Brian Hieggelke

I don't get runners. I respect the exercise, but I simply can't relate to the seemingly open-ended monotony of the run and truly can't imagine what inspires folks to take on twenty-six miles at once--running around the block is more than enough for me.

So when Nike looks me up and offers to outfit me with their new Nike+iPod system, I'm skeptical. But I've been working out every day, so I figure I'll give it a shot, for variety's sake.

Two weeks, six runs and twentysomething miles later, I think I'm a runner.

This marriage of consumer brands puts music in the ears, leavening the boredom. But more important for me, it removes the ambiguous character of the sport and makes it competitive--against the self to be sure, but competitive nonetheless. With specially outfitted Nike running shoes ($100), a sensor that fits inside the sole of the shoe and an attachment for your Nano ($29 for the kit), your iPod tracks your distance, calories and time, and whispers feedback in your ear whenever you want it (it's onscreen too). Finish your run, upload your data and you track your progress against previous runs, against goals you define, and even against your friends, if you want. You can even see whether your "PowerSong" is effective.

"PowerSong" is a tune you designate to give yourself a boost whenever you hit one of those proverbial walls in your run. I couldn't really think of anything beyond the theme from Rocky--not on my iPod--so I started without one, just running on shuffle. Then Rise Against's new single "Ready to Fall" kicked in near the end of my run, and I felt a surge of energy in sync with the power chords. I could see the sharpened upturn in my pace on the online run recap. I now have a PowerSong.

I'm looking forward to each run now, even with the weather scorching, and boring my friends with running talk. Speaking recently to one of those "running people" I never could understand, she suggested I do the half-marathon with her.

To my amazement, I did not just say no.

(2006-08-01)

Also by Brian Hieggelke

Sand on the Brain
My imaginary summer postcard always features a beach and a beverage. No other season elicits such a flight of fancy, perhaps because no other season interests me much; all are just time's obstacles to summer
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Fanfare for the Uncommon Man
Harvey Pekar is one of the great storytellers of our time
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Life without Newspapers
I am a lifelong newspaper junkie. Growing up, my dad always read the newspaper, and when his dad was around, he read the newspaper. I understood implicitly that grownup men read newspapers
(2006-03-28)

Life without Newspapers
t's almost two weeks since I kicked the print newspaper habit and, truthfully, I'm not feeling any pain, or any more optimistic for the future of the daily newspaper...
(2006-02-26)

Designer Toothpaste?
(2006-02-21)

Life without Newspapers
(2006-02-14)

Requiem for a Dream
(2005-12-06)

Hot Dish
(2005-11-29)

Costume conundrums
(2005-11-01)

Fan fare for the Common Man
(2005-10-25)

Ticket-Miser
(2005-10-18)

Car Free
(2005-07-21)

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