Polar M400

My Garmin FR60 running watch all but died a few years ago. The wrist strap broke and the battery had to be replaced about twice a year. While I loved the comfort of the heart rate monitor chest strap, I did not love the buttons on the watch. I had been scouring the market for a new watch and was considering Suunto. However, their watches are humongous. 

After comparing reviews, I thought the Polar M400 seemed like a good fit. I finally bought one tonight. The watch and heart rate monitor cost about $250 after tax. So, I'm hoping this watch performs a lot better than my previous Garmin. It's comfortable and sleek. The face is pretty readable. I have just customized my settings and will be testing it out tomorrow. 

Polar M400

Squeezing in the Ultimate Reset before Thanksgiving

My shipment has finally arrived.

I have done the Reset twice before and was happy with the results. Both times, I refrained from exercise as recommended. I found this difficult to do because by week 2, I had lots of energy that I wanted to expend.

This time, I do not want to take a full 3 weeks off from climbing. So, the plan is to follow the Reset as closely as possible but add some calories to my diet on days when I intend to climb. In order to do so safely, I will be monitoring my heart rate and calories burned during physical activity and appropriately supplementing those calories.

I hope to update with photos and logged data soon. Very excited to start the Reset one more time.

Colorado 2015

Scenic drive in Colorado!

Arizona 2015

Hiking in Arizona!

Brooklyn Boulders

Brooklyn Boulders has become my second home. Since its opening, I've been climbing there 3-4 times a week (one time, I went 5 days in a row - NOT RECOMMENDED!).

Bouldering - Climbing without ropes. The way up to the top is called a "problem" which is about the right term for it. They are graded from V0, V1, V2 and up, the higher the number, the greater the difficulty. BKB has padding completely surrounding the problems, which is nice. Out in the real world, people use crash pads, which are not all that very big and must be placed strategically to break your fall safely.

Fighting a barn door on a V3

Mike trying out his Testarossas for the first time

Top Rope - Climbing with a harness that is attached to a rope that is set at the top of a route. I just realized I don't have any pictures of me top roping at BKB because Mike can't really belay and take photos at the same time.

Friend climbing top rope with Mike belaying

What makes BKB fun is the artwork on the walls and the many events they hold (most are free). Below are a few examples:

Art by Caleb Freese

Mucca Pazza

Breakfast Club

Yoga at BKB

Brooklyn  Boulders hosted a Bare Feet Power Yoga session on Friday. Was a fun time. Looking forward to the Grand Opening.

Airplane pose (left) 

Downward Dog (left)

Ditka Dash

Saturday, September 27, 2014 - Second annual Ditka Dash. It was my first time running it. Super fun. There were 13,000 runners. The race was well organized with different waves (8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.) and with corrals according to pace per mile.

The goodie bag came with two shirts (a white Da Finisher shirt and a navy blue Ditka Dash shirt), aviator shades and a Ditka mustache. There were also a ton of different optional add ons such as sweat bands, Ditka cigars and stickers. I just upgraded my Ditka shirt from cotton to Tech (which was a good move). 

Heading to the Start

Side of Soldier Field

Ditka 'Stache

Friends at the Finish

The only downside to this race was that it was "self timed" which meant you were not tracked and there was no official race clock. I used my Endomondo app to keep my time. So, that worked out.

Endomondo

My time was 27:38 (improved on my time of 28:28 at the Bucktown 5k on September 14). Pretty happy. Not sure I will run anymore the remainder of the year, but my goal is to train harder and get closer to a 26-minute 5k next year.

I would definitely run the Ditka Dash again (unlike the Color Run and Hot Chocolate).