I have come to appreciate that I am a metrics person. I like data. A lot.

Probably not the sexiest thing to admit, but it is what it is. I think this is why I get a high from treadmill running while others look at spending an hour on the treadmill as cruel and unusual punishment. I play all kinds of numbers games with myself on the treadmill, and it keeps my mind from wandering and dillydallying as I tend to do on long runs outside. Let's face it: some people run because they just plain like to run. I just run to be fit.

I started off my fitness journey in 2001 with power walking, and I became an excellent walker. Even so, the first time I clipped a pedometer to my belt, I felt an unexpected thrill. I actually had digital proof that I was walking so much! Suddenly, I couldn't let myself go to bed until I had 20,000 steps in on the day. Metrics help that geeky, awkward part of me that I am probably not going to grow out of after all.

I first logged onto Nike + in 2007, but I was not a regular user because I wasn't all that fond of listening to music while I run. Occasionally, sure, but not all the time or even the majority. Since the Nike + Sportband came out last July, I've been a machine though. I just crossed the 800 mile mark in Nike +, a tally of all my runs from 2007 to present. 698 of those miles were logged with the Sportband from last September on.

But even before Nike +, I fell in love with the heart rate monitor. I have a decent grasp on how many calories I burn during various activities based on my perceived level of exertion, but there's something about seeing your heart rate start to fall when you take a breather that makes you want to get going again a little faster. With wearing my Sportband so often though, I haven't been wearing my Polar heart rate monitor as much.

That all changes when my package from Nike arrives. I was uploading my Monday run and saw the news! Polar teamed up with Nike to provide a chest strap that will monitor heart rate through iPods and Sportbands, as well as compatible Polar HRMs. That means the new chest strap will work with my Sportband, iPod, and it's compatible with my existing Polar model so I can wear with with my non running activities! I love it when a plan comes together!

I am totally stoked. I love the community at Nike +, and I admit that I have become a bit of a Nike groupie, but this just seals it (particularly since I had a similar style replacement chest strap in my amazon.com saved list, but hadn't made the commitment to buy since I didn't have the opportunity to wear it that often with all the running this year). You just know I'm going to look at some of my runs with this thing and think, "Yeah, I could have pushed it more." NO EXCUSES! Totally stoked. Seriously.