Yesterday I went to the Y around 2. I had all my shiny new belongings all ready to roll, eager to hit the track and not have to worry about keeping track of my rounds. My shiny new iPod in hand, Nike+ sensor sewn neatly into its own pouch and attached to the inside heel of my brand new left shoe. I'm dressed in my brand new bright pink and black racing back top (wicking, of course) with my shiny new black running pants, so long they actually skim the top of my new shoes. Ahhh. So awesome!!
I stretch, hit the track, walk a warm up round or two, get the iPod set to work out mode and cross the "starting line". I start the work out program (distance, 2 miles) and begin running around the track. I've got 14 laps to go. At every other lap I hit the center button to place a marker and hear run stats. A pleasant female voices informs me of how many miles I've run, how long I've been running, and what my current pace is. The first two seem okay, but then I start to realize I've gone at least 5 laps and haven't heard the half mile announcement Colleen told me about. Well, maybe it's different.... I keep running. After another 4 laps or so (I wasn't counting, why should I?) and it announces "half mile" - What?- Oh no, it's been much, much more than a half a mile! And that's when I realize, it's just not working right. I generally run a 10:30 mile, and the iPod at least is keeping the time correctly. I run a straight 20 mins, close enough to 2 miles. When the 20 mins were up, I walked a fast lap and then my powersong came on (just dance, by lady gaga) and I ran as fast and as hard as I could for at least a quarter of the track, backed down a little and finished the extra lap. That should make up for any distance missed, if you ask me.
Disappointment hardly covers the way I feel about the Nike+ sensor. I got the iPod to get the Nike+ kit, and the dang thing doesn't work! I could have gotten a lot more clothes, and some new shoes for what I paid to have this new toy, and it just isn't working. Still, I think maybe it's just not calibrated correctly. I'll try again tomorrow.
I get out to my car, boy, did I ever tell you about the Cougar? It's a rather evil car that belongs to my husband. The drivers side door and window both don't work. That's right. The door doesn't open and the window only stays up (for now, at least...). So I clamber in through the passenger side door, lift my self booty first over the console and into the drivers seat, and then try very very carefully to keep my dirty wet boots off of the car seats while I pull my legs into the drivers side of the car. Not so terrible in the summer, evil in the winter as I am constricted by the many layers of cold necessary to stay warm. And of course, the radiator is messed up (?) and the car doesn't heat up. Hardly ever. Even driving 15 miles down the expressway at 70 miles and hour, the car never gives off heat. Except of course, if it's summer. Then the car overheats and can't go over 55 or it'll explode (or massively overheat, whatever you like to call it. I like the explode, it's has more drama).
So I get in and sit down, get the key in and turn it and ....... nothing.......!!!!! I had left the headlights on while I was working out. I had 20 minutes to get to campus, park, and get in my seat for my Business Math test (in case you were wondering, this is exactly the class where I have thoroughly unimpressed my teacher due to a great combination of my forgetfulness and very bad luck equalling missing class and being very, very late) and I had left the headlights on. The battery was drained and my car won't start. So I climb back out of the cumbersome vehicle and run back into the Y. The ground was wet and slushy and my pants we getting soaked. Ew. Mushy dirty snow/salt mix. The nice people inside very conveniently have a battery jumper to help out forgetful Y patrons like myself. They were kind and relatively quick, now I had 10 min to get to campus, park and run to class, and I had already run my frustrating two miles earlier. Once the car was running, I recklessly drove towards campus. I ended up parking in downtown, just one block up from a very steep hill to the building I needed to be in. So I took the miraculous parking space and frantically climbed out the car. I had 5 minutes to pump some change in the meter, run up the hill, up two flights of stairs and across the building to my class. I pulled out my change and began pumping it in at random until at least one hour was paid up. I j-walked across the street and began to run up the hill. It was horrible. I was wearing boots and long pants, still all wet and gross and getting more so from the sidewalk. I was tired from just having completed my 2 mile run at the Y. I was going to be late again. I made it all that way in about 7 mins, got to my seat all red faced and breathing hard (and I indeed have an assigned seat in the very front row). Mercifully, there was only about 20-30 mins of talk time pre-test (I could hardly sit still and kept casting anxious looks at the clock, calculating time needed to take a test and time left on the meter) and the test was finally administered. I tried to block out the time once I got the test. No need to blow the test over a $7 ticket, trying to beat the clock. The test was very easy. I'm confident I aced it. I knew the material and double checked method and math. It all checked out, even the extra credit. Gonna need that to make up for the Zero on the first test.
I finished the test at about the time the meter ran out. I doubled checked the test anyways, it's all ready too late to beat the meter. I turned in my test and left. I wove my way through the building and down the stairs, down the steep hill back to my car. Walking back was much easier than the walk up, thank goodness.There were three parking spaces on the right hand side of the row, and mine was the third. I notice the bright green parking ticket on the front of the large van parked in the first spot (ooh!!!) and strained to see the next car and ultimately, mine. Thankfully we both sported a neon green free windshield. No ticket. I got into the car without further incident, I thankfully made it home.
Once home, I played with my iTune library, organizing my music, and importing new playlists for the rest of the night. My hubby even had to make dinner. I'm so thankful for him, he knows when I am hyper focused and just lets me be. He really understands me and for some reason he still loves me. I am so lucky to have him.
As I slept I dreamed of organizing my home as if it were on iTunes. That's crazy, I know, but dreams don't have to make sense. I dreamed about hanging out with President Obama and his wife the night before last. They were very nice and we all had a great time talking.
What a day.
Today, I went to the Y, thinking of how I will re-calibrate the Nike+ sensor and it will work. I even opted for a treadmill instead of the usual track to try to calibrate with more precision. I ran steady for one mile on the treadmill, carefully programed the iPod to calibrate for one mile and I did my best to be fast and consistent. I did not fail. The Nike+ sensor did, however. I was crushed and angry, so I put on my powersong and ran as hard and as fast as I could and then tried to keep and accelerated pace for a quarter mile. I didn't quite make it, but the treadmill suddenly stopped (it was only programmed to go 1 mile, then cool down. apparently cool down time was OVER). I wanted to get home and search the Internet to see if others were having the same inaccuracy problems that I was having with the sensor. It didn't calibrate or match up at all.
I climb through the evil car, pull the door shut and it made a dull thud, a very wrong noise. It didn't close, instead choosing to bounce back open, and refusing to close. The passenger side door has decided to have the same problem that the drivers side door does. To close it you must also lift up, as the door is sagging on the hinge at not lining up right with the catch. I seriously almost cried. Luckily the window on that side of the car still works, so I got it down and after several tries I got the door somewhat closed. Enough to stay put, yet not enough to stop the car from dinging and refusing to believe the door is closed. (sure, now it dings. Not when you leave the lights on and don't know it, but when something you are already aware of, great alarm system there) So all the way home I hear Ding...................Ding..................Ding.............Ding............Ding........Ding...........Ding........Ding
I abandoned the car in the driveway, stomped into the house and told my husband I would not ever drive that evil car again. I gave him the keys, told him where I left it and went to the office to see what the Internet had to say about the sensor issue.
Did I mention I'm so lucky to have him? I'm so lucky to have him. He went outside and played shuffle the cars in the crowded parking area to get the evil Cougar in the garage and the nice Bonneville behind it. Then he came in the house and helped me find the right web site which pointed out that the sensor should be orange side up and not one the side of the shoe. Oh! I managed to put the sensor in a crazy place by sewing a custom fit pouch around the sensor and sewing the pouch to the side of the shoe (so it didn't poke into my foot). Now I have it pinned it to the top of the shoe, through the laces, with the orange side up for sure (I had Hubby watch me to make sure it went on right)(I'll post a pic later). We'll see tomorrow; it's a 6 mile day. Tomorrow I am going back to the treadmill for mile #1. I'll re-calibrate. This should fix the problem. If it doesn't, I'm going to change the position of the sensor with my safety pins and try again. I got 6 tries. If it fails, which I don't think it will, I'm going to complain to the Apple store guys. If I get it calibrated correctly, placed correctly, and reading correctly, I will go to the track and finish how ever many more miles I have to go to get my 6 miles total. Hopefully the third try is the charm.
I really hope it is....
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