Sunday, June 13, 2010

iPod, oh, iPod ...

Well, I have killed yet another iPod. I am not sure if I sweat more than the average athlete or living in such a humid climate breeds sweat, but I have not come up with a way to keep my iPod Nano protected while running or cycling.

Let's skip the conversation about whether one should be training with an iPod all together and let's just agree to disagree.

I am now the proud owner of the latest generation iPod Nano and would love suggestions on how to prolong its life. I tried using Ziploc bag this weekend and it worked cycling, but not so much running. After my run, the bag was saturated and my new Nano was just stewing in sweat. Urrgh.

Why a Nano and not a Shuffle?

Well, I love listening to audio books and that is much harder on a Shuffle. I have just finished up The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire and highly suggest those titles if you have not read them. I am just about to start the last book in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and I can't wait!

Besides keeping my mind occupied during long training hours, audio books make me happy because I get to multitask. I don't have much time to sit with books so audio books let me maximize my time. If you have book suggestions, leave me a comment.

I listened to the entire Twilight series last year training for IMFL and listened to Angels and Demons, Born to Run and Freakonomics earlier this year. As you can see, I like a diverse group of books so let's hear those suggestions!

Happy Training!

p.s. Cedar Point is less than 3 months away now and I just completed another solid 15 hour week (even with a business trip to Boston -- where I lost my Lonestar hat in the wind -- with late nights out). 90+ mile bike ride and 15 mile run completed this weekend ... ahh, rest day tomorrow!

15 comments:

Allie said...

Have you tried the Nike Nano arm sleeve? As you know, it's been ages since I ran but before I quit, I used the Nike arm band for the nano. I'm not usually a fan of arm bands but the Nike one is really comfortable. It was neoprene so I would assume it would keep the Nano dry. What color did you get?

Patrick Mahoney said...

X2 ^^. I use the armband and never had an issue..

RockStarTri said...

I've killed so many ipods that my picture is probably up at the apple store on the wrong "most wanted" list so I have no advice on prolonging the life of ipods. Shuffles last the longest around me but I kill them most frequently with moisture. Other kinds most often die with cracked screens.

If you find the solution for a long lived apple product, be sure to share!

tri_al said...

i've just started running without ipod. NEVER thought i could - now i'm a convert!

ONEHOURIRONMAN said...

I have given up on wearing Ipods. Until they are truly sweat proof, I can't afford it haven't destroyed a few.
Good catch... I am not a 1hr 15min guy, how about 1hr 50?? Sounds more like me, huh?

Unknown said...

I bet you would like the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon...I usually save my audio books for long runs, but I ended up listening to this one any chance I got...and I've read the books before!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

They have those cases you can swim with you Ipod, only thing I can think of

Kristin Bradfield said...

My BF puts his in this when at the gym: http://www.handhelditems.com/ipod-nano-generation-crystal-clear-hard-case-nanshield-p-4711.html

I doubt it's totally sweat proof but it may help!

Unknown said...

I just found this - they "waterproof" your ipod! However, it appears this only for Shuffles, not Nano's. Looks awesome!

http://swimman.com/

Joel said...

So...you kill iPods...my wife kills cell phones. :-)

I use a shuffle when I run, and use a Nano if I'm on a tready or the bike trainer -- as I can get those more out of the way.

jessithompson said...

Lol... losing your ipod isn't really funny, but your writing about it was. I also read The Girl Who Played with Fire... good one. (loved Twilight series too)

Book suggestions: Beautiful Boy, Tweak, The Help, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and Push were some of my favorites from my book club over the last year.

溫淑芬 said...

我喜歡用心經營的blog~ ^^.................................................................

Cass said...

Try one of the arm bands - I think i'm a huge sweater to but have never had a problem with arm band. (We won't discuss how I killed the firm blackberry at my old job.)
Have you started the new Steig Larson yet? Started reading it the other night and its fabulous. I'm hesitant to try an audio book - although the multi-tasking ability is appealing. I'm more of a visual person and don't know if I could really pay attention to it - especially while riding or running.

Unknown said...

My Ipod nano is actually starting to chip away because of my sweat!! I am due for a new one too!! I have tried everything to keep mine from the erosive nature of my sweat but no such luck yet..Maybe we are on to a new product!!!

Bill said...

I killed an iPod once in a public toilet on a long run. The sound of something going "plop" in the water as I stood up was not a welcome sound. Fortunately, I had already flushed, so the water was clean. The iPod lived for about 10 more seconds of play before it died. I've since decided to go Podless on my runs.