Nike plus iPod minus Nike
Have you seen the new doodad from Nike and Apple? The receiver that you hook onto the iPod nano and the transmitting pedometer that you put in your shoe? It looks perfect. It’ll track my runs (even indoors — take that, GPS!) and then synch it all online when I dock the iPod. Perfect.
Except, wait. I have to buy new shoes that fit the pedometer? And they have to be Nike running shoes? But I hate Nike running shoes. I think most people hate Nike running shoes. Well, this sucks. It’s like … Nike is locking people in to proprietary hardware just like … Apple. Hmm, making more sense now.
The Intertubes of course offer a few solutions to this. Some people are velcroing the pedometer under their laces. Others are just sticking it in a little lace-attached pouch.
All fine shoehacks, but I thought I could do one better. See, I have flat feet — Kansas flat feet — so I run with orthotic inserts. Turns out they are almost exactly the right depth to fit the little pedometer, if properly cored out. Note that this might work with the regular inserts in shoes. Orthotic inserts are not that much deeper than the factory inserts. Try it.
Remove the insert.
Grab a power tool for shaving off the hard plastic. Make the hole a little smaller than you need.
Pop it in.
Behold your new cyborg shoe.
4 Responses to “Nike plus iPod minus Nike”
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You really didn’t think that through did you?!
I know, I’ll put the sensor right under my heel.
…that won’t hurt after a couple of miles; fool!
How has this worked for you? Any problems? I also hate Nike shoes, and am thinking about getting the little device anyway, and have looked at other hacks around, I think yours is the most ingenious I’ve seen so far.
I’d rather wait, till this nike+ kit arrives in my country. For now, I take my GPS, Palm, iPod Shuffle & PowerBook in my morning run 😀
why not just rubberband it to your laces? thats what i did and it works fine. same thing as going in your shoe, but you dont mess up your heel. tip: check rubberband often.