Boys and their toys

Well, winter is on it's way here in Australia, so that means its prime running season. I started running back in April of 2007, (at a weight of 215 pounds) at first I walked at lunch, then walking with a little running, eventually it became all running. I really enjoy my lunch time runs, it helps to break up the work day and my route along the Brisbane river is fantastic, I never get bored of seeing pelicans, lizards, fish jumping and topless sun bathers. (I've only seen topless sun bathers 3 times, but who's counting) My lunch time route varies between 5km and 10km in length.

So, to kick off a new season on the run, I went out and picked up some new kit. First off, I needed a new pair of runners, my old shoes were passed the replacement stage, so I have retired them to "walking the dog shoes". Second, I picked up a new pair of Adidas running shorts (the really short ones with the slits up the side) and a running shirt, my old ones still have a lot of life in them, but if I run 2 or 3 days in a row, I have to wash them constantly, so I wanted to have another outfit to spread out the wear and tear. Third, I got myself a gadget!!! I'm excited about my new toy!!! Its a Polar RS200sd heart rate monitor. This sweet little computer will do the following...

- Store laps and view lap times

- View your current heart rate.

- Calories burned

- Check your speed/pace

- Check the distance you have run so far

- Check your target heart rate zone and check whether you are within your target limits.

You can see in the above pic there's a black pod attached to the top of my new shoe, that keeps track of my pace and distance. It looks really big, but I don't notice it at all when I run. I'm really looking forward to seeing if the heart rate monitor will help me with my weight loss and my running performance. There's 7 fun run/races coming up that I want to enter, a lot of them are trail runs(with distances of 10, 30, 50, 80, 100 and 160km, I would start off with the 30km ditance)

I am also aiming to do some triathalons this year, or at least start training for 2009, I've been looking into getting a second hand road bike but I'm really picky when it comes to bikes, plus I only have a certain amount that I'm willing to spend, so its going to be a slow go. I've bid on 2 so far on ebay but lost both auctions.

Currently, my weight is about 188 - 190 pounds. I have a birthday goal (june 15th) of reaching 170 pounds. At that point my focus will be less on weight loss and more on endurance and speed.

Steve (40 is only 9 years away) Dickinson