Jeri and I were just staying that it would be ideal to have a running buddy ready to go any second that you are…while this might be a dog for a lot of people that just won’t work with my current lifestyle. So I have a secondary solution…a Coach…a digital coach! 
For the first time in my life I decided to try a heart rate interval workout with the Adidas miCoach and it was SPECTACULAR. As I noted on Monday, my brain still remembers 6 months ago when I was killing speed work and running 10 miles every other day…but my body remembers being sick for the last three months and cutting my running in half. 
Monitor can be detached to wash the sweaty mess after usage… The sensor is also bigger so I was able to get a quicker reading than when I tried in the past with Garmin.
In doing an interval workout with the Heart Rate monitor I was able to continually push myself without pushing too hard. If I had tried to do 6 repeats at say a 7:30 pace, I either would have failed or pushed myself harder than my body was ready to go. Instead based on my heart rate I was able to still push, but finished without being injured.
Additionally, I kept telling myself I was going to quit after each interval and then this person in my ear would say “You’re half way done, keep it up!” or “Speed up to Yellow Zone”. Well no one wants to know that they are supposed to be running faster…and then have the system keep telling you to speed up, so it kept me going.
Here is how I carried my iPod Touch for the test run…and of course I had to checkout the camera that lets you see what you are taking a picture of…so much easier than my old iPhone!
If you remember my recent post about using the Garmin for intervals without a track, I can now pair that with miCoach to have a little person in my ear egging me on! It’s a great option when you don’t have friends around to do these tough workouts. Alternatively when my Garmin is dead…yup no excuses now because miCoach is going to track it all.
PROS
Love the person in my ear
Love that I can use I Heart Radio app with miCoach
Love that the data sync’s up
Love that I can customize a program to me
miCoach also allows you to do either heart rate based or speed based training
Great online tool for setup and tracking
CONS
I wish it had more voices available…wouldn’t it be fun to have some Irish guy yelling at you :)
I couldn’t figure out how to change the voice once I selected it
I wish the voice was the same volume as the music, but it is quieter --UPDATE: after a little more looking it turns out you can set the volume!
PERSONALIZED
When you set up your account online, you can decide what you are training for and what goal you are hoping to achieve. This will provide you with customized workouts. I chose the 1/2 marathon get faster plan…but the slowest time available was 1:40! This program isn’t joking around. (However, you should know that in the other plans like Finish Your First they have plans that range from a 11:30 pace to 8:00 min) Because I’m doing heart rate training with miCoach I was less concerned about the paces, but otherwise it probably would have been a tad fast for me.
If you love tracking your data, this tool is awesome. You can use a map while you run to track your path (and eh hem if you’re like me on vacation help you get home), sync data back to the site and then review things online. You can download the app for free and get the miCoach Connect package of heart rate monitor, heart strap and sensor for $70… so yes less than a Garmin!
This product was provided free for my review, but all opinions are my own.
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Gratitude Journal
Sept 30
I am grateful for hair appointments
I am grateful for social deals
I am grateful for magazines
I am grateful for beautiful nature photos
I am grateful for sparkling jewelry after it’s cleaned
