FitBit Blaze

I have been the very happy owner of a FitBit for the last year and a half or so.  I've had the Charge the whole time and loved it.  I'm completely conscious of how many steps I am or am not taking each day and even challenge myself to see how soon I can hit certain amounts.  There are a few days at work I can hit 10,000 steps before lunch which I get really excited for!

However, my last Charge had some band issues and what I thought was a little tear that could last till the new year I discovered to be a big tear and what looked like band disintegrating on the inside.  Luckily I had a warranty through Best Buy (always buy the warranties...) so I decided to take it in and upgrade to FitBit's smart watch, the Blaze.

After one day... I'm even more in love.  I have a different clock face on mine (there's 4 you can choose from) and I have a black band because work is a bit picky on that.  It also gets call notifications and full text notifications.  Pretty much I can see who is calling, I think I can trigger my phone to answer the call from my watch, and I can read text messages (still have to reply on my phone).  In other words, I've been having a ton of fun with it.  The heart rate is cool, not sure how accurate it is, but as long as it is in the general range I'm happy.

I wore mine at the gym today for an elliptical workout and the heart rate was only a few beats off what the machine was claiming my heart rate was.  It also seemed to be more accurate in understanding my workout than my old Charge was.  It logged mileage, heart rate, calories burned, and steps.  Before I would have to alter a few things, but this time I just finished my workout and kept going!  I went in and started the workout, telling my Blaze I was on the elliptical, but there is also a smart workout feature that is supposed to tell when you're working out so I'm going to try that out tomorrow on my run.

There is also a feature called "FitStar" that is supposed to give you a workout if you need one.  Things like crunches, pushups, and other body weight exercises.  So essentially I will always have a workout with me regardless of where I am.  I guess this means I have no more excuses...  I'll report back on FitStar after I've been able to test it in the next week or two.

I also need to start saving up for the different bands you can get for the FitBit.  There are a few I already have my eye on, and while they aren't expensive (like $15-20), I think I've spent enough this weekend...

Medal Envy

I have medal envy... and the race hasn't even happened yet!  Regardless, I won't be running it and won't be earning this lovely medal that runDisney just released a picture of.

Yes, that's the castle to Chateau medal for those running a race in the US and the inaugural race in Paris.  I'm jealous...  I knew that race was a little out of the price range for me as right now my money is going to my new car, school, and an Alaska vacation in 2018, but that doesn't stop me from wanting the medal.

Maybe some year I'll be able to find a reason to go there for the run, or use the run as an excuse to go to Paris.  I mean, I took 3 years of French in high school and have been trying to relearn it... I should have a reason to right?  For now I'll just watch online at those lucky enough to go.  My mind will stay focused on Lumiere's challenge and all the other races I have coming up!

Water: Plain vs Enhanced

It's hot right now... really really hot.  Living in Florida is great in the so called winter because it's usually a comfortable 75 degrees or so.  However, in the summer it feels like the surface of the sun.  Working outside only makes me realize that every single day.  And running... ya running is done either really early in the morning or inside now.

Recently I was reintroduced to a hydration problem.  It's not hydrating itself as I drink plenty of water, usually 64-72 oz a day.  However, a lot of it is plain water.  I'm not sweating plain water though.  I'm sweating out salt and electrolytes as well as water.  So while I was rehydrating the water aspect, I was still getting depleted in electrolytes.

Thus last week I had what I thought was an exhaustion headache, which then led to some annoying cramping.  I was still able to function, but I was always uncomfortable.  I talked to my dad, who was a cyclist for a long time, and he mentioned he suffered the same issues when he didn't replenish his electrolytes.

I didn't want to admit that after my long athletic history that I didn't know how to properly fuel my body.  Still, I went to the store and bought various enhanced waters and electrolyte water enhancers (I bought Mio specifically...).  I started using these additions at work and guess what... no more issues!  I've felt good, definitely hydrated, and I might even get one or two more cups more of water since I've inadvertently added flavor as well.

 I don't add the Mio electrolytes to every refill of my water, but I try to get one or two a day.  I have a Propel or VitaminWater at lunch and so far it's been good.  It has also helped lessen my coke cravings since I have something tasty to drink (speaking of, that addiction has lessened quite a bit and I'm done to two or three cokes a month!).

So it goes to show, there's always something to learn and something to adjust.  My Mio drops are always in my pocket in case I need a little extra boost in the middle of the day and I have other enhanced waters ready to go after runs or at lunch.  It'll be hard to continue in winter when I don't drink as much, but hopefully the taste and the addiction to feeling good will keep me drinking plenty of water.