Another great big thank you for doing what Nike apparently is not capable of - providing their users with an easy to access, clear and user-friendly site. I've used slowgeek for years now, but even more so when the doggone ridiculously over-pumped flash nike website goes down. Such as now.

Thanks. Urb

Big thanks - great site and very useful!

A big thanks from me too. NikePlus was OK but their charts are useless - they don't represent my runs at all.
The method Slowgeek uses to calculate the moving average matches the run I actually had - I know when I sped up or slowed down and I can see it in the charts. Knowing the pace for each km is really good too - I'm always in the red and slowing down in the second half of my runs so I need to improve on that.

My pace over time is really useful too. I tried to upload it with no luck but here it is on Flickr.
<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5490740992_8d74e6489a.jpg" width="500" height="192" alt="pace" />

Good pace mid 2007 and 2009 but it is picking back up again now - how does it compare to yours?

Really appreciate all the work you're doing and have done. I'm a beginner...of sorts, but looking to take this seriously. Your site is a BIG help in doing this. So again, thank you!

Also just wanted to say thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for and is a huge motivator. Really appreciate the work you put into it and sharing it with everyone

Unfortunately I haven't had any time to improve the site in almost a year now. Doing startup stuff in the valley eats up most of my spare time. I'm hoping to get back to it at some point though. Maybe if I can work it into my day job somehow.

i have to say Big thx as well i was a bit skeptical at first but it is growing on me. wish i had coding skills to help you. i also gave up on talking to a brick wall. (nike) it is so nice in the open air.

SanZan said:
I got into Nike Plus because I only needed to buy one sensor that was $20. I hope the other options don't cost much either.

Things like heart rate monitors, foot pods and bike cadence sensors will pretty much cost the same as they would for a Garmin or Polar watch. You'll only save on the cost of the watch.

SanZan said:
Does anyone know if this changes inside a vinyl case/cling film/ziplock bag?

I run with my Touch in an incase Sports Armband. It got to the point that I'd have issues even starting the workout, let alone stopping the workout. I ended up buying a WatchRemote to make starting, pausing and ending the workout more reliable. If it is raining, the Touch goes inside a ziplock bag in the armband which didn't help, but didn't seem to make it any worse.

Thanks for the comments ATJ777. I'm sure you're right in that Nike being clueless and Apple not caring is the biggest problem! That website is such a mess. Its crazy for an Apple related product to use so much Flash.

Its also good to hear about the other options and developments. I got into Nike Plus because I only needed to buy one sensor that was $20. I hope the other options don't cost much either.

You're also right about using a Touch with sweaty hands. Does anyone know if this changes inside a vinyl case/cling film/ziplock bag?

SanZan said:
I guess Nike and Apple should have developed their own heart strap. Partnering with Polar means they won't make anything better than Polar's usual offerings. Which are very expensive and very limited in what they can do.

Nah... that's only a small part of the problem. It appears that Nike don't understand what runners want. Just looking at the Nike+ site makes that obvious and is the reason why Slowgeek exists as a site.

The Nike+ system could be so much more than it is.

An iPhone can do it all (sometimes with a little bit of jailbreaking....)

Not with Nike+. Fortunately, there will be some options very soon, and they won't require jailbreaking.

digifit and fisica should open up the iPhone/iPod/iPad and make them potentially as good as Garmin, at least functionwise.

The main limitation then becomes the interface - the limitation on the buttons. Certainly, the touch interface allows for extra buttons, but how well do they work when your sweaty and the screen is inside an armband or similar. I have lots of problems with the touch interface with my iPod when I',m running - so much so, I bought a watch remote because I was sick of not being able to pause/stop my workouts at the end of my runs. Ideally, for running you'd want some kind of wrist strap to hold the iPhone so you can see the screen with all the nice data being displayed.

I guess Nike and Apple should have developed their own heart strap. Partnering with Polar means they won't make anything better than Polar's usual offerings. Which are very expensive and very limited in what they can do. An iPhone can do it all (sometimes with a little bit of jailbreaking....)

SanZan said:
With a proper HRM hookup and data like here on slowgeek, an IPod (or better a Phone with the GPS) would equal any of the expensive special purpose gadgets by Garmin, Polar and Suunto etc. while still playing music, letting you surf the Net, and everything else.

That would be true if Nike had any idea what they were doing and Apple cared even a small bit. As it is, the solution is half-arsed. It could be so much better.

Thanks a lot for this. It's brilliant!

I was previously getting the XML files from my Touch with DiskAid and reading the files with Excel that can read XML but very slowly and badly. The splits are also logged in milliseconds which means mental arithmetic to get an understandable time.

It's crazy that the data is logged but ordinary Nike Plus users don't get to see it. Absolutely mad!

With a proper HRM hookup and data like here on slowgeek, an IPod (or better a Phone with the GPS) would equal any of the expensive special purpose gadgets by Garmin, Polar and Suunto etc. while still playing music, letting you surf the Net, and everything else.

thanx i love this site

this site is beyond cool & i really appreciate the community here as well....muchos gracias

Another thank you for this site. Really cool stuff. Love the graphs and having my run history here at my fingers. Also love the shoe tracker, something I never would have thought I woud use.

stiemark said:
Just found this. Awesome site!! Thanks!

Here here!

Another thank you for the list. (Why aren't there more on here?) You have fixed a broken product and delivered the functionality that I was expecting from Nike+.

I just bought a Sportband because I thought it would beat looking at my watch, memorising numbers and typing them into a spreadsheet at home (which is what I've been doing). Then I saw the atrocious Nike site and read some of your comments about the Sportband and I thought I had wasted my money - it simply didn't work!

Now I have got my head round Slowgeek, I am really pleased with my Sportband (only 2 short runs in admittedly...). You saved Nike a refund in my case; they should just stick a big swoosh up there and pay you a retainer.

Thanks - another happy user!

[edit: Sorry, I really didn't want to ask for tech support in here, but what's the Body Scale id/Key?]

Thank you, rlerdorf. Your site is perfect, exactly what I needed. Now after each run I look forward to see my graphs! Being able to analyze your pace over time during a run has been a huge part of the progress I feel I'm making! Thanks!

I just wanted to say I love you rlerdorf

THANK YOU! All of your help getting on here was fantastic! Wouldn't get service or help like that from Nike!

The waiting? You can trigger a refresh of your data by hitting the little green arrows icon on your profile page above your graphs there. Also, did you pick your weather station yourself? The one you picked doesn't provide condition data.

Just got my Nike+ at Christmas and just found this site today. Already love it. The waiting is worth every second to not have to look at the terrible Nike graphs. THANKS A TON

5KDad said:
It looks like you did it all without using Flash either. Makes it so much faster!

I'm not much of a Flash fan. Slowgeek isn't as fast as I would like because it depends a lot on the Nike backend for a bunch of things. So there is a lot of sitting around waiting for the Nike servers. But I try to cache a lot. But, if you try to load up a large challenge, for example, and it hasn't been loaded recently, it will take some time.

Just found this. Awesome site!! Thanks!

I thank you too! I am a total data geek and I knew there had to be more that could be done with all the data Nike collects from these runs. This really is a great way to display the data. It looks like you did it all without using Flash either. Makes it so much faster!

Many thanks!

Nah, I don't see this site ever having ads. I built it for myself out of frustration with the Nike graphs. If it is useful to others as well great.

Yeah... a big thanks.
The Nike site's graphs are not only useless, but confusing as well. They offer little information, and the bit of information that they do offer is generally wrong (i.e. as it's the highly unstable instantaneous numbers). If it weren't for this site, I'd need to buy a Garmin 405, so you've saved me $350. Thanks.

Steal enough of Nike's users, and you'll have yourself great side business, as you'll be able to sell advertising space.

I actually have a my.yahoo version, but it is a bit cumbersome to use I think. I'll see if I get inspired to build an iGoogle one. I haven't touched the site in months, as I am sure some of you have noticed.

Yea, ditto everything everybody above me has said.

Also, have you ever thought of porting this to an iGoogle gadget?