Polar FT4: a product review

My Polar FT4 arrived in a nice black box. The kind that once opened, you can never put together again without a map. But that's alright, because it was the watch and heart monitor I was interested in.

Three parts

The Polar FT4 consists of three parts: a watch, a belt you wear around your chest and a transmitter. The chestband and the transmitter are called the WearLink. The chestband is made of a cottonlike material, which is one of the reasons I chose the Polar FT4. No sweaty plastic bands around the chest for me. In the box that was nog longer a box, I also found a manual.

The dreaded manual

Now what I usually do with manuals, is leaf through them, and then throw them into a corner. But that's a mistake I decided to skip this time! So I poured myself a nice hot cup of tea, and nestled on the couch with my manual. And I read the whole thing, which actually took surprisingly little time.

The Polar FT4 watch

The Polar FT4 offers five buttons, which I found a bit scary. But to my relief, it really is an easy watch to use. You can scroll through the menu with two of them, say 'okay' with a third, the fourth is to go back in the menu, and the fifth is to put on a light. I can actually manage this watch!

What's it do?

The Polar FT4 tells you:

1. your current heart rate
2. whether you're in 'the zone'
3. how many calories you've burned (love this!)
4. how many minutes you've been burning calories
5. your average heart rate during your whole run

Can it be improved?

The only thing worthy of improvement, is the little beep that tells you, you're going too fast or too slow, and your heart rate is not in the optimal training zone. It's so soft, I have to strain to hear it.

To sum up

I'm a real dummie when it comes to gadgets, but the Polar FT4 I can handle! And it makes good on its promises: it tells me whether I'm 'in the zone', thereby helping me burn the midnight fat!

Practical info

Running pants by H&M: product review

I hate running tights! They reveal things that should stay hidden, and I think they're just plain ugly. So when I saw these sporty pants at H&M, it was love at first sight.

And every time I wear them, I hear this song in my head: 'Everybody goes KungFu Fightihing!' and I feel like kicking my right leg in the air!

Material

These pants are made out of a material that is quick to dry, which is an absolute must for any running clothes. In my day to day life as a mom, I swear by natural fabrics like cotton, but in my life as a runner I only wear high tech fabrics. I'm a real Sweaty Betty, so I like my clothes to get rid of the sweat...

Model

The waisband is elastic, and has a drawstring, so you can wear it loose or tight. There are two side pockets with a zipper, which come in very handy to put some money or your housekey!

At the bottom of the pants there's a blind drawstring.

To sum up

These sports pants of H&M are very suitable for running. And because of the model, they're also well suited for the school run or for when you want to grab yourself a cup of coffee during your runs. Which I often do!

I like them so much, I'm tempted to wear them in my life as a mom! And that's saying something, because I'm a skirt person all the way.

These pants set me back 41 dollars, but they're definitely worth it.

Backside view

Do you ever feel this way?

Wordless Wednesday

(Source: Gifted Runner)

36-hours rule

I read somewhere that 36 hours after your run, you should feel fresh and ready to go! If you're still feeling tired after 36 hours, you've been overdoing it.

Another indication of overdoing it, are cravings for something sweet. I'm always craving chocolate, so that doesn't help me much. And another problem with this rule, is that there are seldomly 36 hours between my runs. I run on Sunday-, Tuesday-, Thursday-, Friday- and sometimes Saturdaymorning. That's only 24 hours at best...

However, I do think it's a good rule. Sometimes I do feel tired when I go out for my run. Last week I got a cold, and had to skip two runs, and my body was really grateful! And it thanked me by running like a race horse smelling a great carrot.

I wonder if the 36-hours rule applies to motherhood… If so, I've definitely overdone things, because 36 hours after some fanatic parenting, I'm definitely still tired!

Are you familiar with the 36-hour rule?
How much time do you allow between runs?

Me and my son. Black and pink. Scowling and smiling.

Wordless Wednesday

Runner's Attitude

I was having doubts: should I go out for my Sunday morning run, or not.

Trust issues

After all, I wás suffering from a mild case of airway infection. But since I didn't have a fever, I decided I should go. After ten years of running I still don't trust myself not to come up with excuses to skip a run.

Tough run

Besides my airway infection, I was also suffering from maternal guilt, so I took my son Ot (11) with me on his bike, to do some bonding. It was a tough run. And not just because my son talked incessantly about earphones and the differences between iPods and other mp3-systems. I really wasn't feeling my best.

Two cups of coffee

I managed to run the 4 miles to the restaurant, where I wanted to have a cup of coffee. I had two cups of coffee, while my son mercifully shut up about earphones for a while, because he was eating a piece of apple pie.

Walking home

'We're going to have to walk home honey,' I decided. 'I don't feel too hot.'
It took us quite a while, and we were almost home when a car stopped beside us. In it was my hubby!
'I thought you might be tired, you were taking so long. Do you need a lift?'

Knight in shiny Opel Zafira

I stared at my husband of seventeen years, and felt a rush of love. 'That's so sweet!' I exclaimed, and thought to myself: I may not have my own knight in shining armor, but I dó have a knight in a shiny Opel Zafira!'
For a minute I longingy stared into the car, but then I said: 'No, I've come this far, now I have to see it through! But thank you, thank you, thank you!'

Life lessons

As we saw hubby drive away, I saw the opportunity to teach my son some valuable life lessons.
'This is how you should do things Ot!' I said. 'Always finish what you started. That's called 'determination' and 'using your willpower'!'
But Ot declared: 'I would have taken the ride home, and do you think there'll ever be mp5-players?!'

Runner's Attitude

When I got home, my husband told me he'd asked a runner if he'd seen me, and had told him I wasn't feeling well.
The runner had stopped, and shared: 'I don't feel good either! Tomorrow I'll go to the doctor's.'
Hubby said: 'Then I thought, there's yet another nutter! Going out for a run, when he's not feeling all that well.'

And I smiled proudly and said: 'Yes honey. That's called Runner's Attitude!'

What's your respiratory frequency?

Did you know a healthy respiratory frequency lies between 6 and 10 times a minute? I didn't! And when I counted my breaths for a minute I got to 14! And I was lying down at the time. As the Teletubbies would say: 'Uh-oh!'

What's your respiratory frequency?

Wanna know your respiratory frequency? Easy: just set the oven timer to 30 seconds, and count every time you inhale. After 30 seconds just double the amount of breaths you took, and if you're lucky you'll get to around 6. And if you're like me, to 14.

What happens if your respiratory frequency is high?

If your respiratory frequence is high while doing nothing, it can cause you feelings of anxiety, tiredness, headaches, yawning and in some cases heart palpitations.

How to fix a high respiratory frequency?

That's also easy! You just have to prolong your exhaling. Do this for six weeks, three times a day and wait for the results.

I can't take the credit for this great knowledge, because I read it on the website of Koen de Jong. And I believe everything he says, because he seems real laid back in his video! I wanna be like him! Just click on 'cc' beneath the video to get subtitles!



What's your respiratory frequency, while sitting down?

See me run on my Saucony ProGrid Mirages!

Wordless Wednesday