Popular Mechanics.com: Adidas And Polar Offer Runners A "Tech" Advantage » Handy Gadgets: Information, news and highlights of handy gadgets for you, the home or travel.

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Popular Mechanics previews the Adidas-Polar tech gadgets aimed at improving the jogging experience which will be available in the latter quarter of the year. 'Until now. Shoemaker Adidas and sports electronics pioneer Polar have created the first system that turns two of the most basic pieces of running gear—shoes and a shirt—into sensors. The shoes record your speed, distance and cadence, and a heart rate monitor gathers data from sensors embedded in the shirt, no wires required. A wristwatch-based computer sucks in the data, and displays real-time info such as distance traveled to help you pace yourself. Useful, if, say, you’re training for a marathon. But what’s the point for the average jogger? In a word, cadence.'

The Adidas-Polar system is the first training running watch to calculate the details of your stride, accurately calculating how efficiently you’re running. (The iPod based SportKit, announced last month, doesn’t measure your cadence, although it does play your favorite power song on the push of a button.) Beginning runners tend to vary their canter as fatigue sets in and their form gets sloppy, causing them to waste energy moving their feet up and down rather than moving forward. By measuring the number of strides over time and distance, the Adidas-Polar system allows runners to keep track of their cadence, and by extension, how much energy is being wasted.

Read: Popular Mechanics Article