Today's Wall Street Journal (link requires a subscription so I'll save you the aggravation) reviews wrist-top exercise computers (as they call them) and the Polar S625X comes out on top:

Polar's $370 S625X displayed the specific data we wanted to see on a single screen (no toggling), was the only watch in our test with a heart monitor that worked flawlessly underwater, and was the most comfortable of the bunch. "There were times I couldn't even tell I had the heart-rate transmitter on," said one of our testers. It's our Best Overall.

I'm happy to see Polar recognized for their good work, I've been very happy with all three of my Polar watches. Other models tested were the Timex Bodylink 5E671, Garmin Forerunner 301, Fitsense FS-1 Speedometer, and the Nike Triax Elite HRM/SDM.

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I've blogged before that my drink of choice when running is Accelerade. My ultra-marathoner friend John told me about it a few years ago and it's worked well for me. Their shtick is that Accelerade contains carbohydrates plus protein in a 4:1 ratio and they claim that this extends endurance and improves recovery time. If you research the merits of protein in hydration drinks (as opposed to just carbohydrates) you'll see a lot of opinions on whether it really works. I can't say if it's helped me over Gatorade or Cytomax because I never used those in any serious manner—I started using it when I got serious about running and before I found anything else.

Anyway, Runner's World has an article on the debate and it's worth a read if you're wondering why there is a debate—why can't this easily be proved or disproved? Seems like a study on this would be a no-brainer to resolve but it's trickier than I thought.

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I was excited to go to Chicago this week. I always hear great things about the city and wanted to experience it for myself. Wifey and I were there several years ago for a weekend but my perspective on things has changed since then (read I have two kids now). My employer has two offices in the Chicago area, downtown and Downer's Grove and I was going to Downer's Grove, west of the city.

Nothing against Downer's Grove, but as I drove from my hotel to the office I really couldn't tell what city I was near—Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix? The problem with these suburban office/residential areas is that they have the individuality of a slice of Wonder Bread (I'm borrowing that phrase from someone). There were all the usual chain establishments—Bed, Bath & Beyond, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Best Buy, Panera Bread, etc. Every suburban area across the country looks the same these days and it's kind of depressing. Sure, that's what I get for being in the 'burbs but I can't help it, that's where the office is. And being in these areas means that you've got almost no chance of trying something different when it comes to restaurants. Yes, there's something to be said for consistency and a familiar brand but traveling on business to some of these cities is really anticlimatic—it looks just like the place you left.

In Chicago for work and am neglecting everything. But this article in today's New York Times is worth posting. Here's the net: donuts are bad for you. But it's the opening paragraph that made me chuckle:

No matter which route Reginald Burns takes when he drives to work each morning in Houston, he knows every doughnut shop along the way. Almost every day, he stops for a fix: a Diet Coke and six doughnuts - any kind as long as they have just emerged from the fryer.

Well, I guess the Diet Coke makes up for it. Seriously, who doesn't like a donut, but six a day washed down with a Diet Coke sweetened with a chemical produced by (who else) Monsanto?

Every month in The Atlantic Magazine I see a half-page ad for the ROM. It's an exercise machine that claims to give you the same results of a 20-45 minute aerobic workout, 45 minute weight workout, and 20 minute stretching session in four minutes.

Crazy? Of course. And if the machine was $79 and sold late at night you'd disregard it. But the ROM isn't $79, it's $14,615 and the company makes no apologies for the price. And they're advertising in The Atlantic—not exactly a fitness magazine. I'm really intrigued by this. The machine, as you can see, looks like some Rube Goldberg contraption and there's no pictures on their web site or in their ad of how you use it.

Fourteen grand? But can you imagine if it really did work what this would mean? You could get the equivalent of two hours of exercise in four minutes. Heck, I'd use it for eight minutes. And if you invented such a device, wouldn't you ask for the moon?

Has anyone ever used this thing? It's not easy to try out—they've got a pretty generous 30-day trial but they claim only 3% of individuals return it after the trial. That's what scares me.

Another run, again at the gym which is kind of strange because the weather in Houston is really nice right now. Probably the last cool weather we’ll see until the fall (I keep saying that and we keep getting cool fronts so maybe Houstonians should be thanking me for this recruiting weather).

I also did some rope jumping yesterday. Mark, who is now a Pose-Method convert, mentioned that he’s been jumping rope to help him develop his Pose form. I was at the sporting goods store the other day (they don’t warrant a mention) and picked up a jump rope. It’s one of those “speed ropes” (but made with rubber/plastic as opposed to leather) which is important if you’re going to really get a rhythm going. I tried jumping rope a few years ago with a rope made with cotton/poly rope and it wasn’t fast enough—you couldn’t get the rope back under you quickly enough. The speed ropes are lightning quick and this makes it easier to get going.

But wow! Once you’re going it doesn’t take long to be huffing and puffing. My heart rate shot up to the mid-160’s in no time. My goal was five minutes but this required a couple 15-second breaks. And wouldn't you know it, there's a slew of resources on the web all about jumping rope. The Jump Rope Institute? What did people do with all their time ten years ago?

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President Bush is on my mind since he was in my town yesterday visiting Tom "Cockroach Killer" Delay. The President's been out campaigning for his Social Security reform bill and Jon Stewart's The Daily Show has some insight on how these events are orchestrated (click on the "Hall Of Same" icon).

I finally ran. It wasn't far and it wasn't pretty, but I did it. Even Wifey was concerned about my slump (although this hiatus was induced by a bug). Mark's comment about it being a good day for a new kind of streak was the push I needed. But let me tell you, 23 run-less days can really kill your conditioning. My heart rate was in the high 160's when it would have been somewhere in the 140's back in my prime.

Wearing a heart rate monitor can sometimes be a hassle. I can't find the chest strap, the memory is full on my S625X, etc. But Sunday's run was a good refresher on one of the reasons I wear it. The legs felt fine but my heart was really pumping—maybe pumping a bit too much. I decided that instead of pushing it I'd take it easy, I'll pick up the pace and the miles over the next few weeks. Would I have noticed this higher-than-normal heart rate without the monitor? Maybe, but it was a lot easier to notice the blinking 169 on my watch.

More Mad Cow controversy as reported in The New York Times. Net: Japan doesn't want to import U.S. beef until they're confident that it's safe. I love this quote from the article: "Later in March, the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, visited here and devoted more of her comments to American beef than to North Korean bombs."

The Japanese test every single cow they slaughter for Mad Cow. In the U.S. we may test something like 14 percent this year. Maybe that's why Japan has detected 17 infected cows since August 2001 while the U.S. has found one. You're not gonna find it if you you're not looking.

And not only has the Bush administration backtracked on their committment to ban cow blood in cattle feed, but now we're saying some sick cows be be okay to slaughter for human food: White House may ease "downer cattle" ban.

So Mad Cow in Europe, Mad Cow in Japan, Mad Cow in Canada but no Mad Cow in the good ole US of A?

Haven't been running—any time I take an extended break, voluntary or not, it's hard to get back into the swing of things. Plus, with the new bikes, I've been having a blast riding with the boy (and now Wifey and Baby Girl have a bike of their own). I can see how people can get really wrapped up in cycling. Bike shops with those beautiful bikes, cool gadgets, accessories, enthusiastic community, it's enough to get one hooked. But I'm a runner first. Now I just need to run. Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow.

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"Do you have your Randalls card with you today, sir?"

Do companies really think anyone is happy with their customer loyalty cards? Randalls used to be a good supermarket before they were bought by Safeway. Among other changes for the worse is that you now need a card to get the "special" savings. And if you don't have your card you can always provide the telephone number associated with the card so they can look it up (and so the folks behind you can quickly do a reverse-lookup on your number when they get home—I do) and bless you with the savings. You want loyalty? Don't make me carry a card. Have cashiers that are happy to work there (that means pay them decently). Stop selling the imported crap from China in the lobby that made a once nice supermarket look like an open-air bazaar. You can't beat everyone on price so stop trying.

Whole Foods doesn't make me carry a card, takes my whole paycheck, but makes me feel good about shopping there. The cashiers give me an item for free if they can't find the price at checkout and more than once they've re-opened a line for me because I'm too dense to see the "This Line Closed" sign on the belt. I don't want to carry a card, any card. Petco, Randalls, Kroger, it's enough to drive you crazy without engendering any customer loyalty.

And there is no savings. The Wall Street Journal did a rather thorough story a few years back on these cards and when comparing two stores, one with a card program and one without, you pay the same for groceries in the long run. No surprise.

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How long does it take me to read a book? My Currently Reading section hasn't been updated in months. Well, I've read those two books but I haven't read anything since. I go in spurts with book reading and I'm in a lull at the moment. Plus, my book links go to Amazon as part of their associates program. If you're really into all this you can supposedly make money if someone clicks on those book links and then buys it. Well, I never expected to make anything (and I haven't) and only did it so I could get the HTML code for each link (Amazon has a really nice wizard to generate the code). But I'm going to switch my links to Barnes and Noble. Amazon may be convenient but their links don't always work and when they don't you get some cheesy ad instead of a picture of the book.

It started off so well, Arbor Day festival Saturday morning where the boy had a great time eating junk food and jumping in not one but three different inflatable bouncing thingies, then another carnival type event in the afternoon at the (re-) grand opening of a small independent grocery store in our neighborhood (more on this later) and finally a trip to the bike store for a bike with a Trail-A-Bike attachment for the boy. Whew.

Well, it went downhill from there. Baby Girl fell and hit her head Saturday night which necessitated a trip to the emergency room at Texas Childrens' Hospital. This took most of Saturday evening while she was X-ray'd and checked out (she's fine, thank God) and then she wakes up Sunday with a croupy cough. What else we caught while sitting in the ER lobby for four hours remains to be seen . . .

Running? Not a bit—in weeks. I can still work up a good coughing fit if I put my mind to it but I think I'll finally get some miles in this week. The boy and I got some good exercise on Sunday on the new bike but nothing like what you'd get from running.