I have a confession to make: When I was in basic training in the the Air Force I told the guys in my unit that I was on the track team in high school. It was teenage bravado that made me tell that fib. I had tried out for the team in high school, but other issues in my life at that time prevented me from taking it seriously.  I could run, mind you, I just never trained seriously.

I don't think my fib held much weight for long, however; when the time came to actually run during P.T. (physical training) my lack of training and the San Antonio sun was all it took to make me nearly pass out from heat exhaustion.

Since that time I've taken up running off and on over the years, in part to prove to myself that I can run, and in part to assuage the guilt I felt for lying.

It's been a very therapeutic and healthy endeavor.

I'm not very fast, and I don't go great distances; my longest run was the Disney Half-Marathon in 2003. It was more like a half walk/half run, but I finished it and I wasn't the last runner.

Nowadays I try to run about 3 miles during the weekdays, and I ride my bike about 20 miles on Sundays.

As I said, I'm not very fast, but sometimes I'd like to know about how fast I am, and it would be nice to know what my best 1-mile pace is, or my fastest 5K time. I don't run to compete, so I don't track my times like the more serious runners do.

Then a friend of mine, Richard, showed me his new Nike + iPod Sports Kit (N+iP).

Nike + iPod Sorts Kit

In a word: Whoa!

This has got to be one of the coolest iPod accessories around. If you run, jog, walk, crawl, or hobble energetically and you own an iPod nano (sorry, only works on nanos) you need to get one of these kits.

The N+iP consists of two seemingly simple devices; a horse-pill sized sensor and a dongle that fits you nano's dock port. The sensor pill has a tiny motion sensor, transmitter, and battery sealed up inside; you can't change the battery.

The receiver dongle draws its power from you nano. Every nano has Nike + software already installed, so all you do is plug in the receiver dongle, select Nike + from the main menu, select the workout you want and whether you want music or not, and you are set.

Your nano will ask you to walk around a bit so that the receiver and sensor can 'see' each other. Once they do you just hit the center button and start running.

I don't exactly how Nike does it, but I imagine that the signal from the sensor looks roughly like a sine wave or a series of spikes, each spike represents when your sensored foot strikes the ground. Take the number of peaks over a given period of time, and equate the distance between peak with average gait of a runner and you can compute speed and distance.

If that's a little too technical for you just know this; the N+iP Sport Kit works right out of the box and is pretty accurate. You can make it even more accurate by calibrating it as well.

How it does it is cool and all, but the real fun comes when you use it and after you've done your run.

Not a bad run if I do say so myself

While running, if you press the center button a nice voice (female or male, your choice) tells you your current stats. (Of course, you need to be wearing headsets or earplugs.) When you've finished a run the same voice gives you your overall stats and congratulates you if you've bested any of your previous times. It's like having a 1.4 ounce personal trainer and cheerleader riding on your arm.

Plug the nano into your Mac (or PC with iTunes loaded) and your data gets automagically uploaded to your Nike + account, where you can keep track of your runs, set goals, chat on forums, challenge other runners to virtual races and much more.

Well, that's just for the N+iP Sports kit; you'll need to buy an armband as well, and, if you don't have the special Nike + shoes, you'll need something to attach the sensor pill to your shoe.

Be warned: I tried going the cheap route by tying the sensor to my shoe, I first wrapped it in plastic wrap then tied it as tightly as i could to my shoelaces. It worked, but not consistently; my stats were erratic and far off what I know they should be. Others have tried other methods with varying results.

Also, even if you already have a nano sports armband you'll likely need to get a new one once you buy the N+iP Sports Kit, one that will accommodate the dongle receiver.

I recommend spending another $30 or so and buying either the Nike + armband and a sensor strap to put on any shoe, or the Marware SportSuit Relay armband, which includes a sensor strap.

Marware's SportSuit Relay Set

I got the SportSuit Relay setup and it works well, thought I was not entirely happy with the armband. When I run I sweat by the gallons. Sweat and electronic don't mix so I was not pleased to find the back of my nano wet after a run.

I'll be looking into armbands and sensor straps a little deeper in another article.

In the meantime, if you have a nano and you run, you need to get the Nike + iPod Sports Kit. It works, it's fun, and the price is just right.

No lie!