Painful Decision

I've got a debate coming up, a dilemma I suppose. I'm wondering if I should take my Polar F4 heart rate monitor with me to San Francisco or not.

I do want to be able to track my heart rate during the race, of course. I want to track it because it is such a valuable tool for me to use. Knowing where I am in terms of heart rate lets me know how much gas I have left in my tank, how much I can push myself or if I need to take it down a notch or three.

But what's the cost of such information? I wouldn't necessarily call the heart-rate monitor strap I wear the most comfortable thing ever. In fact, it's anything but. Of course, I have the old version of the strap. The newer version apparently feels like clothes against your skin, at least that's what the Polar Web site claims. It's probably true as I would venture to guess that there were tons of complaints about the strap I use.

I wore it during my 22-mile run and I wasn't quite prepared for it. I tried to put tape down in the places where the plastic rubs up against the skin but I misfired. It was tough to tell because I didn't have any scars or cuts on me so I had to guess, and I guessed wrong.

How wrong?

I almost got it. I was just a little bit off.

The tape is where I taped myself before the run but the cuts show where the strap ran across, slicing my skin open where it rubbed against it. That's the scar on my left side. My right side also has scars like that, pretty similar as I misfired on that tape as well.

I don't necessarily want to scare anyone away from wearing a heart-rate monitor or strap. Believe it or not, this isn't a huge deterrent from wearing my strap. I just need to tape it better. But if you are considering tracking your heart rate, there are newer straps that probably won't cut you like the one I have. A lot of the newer HR monitors come with this strap, so if I were to upgrade to another Polar the strap would not slice me open.

I just am not sure if I should give myself something else to worry about. What if one of these cuts re-opens? What if I slice myself up on different spots? What if I feel something funny on my side during the race? Early in the race? Before the race even starts? What do I do then?

I want everything running smoothly that day, but I also want to actually run smoothly during the race. And the HR monitor would give me accurate measurements of where I'm at and will help me get through the race.

I have a couple of weeks to decide, so I suppose that's a positive. But at the same time, I think my sides may have already made the decision for me.

It's Polar Time

Remember my sad tale about my Polar F4 watch?

Quick refresher: Mrs. LB had given me a Polar F4 watch, equipped with a heart rate monitor, for a Father's Day present in 2008, and it helped tremendously in terms of taking the next step in my fitness evolution. I'd had the watch for more than one year when sadly, it flew off my wrist during the Camp Pendleton Mud Run last June, and a hole had been in my heart ever since. I tried replacing it by buying one off e-Bay, but the watch was a woman's watch and felt strange on my wrist, so I didn't wear it. I blogged about that here.

Well, apparently a Polar employee read that post and made an unbelievable offer. He said he'd be willing to swap the F4 for an F4, the woman's watch for the model that I'd had on my wrist before.

About five or six weeks ago, I sent the old watch away and waited and wondered if a new watch would come. On Monday, I got a package.

Check out my new watch:

What time is it? Polar time!

Are you effing serious?!?!? I got my old watch back!! I still can't stop smiling about it!!

Of course, it's not the same exact watch as I had before - that one was probably smashed to bits by the soles of the hundreds of Mud Run participants who unknowingly trampled it last June. I seriously have to do double-takes at my wrist to make sure it's really there.

I didn't really know a whole lot about Polar before I got my watch back in '08, but I grew to really like the company once I had the watch on my wrist and saw the benefits of it first-hand. I got a book that helped with heart rates and what to look for in terms of statistics with your heart rates and things like that and I became a big advocate of using heart rate statistics to train with (now that I got my watch back, expect to see plenty of such HR posts here in the future). Plus the treadmills at my gym are equipped with Polar technology so it picks up on my heart rate monitor strap and beams my HR constantly during my runs.

But the respect and adoration I have for Polar is now at a new high. I'm flattered a company would take time to do this, to keep a customer happy years after the product was first purchased.

I had thought about upgrading from my Garmin 101 to the 305 because that one comes with a heart rate monitor but now those plans are done. I'll keep my 101 and use my Polar F4 for my heart rates once more.

And if I ever upgrade to a watch that can give me both my HR and distance stats and perhaps other useful information, I'm starting with Polar. This one, for instance, looks fantastic.

So a big thanks to Chris at Polar. Actually, thanks doesn't do my feelings justice. I'll just try and spread the Polar love, and try and take this watch on some great journeys in the coming years.

Except no more Mud Runs. Sorry, new Polar but you'll have to sit out Mud Runs from now on.

Technology don't fail me now

Just got back from a 2.15 mile run. It was the first run since Friday's eight-mile run and I felt good. it felt good to get back out there. Physically everything went well.

But my downfall I believe will be technology. And today was a good illustration of that.

I run with lots of bells and whistles. Aside from the actual act of running and everything that goes with it, I've got plenty to keep me busy during a typical run. Here's a breakdown:

* iPod Part 1 of 2: I'm nothing without my iPod. I need music to run. I tell people all the time that without my iPod I'd still weigh 300 pounds.

* Headphones, Part 2 of 2: I worry about them sometimes. They slip off my ear, or they give out on me.

* Watch, Part 1 of 2: My watch goes around my left wrist and measures my heart rate, time and calories burned, though it only shows either the heart rate or time, not both. It goes with...

* Heart Rate Strap, Part 2 of 2: This attaches around my torso, and the actual part that measures the heart rate sits right underneath my sternum. I lovingly refer to it as my "man-bra" although it supports nothing. (here's a link to a picture of some guys wearing one)

* Garmin: I love it but I'm still trying to figure it out. I try not to look at it too often but it's difficult. The pace is quite intriguing.

Sometimes I feel like I'm going off to battle or something with the amount of gear I have on. Nevermind sunglasses if I need them, the Vaseline to prevent injury, etc. I've got plenty to keep me busy.

Now, lately my heart rate monitor has been irritating me. Not sure why but for the last few months I need to put the strap on about 30 minutes before a run in order for it to register a heart rate from the start of the run. I noticed that during soccer season as I wear it during every game I officiate. It's usually not a problem - I put it on, make sure it's secure and forget about it. I really don't feel it when I run, and I ran the Mud Run and the 10K while wearing it.

But when it fails you, it can throw off an entire run. This morning, for instance, I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for my run. I put the strap on before I did anything else, and by the time I was out on the street in front of my house warming up for my run, with iPod set to AC/DC, Garmin registering the GPS and my vaseline-lubed nips ready to go, my watch kept flashing "00" at me. No heart rate.

Oh well. I left without it. Now, I'd only wanted to run a couple of miles so I didn't want to linger. Had I been running intervals or something longer than two miles, I may have waited. As it was, though, I was irritated and didn't want to give it any more time and/or attention.

I ran for about a half mile before trying again. It finally kicked on and measured my heart rate. I felt more in a groove once that was on, since I got used to running with it and glancing at in order to help me maintain my pace and rhythm. Now with my Garmin, though, I have something else that will help me with my pace.

The run went well and I had no problems with my watch, the strap (sometimes it slips down because it's too loose but not today), the Garmin, the iPod or the headphones (the right one slipped off the ear a few times but nothing big). No, the biggest problem I had with my run today was, in fact, a physical one. My nipple is complaining again.

I guess I can't win for trying.

Rating my heart

I finally got my hands on a heart rate monitor. It was one of my Father's Day gifts, along with an array of much-needed kitchen supplies.

My watch is fantastic. It serves as a regular old-fashioned wrist watch and stop watch, which I needed anyway. But the best thing is that I can now keep track of my heart rate, which I did on Monday.

The only minor drawback is that I need to wear something around my abdomen while I work out in order for the watch to read my heart rate. It's a strap that goes around my back and then connects to a plastic device that runs across my torso. It's pretty thin and snug and I wore it for several hours yesterday and worked out just fine. I felt it on me but it wasn't uncomfortable. It's actually worth whatever bit of discomfort or whatever other feelings I had initially about it. I suppose it's a small price to pay to be able to read my heart rate.

Some of the better features of this watch:

- It keeps track of your heart rate and records both the average and maximum heart rates during your workout.
- It lets you set your target heart rate zone and alerts you when you get to it and drop out of it. That way you can adjust your workout accordingly.
- It records the total time of your workouts and the total time you spent in your target heart rate zone.
- It keeps track of your calories burned during your workout.

That's just what I've learned following one workout and studying the manual a bit when I first got the watch, on Sunday. I actually wanted to work out as soon as I got the watch in my hands but had to wait a day to do so.

I've got to do some research into my target heart rate zone. The watch suggested 122-160 for me, as I input my data (age, gender, height, weight, etc.) before using it. I adjusted it slightly higher, to 125-165 but I need to find the exact heart rate because even 5 bpms can be a big difference.

I'm going to keep track of my workout totals, including Monday's which I'll post in a second. So expect to see more details from my runs/workouts.