Miles 247.5-251.5: Nike+ SportWatch Review

The smoke is still hanging around the NC flatlands, herding me inside today for another day of cross-training, but yesterday I was was able to sneak in a quick 4-miler with James before we hosted a Fourth of July pool-party. Prepping for and participating in said party prevented a more timely recap of this run. But I promised a more in-depth look at the Nike+ Sportwatch, and here it is.

I received a lot of positive feedback and inquiries when I posted on Facebook that I had purchased this watch. While responding to some of the comments, I realized a great way to describe the Nike+ Sportwatch:

Taking into account both the operation of the watch as well as the online platform, Nike is sleek and simple (and focused on "pretty" design) while Garmin is no-frills and anal retentive about details.

You may remember me mention James griping about acquainting himself with his watch. For nearly a month, I saw his head bent over the User Guide, as he discovered how to adjust the sensitivity of the touch-bezel and successfully start and end a training run. (Should have known that there was a learning curve on the gadget when I saw our local Fleet Feet post a two-hour event titled "Learning to Use Your Forerunner.")

Not so much with the Nike+ Sportwatch. Go to website, download software, plug and play. There are only three buttons on the watch and even without looking at the book, I figured out within five minutes what each one does. Green button to start and end run, black buttons to scroll through available real-time stats of instant pace, average pace, time elapsed, distance elapsed, and calories burned.

As I have also posted though, Garmin's online platform creates logs like this:

Where Nike offers this:

Nike will also show me the run's elevation changes and map, but I have to click on the "Route" button you see at the top.

Truthfully, I prefer the GarminConnect website layout; depending on my mood, the Nike+ website design (which I began using with the Sportband a few months ago) can be mildly irritating to downright insulting. (Really? Clicking on emoticons to describe my run?) But in the end, no-brainer three button design wins out for me.