New Gear! Heart Rate Monitor

My running pal Eleanor really outdid herself with my Christmas gift... I was floored when I opened the little box to find a Nike+ iPod kit and a Polar WearLink+ Heart Rate Monitor! (She even got me a little green Mivizu pouch to put the Nike+ transmitter in since I don't wear Nike+ shoes.)

I was thrilled and excited and ready to learn about how my heart rate and my asthma and my running all work together... and, at the same time, I was a little bit intimidated.

A heart rate monitor. Wow, that's intense. It's a *serious* piece of gear... I mean, not clothing. I dig the clothing, socks, shoes, and accessories aspect, but this technology feels like it's almost out of my league.

But is it really?

No. I'm just psyching myself out like I do sometimes when I'm really excited about something. :)

I'm excited about using my heart rate monitor to learn about how my heart's behavior during exercise, and especially to learn how my asthma affects me during running.

Tonight I'm hooking myself up for my first run with the heart rate strap and the new baubles for my iPod.

So far, though, I'd like to report that my iPod nano (6th gen) was delightfully simple to link to the heart rate monitor. The instructions were so simple that I thought for sure I'd be on tech support later, but, no! Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come!

I'll probably post a review as I get more familiar with my new gear and how it's working for me. Stay tuned. :)