I’m A Gadget Freak!

I like gadgets. I think this obsession started when I bought my first Apple computer, the LCIII. I always found computers intimidating, but my first Apple changed that. It was easy to set up, intuitive, and had a major ‘cool’ factor. I was initiated into the Mac community. And I never looked back.

Then I was introduced to PalmOne and got a PalmIII, then a PalmIIIx, followed by Palm V, Tungsten T, Tungsten T3, Tungsten C, Treo 180, Treo 600… and now my faithful Treo 650. iPhone? Not any time soon. I’ll be sticking with the Treo 650 for a while. It works.

With my 650 I can watch streaming video, listen to internet radio, carry around my plant database of over 500 plant photos, take pictures (incredibly bad quality), surf the web, check and send email, open Word docs, Excel, PDF’s, read books, play games, track my workouts... and it is a phone, so I of course use it to talk to people.

What do I use for walking? Here’s my list of favorite walking gadgets. When I hit the road, I’m wired.

1. Polar Heart Rate Monitor s625x: The Polar S625X provides accurate heart rate, running pace and distance information right on your wrist. It delivers continuous running speed without relying on where satellites are positioned. It comes with a shoe pod that does make my right shoe look a little funky, but not too bad. I have no idea how this shoe pod works, but it is accurate. Features are: tracking altitude and ascent for route profiles, speed (average, minimum and maximum), distance, time in training zones, temperature, and other stuff that just leaves me a little baffled.

2. MySportTraining Software for Palm OS: MySportTraining is a health & fitness application designed to track your workouts and to motivate you to exercise to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Coupled with the add-on MySportTraining Polar, I can download all of the data, via infrared, from my Polar S625X and look at neat graphs and bars. This software tracks duration, personal ratings, heart rate data, notes, routes, distance, pace, ascent and intervals, warm-up, cool-down, exercises, calorie/kJ intake, weight, body fat, mood, sleep, blood pressure, resting heart rate. This software works on mobile devices running Windows and for certain Nokia phones. And there’s a Windows desktop application that will sync with your mobile device. No Mac support. Bummer! Still, a great piece of software on my Treo.



3. The Omron HJ113 Pedometer: This pedometer tracks your workouts with steps, distance, time, calories and fat volume you burned during walking. It has a dual display function that can show both the time and the number of steps simultaneously. It’s memory function can store and show the data of seven days. I use it only for tracking my daily steps. I try to set a goal of 12,000 steps a day. On a day without dedicated walking, just sitting at my desk working, I manage around 4500 steps. So you can see, if you want to really be active and reach the recommended 10,000 steps per day, you have to go that extra mile or two. Why is 10,000 steps per day considered to be the ideal number? Health experts believe that the Surgeon General’s endorsement of 30 minutes of physical activity daily is the equivalent of walking 10,000 steps - which is about 5 miles and burns close to 400 calories. Studies have found that 10,000 steps is also the amount of exertion your body requires to burn enough calories to reduce the risk of chronic disease.

4. iPod Shuffle (the old one): I don’t go anywhere without my iPod. I own a iPod Photo 60gb and a Griffin iTrip and use it mainly for listening to podcasts and music while driving (I don’t walk everywhere). The shuffle, on the other hand, is my walking companion and is loaded with walking music of all genres. I use a program called beaTunes that couples with iTunes to determine the beats-per-minute (bpm) of each song in my library. I then load up songs with bpm’s ranging from 125 to 135, perfect for a fast walk. Later I’ll post my favorite walking tunes. By the way, I don't think they sell the 1st generation shuffle anymore. The new shuffle is smaller and has a better 'wow' factor.

5. Nike Free Trail 5.0: Though not really a gadget, a great pair of shoes! This is a more rugged version of the Nike Free and Nike Free Trainer. The Nike Free Trail 5.0 has a thicker sole and a sleeve insert for easy slip on access. This shoe is light, flexible and rugged. And it is the only shoe I've found that won't send me skating down a wet sidewalk. The only problem I have with this shoe is when small rocks wedge in the slotted soles. This creates an annoying 'click-clack' sound when walking. After a long walk, I take a screwdriver and pry loose all of the tiny pebbles. This shoe is a rock collector! You don't feel the stones, but you can hear them.






Well, time to plug myself in and hit the road…