Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Polar V800 Review

I'm completely obsessed with my Polar products.  Ever since I was given the FT4 for Christmas a few years ago {after begging and pleading for one}, I became hooked.  

Recently, I got the Polar V800.  I LOVE THIS WATCH! Seriously, I couldn't be more excited about it.  I wear it all the time.  




The V800 has a ton of awesome features.

MultiSport Profiles
There are a bunch of sports to choose from.  Right now my watch has 
  • Circuit Training
  • Strength Training
  • Running
  • Cycling
  • Other Outdoor
  • Other Indoor
  • Triathalon
  • Swimming
  • Free Multisport
  • Kayaking
  • Walking
  • Group Exercise
And I don't even have half of them loaded onto my watch!  This helps me keep track of what I'm doing.  Honestly I only use 5 of them 99% of the time.  But, it's nice to know that whatever I want to track, I can.

GPS
When you are using the running, cycling, walking and a few other sport profiles your watch will use the built in GPS to track how far you've gone.  I love it.  It's so much easier then mapping my route later.

Waterproof
Not only is it waterproof, the unit works underwater.  You can go swimming, snorkeling, or do anything else that involves your chest getting wet.  I like to use it when I'm swimming.

24/7 Tracking
The V800 tracks your steps, the hours you slept (and how many of them were restless), how many hours you were active, your calorie count for the day, among other things.  Plus, it yells at you when you have been inactive for too long!

Training Benefits
After each training session it will tell you what the benefits of it is.  

Training Load & Recovery
Along the with training benefits the V800 also tells you if you're undertraining, over training or if your training is balanced.  Depending on how hard you worked it will reccommend how long you should rest before exercising again.

Polar Flow
You can upload all your training data to either the Polar Flow app, or Polar Sync (internet based).  Before I had this I had to manually enter everything from my watch to the diet and exercise site I used at the time.  


Finally, MY FAVORITE FEATURE............






RECHARGEABLE BATTERY!!!!
Yes folks, unlike the FT4 (and many other before this), the watch is rechargeable.  But don't worry! The time between charges is pretty good.  14 hours in training time, 50 hours in low power GPS mode or 30 days in time mode with 24/7 activity monitoring.  I use it for a combination and my watch lasts about 10 days before needing to be recharged.  It's never died on me.
 
Do you use a heart rate moniter?  What's your favorite brand and why?


Sunday, August 23, 2015

Earth Fare Gainesville

This time last year Sunny and I were given a private tour of the new Earth Fare in Jacksonville.  This year we've been asked to tell y'all about the new Earth Fare in Gainesville that just opened on August 12th.  

Earth Fare is a great grocery store.  Seriously, Sunny and I love it and she asks to go at least once a week.  


The new store is located at:

3045 SW 34th Street Suite 30
Gainesville, FL 32608

This is their 38th store in the US and their 3rd in Florida.  The other 2 are located in Jacksonville and Tallahassee.  The store also has 8 registers.  


The one this I love is what Earth Fare DOESN'T have.  None of the foods at Earth Fare ever have;



  • Antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones
  • Artificial fats or trans-fats
  • High-fructose corn syrup
  • Artificial sweeteners
  • Artificial preservatives
  • Bleached or bromated flour
  • Artificial colors or flavors

Eat Local
Many of Earth Fare's products are Florida grown. Look for the red signs that have the local emblem on them.


Meat & Seafood

Earth Fare has a large selection of fresh meat and seafood.  They are all humanely raise, 100% vegetarian fed, sustainably managed and wild caught.

Cafe


They have a nice sized indoor cafe where you can sit down and eat your freshly prepared food or an outdoor cafe that seats 55 and offers free wifi.  

While we're talking about prepared food, you HAVE to try it.  I know they always say "don't grocery shop hungry" but, I always goto Earth Fare hungry.  They have an amazing hot bar, sandwiches, sushi, pizza, smoothies and a salad bar. They also have an olive bar. 

Produce


They have a wide variety of produce.  If you look closely at the picture you can see the local emblem on the tags.  {And just to clarify, "local" is within 100 miles of Gainesville}

Extras
They also have a huge bulk section, a health and wellness department that sells gluten free and vegan makeup (among other things), {what seems like} miles of frozen food cases, scoop your own ravioli, and wine and beer.



The ribbon cutting for the store was August 12th.  Earth Fare presented a check for $1,000 to the University of Florida's Field and Fork Campus Food Program.  This initiative was designed by University of Florida campus partners to feed the estimated 10 percent of UF students who face food insecurity.  


After talking about all the special things that Earth Fare has I want to let you know what I have.  I have a $25 gift card for 1 lucky winner!  Enter the raffle to win.  The winner will be announced (and notified) on September 6,2015.

There are 2 things you must do to enter.  Like my Facebook page {CLICK HERE} and leave a comment down below.  


Don't have an Earth Fare near you?  Do you know someone who does?  {Click HERE for a list of Earth Fare locations}  Christmas is only 124 days away.  An Earth Fare gift card would make a lovely Christmas present!