Jodi’s Running Blog

In February I purchased a Timex Ironman 30-lap heart rate monitor/watch (for women – it has a nice aqua rim!) and since that time I have been very satisfied with it. Upsettingly, about two minutes into my run yesterday, I felt the heart rate monitor strap around my chest give way. The best description I can offer is that the portion where rubber stops and hard plastic begins was cleanly broken. I called Timex customer service (and a real, living person was on the line within three minutes), and I was informed that I could send the strap to their repair center in Little Rock, Arkansas with a $7.00 payment, and I would receive either a new or repaired strap within seven business days within the date of receipt. Not too bad, eh? So I can live for a few weeks without calculating my caloric consumption during workouts. And I’ll have to figure out for myself when my workout is too demanding (usually the monitor beeps at me when my heart rate exceeds 172 bpm).

Oh, and I registered for the Issaquah Rotary Run 10k Race for this weekend (October 2nd). I am on back-up call at the hospital (i.e., I go in if one of my colleagues calls in sick), but the hope is that everyone remains well and I will run my first 10k since April 2003. The race is held during the Issaquah Salmon Days weekend, a festival celebrating the return of the salmon. I’ve heard the fish are very large, flopping in the shallow creek beds as they return upstream. We’ll see. It should be a truly Pacific Northwest experience, nonetheless.