot on my strength endurance, so I am going to mix in weights and puhsups with running. As the race nears, I’m going to run even longer distances, hopefully running 10+ miles. I want to find a local high school stadium to run around the track and then run stairs. The 57 story climb up the is bound to be the hardest competition – that, or the rope wall at the end of the race.
In aiding me prepare for the race (and just because I’m a tech nerd), I bought the Nike + Ipod attachment for the Ipod Nano. At $30 it’s a steal. For those of you who haven’t heard about it, the Nike+ is a receiver that plugs into the bottom of your Ipod Nano. You then put a transmitter into your shoe – it fits perfectly into the sole of Nike+ shoes (of which I bought) – but I’ve heard you can put the transmitter in the laces of a shoe for marginal performance. Once setup, you can run several workouts. You can do a free workout, a timed workout, or a lenght workout. As you run, the Ipod will keep track of how far you’ve ran, the pace you’ve ran, how long you’ve ran, how many calories you’ve burned, and more! While running, you can get periodic announcements that let you know how far you’ve run or for how long. There’s even an option for a “power song” for when you find yourself a bit sluggish during the run – you hit the button and a preprogrammed song comes on that will pump you up (think any song off the Rocky soundtrack). What’s really the kicker for the device is the ability to logon to iTunes and upload all your runs. Nike has setup a site in coordination with iTunes to keep track of all of your runs. The website will show all the times of your runs, the pace, etc. It also allows you to set goals, see how you’re improving, and compare your times to other people and friends around the country!
Needless to say, the Nike+ Ipod is a great accessory for any runners. If you don’t have an Ipod Nano, I don’t suggest buying one soley for the device, but if you have an Ipod Nano and need some new shoes, definitley look at the Nike + Ipod combo.
I’ll post random updates about my current workout status, as I will be working hard to reach my ultimate goal: finishing the Urbanathlon.