Too many gadgets

As I left for my first 2010 outdoor run, I felt weighed down. No this was not a mental or emotional weight from being so overwhelmed. It was 2.5 lbs of electronics that were part of my running gear.

• MP3 player: I've been running with my sansa for 3 years now. I have a subscription to Rhapsody and making a new playlist is much cheaper and quicker than with an iPod.
• Garmin: A big clunky watch that tracks distance and pace like no other gadget.
• Heart Rate monitor strap and watch: I never tracked my heart rate during a run. Certain life events have made it necessary for me to track it, so I borrowed my husbands Nike watch and monitor.

I had a watch strapped to each wrist, a strap around my ribcage, an old school sansa secure around my bicep and the most cumbersome headphones known to man around my ears. (I refuse to wear earbuds, they fall out constantly.) Should I be concerned that there are so many electronic pulses and waves being emitted wirelessly around my body?

Now I'm aware that I could get a Garmin with a heart rate monitor, but since I already have a working one, why would I spend the money? Am I reliant on the Garmin to tell me my pace? Absolutely. It pushes me to pick it up when I see numbers I'm not fond of.

Is there an all in one device out there? I'm really fond of my Garmin, and if it could store all my music, and track my heart rate . . . it would be perfect. Oh and while I'm wishing for a new gadget wireless headphones would be awesome.

Back on track

Just as I'm getting used to a running routine again, one of my sisters is deciding she may want to join her high school track team.

My sister Sarah was the ultimate athlete in high school. And even after her D3 collegiate soccer career, she still plays soccer and hockey. If envying my sister could have been a sport in high school, I would have been the MVP. I attempted to join track so that I was part of a team. Each practice began with a half mile warm up around the track. Each warm up ended with me walking to the finish line while everyone else was stretching. I became a "thrower" because . . . admittedly I was just lazy.

Now my younger sister, freshman in high school, is thinking of joining track this spring. How can I convince her that running with the team will be one of the best decisions she can make? Should I tell her all the cool kids are running? Seeing what running has done for me in my adulthood makes me wonder how much better off I would have been in my teen years if I were running. I could have worked with a coach who would have pointed out strengths and weaknesses. Now in my late twenties I'm struggling to get back on track, and I hope to somehow convince my sister to get on the track team.