Did Day 1 of Week 6 yesterday, but may repeat it today to stick to my MWF plan…I am such a creature of habit. I felt like I needed to start the day with exercise as it was predicted to be a literal feeding frenzy all day. In reality it worked about to be three, small plates-type meals, so all was well. I hope all the moms out in cyber support-land had a lovely day yesterday
My kids and H got me a Fitbit for Mother’s Day (requested!), but though my kids told my H to get the Charge HR, he got the Flex. Apparently the stores he went to didn’t have much in the way of stock. After opening it, I realized there was no actual readout, so he’s happily returning it to exchange. However, as I research more, I want to be sure I get what will work best for me. I know this has been discussed before, but does anyone have any current opinions on these devices? I don’t know how important it will be to have true GPS if I start running regularly outside. I really don’t think I have any intention to actually train for races, needing pace, actual distance etc. I think the estimates of distance etc. should be enough as long as I track time and steps, but I don’t know. Advice?
I think the Garmin Vivofit is the best on the market, and now I would get the Vivofit 2, which has been out a month or two. It added a couple of features- vibration and a back light, and supposedly the battery life is still really good. I have worn my Garmin Vivofit for over a year now, and am pleased with it. It does have a display. None of these are accurate and should not be used to track distance with any sort of accuracy, but they are a good indicator of how much you are moving during the day. You can get lots of steps washing your face etc, too, since it tracks arm movements… I like the Garmin technology. You can get some cool colored bands for it, too, and change them out easily.
D came to the beach for the weekend/Mother’s Day. She took a train back to Boston this morning, leaving the local Amtrak station here at 6:00 AM. Since the gym is on the way back home, I was there at 6:10! I’ve never been there that early – seemed to be mostly guys throwing weights around. I did 5.11 miles of my run/walk and was back home drinking coffee at 7:30. (Yeah, I’m still at the point where my favorite part of exercising is being done with it!)
@runnersmom - I’m thinking of getting a Fitbit Charge HR. I’ve been using the Amiigo I got several months ago. (I got in as an original backer for about half of the current retail price.) I’m less than satisfied with it for number of reasons, including that it doesn’t have any readouts/screen, and I really miss having a watch on that wrist. I knew the risks of backing a crowd funded product like this, so I’m not upset about it. I also don’t believe I need the GPS function, plus I don’t want to spend that extra money. A good friend is getting a Charge HR today, so I wanted to see how she likes it before buying one. I like that it fastens with a buckle like a watch, instead of a 2-pronged clip like other Fitbit models.
@CBBBlinker, that is one of my reasons for wanting the Charge HR as well. I have never liked those prong-based clasps. Let me know what your friend thinks.
I just bought the Garmin forerunner 10 & am pleased with it so far. It does have GPS, which I really wanted as I am trying to increase my distance & wanted to be more accurate than what I could estimate on Google maps. I like the split feature too (tells you your pace for each mile). When not running, it just tells the time. No heart rate feature though.
My H got a Fitbit surge for Christmas and he really really likes it. It seems to combine a Fitbit and a garmin with heart rate. He can sync it to his myfitnesspal. He says the heart rate is very accurate and while I’m not sure about the distance when he run, it tracks the route like my garmin and seems accurate. He hasn’t complained.
The next time he runs I’ll make him use his garmin and see what the difference is and I’ll report back.
I’ve also heard good things about the Fitbit Surge – but that’s more $$$ than I’d like to commit to one of these devices. Now I’ll go check out the Vivosmart & Vivofit. Too many choices!
I recently met a runner who was wearing a sharp looking Samsung Gear Fit, I believe it was She liked it. I gather it works in conjunction with a tablet and measures heart rate without needing to wear a chest strap. If I were considering it I’d want to look into how the display works and what the options are in that regard. I asked her whether it it picks up the signal well, and, if I’m remembering correctly it might even work indoors? I thought that was interesting. Attractive, almost like a bracelet. Again, I’d want to be sure the display would work for me.
Meanwhile, I forgot to wear my Garmin out on my run this morning! I can’t expect it to provide feedback if I don’t remember to put it on in the first place, lol.
Cost aside, I just don’t like the Surge, aesthetically. If I decide on a watch-style device, I’ll probably go with one of the Garmin Forerunner models. We bought my S the very expensive Garmin 920 something for his combination 30th birthday, law school graduation (2 years after the fact) etc.(you get the idea!) because he’s training for marathons and may attempt triathlons in the future. My BIL, an Ironman triathlete, recommended it. My S is very happy with it as a training device, but that’s like 40 levels (or more) above what I need. I think my point, in a very roundabout way, is that if I go for a true running/training device, I’ll go for one of the Garmin GPS models. Otherwise, the decision will be between the Vivosmart and the Fitbit Charge HR. Totally agree about too many choices! Sitting here waiting for the biannual window washing to be completed so I can get moving.
DebT, that made me laugh out loud - gotta put it on in the first place!!! haha!
I have yet to buy a wrist device though I sorely want one. Just not the priority at the moment. Plus also can’t make the decision. I really just wish I could take one off the hands of someone out there (in life) who bought one with good intentions but is not using it and wants to get rid of it!
I think depending on your fitness style (casual walker? Recreational runner? Training for a race? ) makes a difference in what is well suited to you. I would like to be able to track steps, have the time, pace/measure a run (ok with me if it’s not totally accurate), calories burned - that sort of thing. I have looked at the Vivofit and thought pretty highly of that. I don’t care about my sleep patterns.
So, it’s one of those things. Don’t sell yourself short but also don’t pay for options that aren’t of value to you - or you think won’t be of value in the future.
I also have a Fitbit Surge. I love it but it is really ugly. It looks OK on my H but it is pretty clunky-looking on me. But I love the features so I can’t get rid of my ugly baby. I also have a Garmin Forerunner 620 that I use for running. The GPS and heart rate track pretty closely between the two devices. If I were doing it over again, I would probably get the Charge HR instead of the Surge because of the smaller profile and I don’t really need the GPS since I wear the Garmin when I’m running. But I’ve gotten so used to the Surge and its’ big display that I don’t want to give it up.
runnersmom-congrats on the 20 minute run! It sounded as if you were well prepared and you should be very proud of pushing through it. I think that week is the toughest mentally in the program and in the subsequent weeks, even if you have to repeat a week or walk through part of when you “should” be running since you know that you are capable of doing the longer run, it’s not as big a deal.
Gertrude-glad you enjoyed your race but that’s a pretty big discrepancy in distance! Especially since you are new to running and hadn’t run that long a distance before! Great job!
MOWC-so glad that you are OK after the fall. Head wounds bleed so much! Glad that your dress cleaned up well.
I have been running but most of my exercise in the past week has been from shoveling and hauling rock as we are working on a patio/deck project. Today I am really wiped out, I really overdid it on the weekend. I have a training session tonight but other than that, I am planning to just relax after work.
Did two-mile walk yesterday after a few hours of garden work. Temperature was 85 degrees–first really hot day. Today, I went to hot yoga after finishing up the last of the garden planting.
Cover up for the ugly black Fitbit Flex–see below. I would buy it except I already have a Polar Link–got it because I already had a Polar chest strap and HRM. Wish there was something similar for the link. It is pretty ugly.
Weather has been funky the last couple of days - warm, humid, and lots of random downpours. Didn’t know if I’d get in any outside time today, but between rain storms I managed to get the grass cut after work, take pup for a long walk and run a couple miles. Not too shabby for a wet and wild day!!
This is so frustrating…I’m sticking to the program, even getting in weights or additional running on “off” days from the program, and the scale is killing me. Up 3 lbs since Saturday? And I have been very careful food-wise. And this was after heading in the right direction by 2 lbs the previous week. It’s really hard to hold on and believe I can make this work. Just a little frustrated this morning. Off to the eye doc so at least I can see!
runnersmom- I know it can be frustrating. Some of the folks on here like iDad who are really good at analyzing eating patterns might be able to help you. It could be that while you are restricting food intake, you might have a combination of carbs that isn’t working for you. How are your clothes fitting? Sometimes the scale isn’t the whole story. Plus- water retention from certain foods (or time of month) can make a huge difference.
Short run this morning. Besides being beaten up from my fall, I had a tetanus shot yesterday (annual physical and I was due for the shot) and my left arm is killing me.
@runnersmom, it’s practically an impossibility that you have gained 3 lbs. of body fat since Saturday. These are clearly fluid shifts.
You might want to weigh less often. Our weight will go up and down as much as a couple of pounds during the course of one day. It’s trends that you want to watch. Maybe weigh once a week so the typical fluctuations don’t cause frustration?
I finally trucked my bike out to our lake house. This area is called “the west Texas hill country.” With some trepidation, I set a goal of 30 minutes but wasn’t sure I’d even make it 10. With my back history, inclines always bother me just a bit. Anyway, I made it 40 minutes and found it challenging but not impossible. At one point I wasn’t sure I was going to make it up a short but steep hill. Some grandpa driving by thought he was being cute when he said “You’re going to get a speeding ticket!” Hardy har har.
Sounds like something my Dad would say, though.
I’ll count this as a victory and will start bringing the bike with me every time if I can.
@runnersmom - I experienced the same thing & was very frustrated. I started weighing myself daily (always first thing in the morning) & noticed some strong trends; such as I am usually at my highest weight on Sundays (we tend to eat out evey Friday & sometimes Saturday…) & usually at my lowest on Friday. Also, I tend to go down for 2 weeks, then up a bit the third or fourth week, for whatever reason. I really only pay attention to my weekly low weight & figure as long as that is trending downward, I’m OK.
Has anyone tried the Jeff Galloway run/walk method? I did a bunch of reading about it yesterday, then tried it this morning. I went 3 miles running 3 minutes & walking 1 - it was almost too easy!
