<p>Third day of New Rules of Lifting for Life.</p>
<p>Overall, these phase 1 workouts are a little shorter and a little easier than what I had been doing, in part because I’m not doing the 10 minute “finisher” at the end. I do that kind of stuff (like burpees and swings) on alternate days.</p>
<p>Really enjoying the new warmup. Lots of familiar stuff, but a couple of fantastic new stretches for the hips. I can’t even really describe them. Starting to get the hang of the high knees skipping, the carioca, and so forth. Still haven’t twisted an ankle or busted my butt, which is a good thing…</p>
<p>Really nice strength supersets today: Goblet Squats and TRX inverted rows. Single leg dead lifts and alternating DB bench press. 15 reps of everything.</p>
<p>I only ran a mile yesterday as I was a little pressed for time for workouts - it was a bit warmer and more humid than I like.</p>
<p>Did a 45 minute practice session (tennis) this morning outside. It was surprisingly tiring - the combination of heat and sun and slower surface took more out of me than I expected. So obviously I need to do more practice sessions outside. Doubles tomorrow should be interesting as it is outside on slow clay but there is about 30% shade on the court from high shrubs.</p>
Sunny afternoon. Hilly walk/jog intervals for me. Cut the route a little bit short because I got to the far point and…uh… nature started calling. So, I chopped the two cul de sac side excursions from the return route and ended up doing 2.5 miles. The usual jog to a heart rate of 90% and walk. This route has some pretty good long hills on it.
My poor iPod nano is now battle scarred. I hooked thumb and yanked the cord out of it on one of the jogging intervals, Then, as I tried to unclip it from my pocket, I dropped it on asphalt and put a nice crack across the glass screen. Oh, well. It’s a fitness tool. And, I’ve got a brand new one sitting in my desk drawer, compliments of Apple for the battery recall on the 1st Generation nanos. 
So I can’t complain.
<p>RIP iDad’s Nano!</p>
<p>10 1/2 miles this morning wearing a running dress I agreed to wear-test for a sales rep. It’s by NuU Muu. It’s very cute. I felt a little silly, but it was actually very comfortable and has pockets in the back. I wore track briefs and a sports bra under it, but you could wear bike shorts or capris. Some people stared, but I got some compliments, too. You see lots of running skirts, but not too many of the dresses.<br>
<a href=“http://nuu-muu.com/[/url]”>http://nuu-muu.com/</a>
I felt pretty good for 6 miles, so-so for the next 2 and the last 2 1/2 was a real struggle. It was getting warm and I just completely ran out of gas. I guess a cute dress only gets you so far!</p>
<p>Our family workout today was a walk through the woods on a park trail that went up and down hill for 55 minutes, steady. :)</p>
<p>What goes down must go up.</p>
I have a first gen in front of me that I haven’t gotten around to exchanging yet so I should get around to mailing it in one of these days. I ordered another MotoROKR S9 (previous generation) and it should arrive on Monday. I tried the S10s and they are far more durable but they are heavier too. The S9s are lighter and more comfortable so I’m going to use the S9s on longer runs and the S10s on shorter runs or may alternate using them so that the S9 has time to dry off completely between uses.
I took a 3-hour nap and then went to the gym for the weight machines.
<p>Okay, so anybody want to give me the low down on <em>relatively inexpensive</em> tech gadgets that will tell me the distance I’m jogging – which ones you like, which ones you don’t? I know approximately how long the path where I’ve been jogging is, but it would be nice to have some ability to measure distance if/when I branch out. I’ve been doing Couch to 5K based on minutes. I know some of you have spiffy thingamajigs that measure stuff like heart rate and hills, but at this point I probably don’t need anything beyond very simple. Thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t get Nike +. It isn’t accurate. See what kind of price you can find on a Garmin 205 or 305. I really think Garmin is the best.</p>
<p>To me, the heart rate monitor is the single most valuable piece of fitness equipment I own. It is so useful for understanding how the body responds to exercise intensity and for tailoring the exercise intensity to fit your exact fitness on a given day.</p>
<p>I started out with two separate pieces of gear:</p>
<p>a) A [$40</a> Timex heart rate monitor](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Timex-Personal-Trainer-HRM/dp/B005TCXELQ/ref=pd_sim_sg_1]$40”>http://www.amazon.com/Timex-Personal-Trainer-HRM/dp/B005TCXELQ/ref=pd_sim_sg_1)</p>
<p>b) [Nike+</a> iPod sport kit](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Sport-NEWEST-VERSION-Retail-Packaging/dp/B004D4Y37U/ref=pd_cp_e_0]Nike+”>http://www.amazon.com/Sport-NEWEST-VERSION-Retail-Packaging/dp/B004D4Y37U/ref=pd_cp_e_0)</p>
<p>The Nike+ product is a sensor that attaches to your shoe laces (or inserts in special pocket under the insole if you wear NIKE shoes). It is a wireless transmitter to an iPod that then gives you time and distance info for a run/walk. MOWC says the real runners don’t find it accurate enough, but I found that it was pretty much as accurate as my GPS watch for distance. Certainly accurate enough for my purposes. So, if you have a compatible iPod, $30 plus the cost of a little pouch to secure it under your shoe laces will get you a decent time/distance setup that will upload data to your computer.</p>
<hr>
<p>I have since “graduated” to a Garmin GPS watch which combines GPS time and distance with the heart rate monitor with the ability to do custom interval workouts (such as walk/jog) based on time, based on distance, or based on heart rate. For example, I jog until my heart rate hits 90% of my max and then I walk. On the Airdyne bike, I pedal hard to 90% and then easy to 65% and then hard again. All controlled by the watch. That’s so much more sensible than an arbritrary interval (distance or time) that ends up with crazy high heart rates because the intervals aren’t right. By using heart rate as the end-point, I can do a jogging interval uphill, downhill, or whatever with the time it takes to get to 90% being an automatic compensation.</p>
<p>I bought a closeout on this GARMIN:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor (Blue): GPS & Navigation](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-405CX-Sport-Monitor/dp/B0025UHKNS]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-405CX-Sport-Monitor/dp/B0025UHKNS)</p>
<p>The fancy Garmins all have pretty much the same features. They just vary in styling and user interface and so forth. I absolutely love this one including the oft-maligned “touch bezel”. I might not love it as much if I ran in the rain a lot, but I don’t.</p>
<p>^ sorry, idad but I absolutely hate the 405. Garmin was a sponsor of my triathlon team and we all got 405s for free. Even at that price point we found the bezel to be the biggest PITA and I never got mine to work reliably, despite lots of interacting with the well meaning support folks. Our batch might have been lemons, but I continue to sport my enormous 305 plus HR monitor, which I have owned for many years and has always worked reliably.</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone but iDad who has been happy with 405. I liked 305 but love my 310.</p>
<p>MOWC-- I am in love.
With the Calypso nuu-muu. Can you really run in it? No riding or bunching up?
I assume it is wicking tech fabric. Please tell us more about this gig, and can you get us discounts ;)</p>
<p>The one with the pockets is actually what I have. One time deal, so no discounts. Boo. No riding up, but it fits fairly snug. There is room for a sports bra and the bottoms. They are SO cute and are great for casual wear, too. I thought it was very comfortable to run in.</p>
<p>They look adorable. I am concerned about the snugness, though.</p>
<p>Girlfriend here</p>
<p>[Nuu-Muu</a> — Coco](<a href=“http://shop.nuu-muu.com/products/coco]Nuu-Muu”>http://shop.nuu-muu.com/products/coco)</p>
<p>looks pretty, but the fit
does look a little poochy, if you know what I mean.
I love running skirts of all kinds and can totally see myself wearing this style for running, tennis etc. but also kicking it around town, but I worry about the midsection fit. Probably have to try them on to be sure, or upsize.</p>
<p>Apropos free running togs. Anyone here qualify for this?</p>
<p>Seattle area bra testers needed for Moving Comfort</p>
<p>Brooks Promotion Codes, Shoes & Gear</p>
<p>Our sister company, Moving Comfort, is currently recruiting women who wear size 34D to come to our biomechanics lab in Bothell for sports bra testing. Here are the details on who they’re looking for at this time:
• Size 34D
• 0-1 child birthed
• No augmentation
• Have not breast fed in the past 6 months
• No sports related injuries in the past 6 months that would alter running gait
• No major surgeries in the past 6 months that would alter running gait
• Familiarity with treadmill running and able to run at 8:00 minute/mile pace for approximately 30 seconds</p>
<p>The test will include running on a treadmill with reflective markers taped on. You will run in and test approximately 5 different bra styles. The only people in the lab will be women.</p>
<p>Testers will receive a free Moving Comfort sports bra and free Brooks shoes for their time.</p>
<p>If you meet all the requirements and live in the greater Seattle area, please email Moving Comfort at <a href="mailto:fitmodel@movingcomfort.com">fitmodel@movingcomfort.com</a>.</p>
The imapmyrun app (free) for iPhone and android is a decent way to measure mileage/pace. I always use it as a backup to the garmin, I either hold the iPhone, keep it in a pocket, an iPhone armband holder or my spibelt.
<p>So if I have more than one child they don’t want me? That sounds weird.
I do like their bras though.</p>
Yeah, everyone hates it but me. 
I have zero problem making it work and find that the menu-driven interface is much easier than pushing buttons all the time. I do lock the bezel sometimes, which is fine because the next lap function (to start a jogging interval or mark the next section of a workout) is on a hard button. I don’t generally change stuff while I’m in the middle of a workout – occasionally, I’ll change a display screen, but that’s about it.
If I could afford it, I’d get the 610, but it’s not worth the significant cost upgrade.
<p>Idad-- I like my 405 . It did take time to get used to the bezel though. I had to send the first watch back for a replacement. </p>
<p>Is the technology there yet for no strap heart rate monitors? Like to run without a shirt in summer and don’t like the farmer heart monitor tan.</p>