The Laughing Wolf

Polar: Good News, Bad News

Well, not really bad, but… My old Polar was about five years old, and the physical therapist who is responsible for selling them at a local sporting goods emporium was amazed it was still functioning at all. Batteries in both transmitter and receiver are only expected to last for two years, and he had never even seen this particular model because it was so old.

I could send everything back to the factory for replacement and repair, or I could get a new one. I chose to get a new one for several reasons, not the least being that the new ones can have batteries changed by the user, the strap is a lot more comfortable, and with the functions I got I can get a far better read on my workouts than ever before. The really good news using it this morning is that my highs were not as bad as what it had reported; and, the bad news is that the good readings I had been getting were off too. Since I have plugged in all sorts of physiometric data and set my zone, I get better reporting of what is being done. According to the file today, I worked out for 1 hour and a bit over 53 minutes, was in zone for almost 1 hour and 41 minutes, burned 2,288 Kcal with 25 percent of that being fat. I can live with that, but am less than happy that the base I’ve been trying to build is not where I thought it was. Oh well, a few more weeks before I can start into serious fat burn. Things could be worse.

In response to a beauteous friend, no, I am not working out too much. Not enough is probably more like it. To answer some other questions and such: I don’t care about weight and am not even considering it at this point. My goals are to set a base level of cardiac fitness, finish changing my metabolism, and lower my percentage of body fat. What this will mean in practical terms is a low resting pulse rate (40 bpm is the target), a quick recovery time, about a 32 inch waist, and the ability to take a 75 lb or heavier pack and do 20 miles a day at about 10,000 ft ASL. The weight will stabilize where it should and take care of itself if I have good cardiac health, a proper metabolism, and the right ration of lean to fat. We will see.

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