Romani- I’m sure you are getting lots of advice in real life that is probably far from helpful, and I feel for you on that. People sure have a lot of expertise, it seems! I know I got told that my detached retina last year might have been caused by running too much! (um, no…)
@BunsenBurner – thank you for clarifying my remarks. Exactly. @romanigypsyeyes – I’m sad that you need so many meds and glad that they’re working, and was not thinking of you at all. (My DH needed 7 different meds besides the chemo when he was in treatment for his non-hodgkins lymphoma-- he said “I don’t mind the chemo or the drugs for the side effects of the chemo–it’s the drugs for the side effects of the drugs for the side effects that bug me.”)
After missing a day on this thread I see I have much catching up to do. Congratulations to your D, MoWC. Excellent running at a track meet! Sabaray, I feel the same way about the fitbit at times: too much focus on steps, although that focus has also resulted in more activity for me and less sitting. Cursed device!!! Glad you’re feeling better, Bromfield. Nice dinner and finishing steps, BB.
romani, your outing must have been liberating! Good for you, and I hope you find a way to use your fitbit to track your activity.
abasket, and other cursed device owners, I had my own frustrating experience. Yesterday I took my Charge HR off the dongle/charger, and the part of the watch back that has the button broke off. It still works, although it’s held together only by virtue of being sandwiched firmly against my arm. I called Fitbit today and they’re replacing my model. I suspect that wearing the Fitbit on my arm with sunscreen and sweat may have destroyed the glue that holds it together. They were pretty helpful on the replacement. Unfortunately, they were much less supportive with their phone linking exercise tracking app that crashes almost every time I run after 3.1 to 3.7 miles. The rep I spoke with kept asking me for the name of the app, which is, of course, Fitbit. It’s intensely frustrating to talk to a company rep who seems not to know their own product’s functions well 
I anxiously await the Garmin’s arrival!!!
Last night we had friends here for a celebratory dinner feast. As this was an 18th birthday party for one young man, and our son was bemoaning the approach of age 30 (he’s 21…) we had a discussion about our opinions of the ideal age both physical and mental. One friend, another newcomer to running, said he wouldn’t be any other age than the one he is now… I commented that I’d love to have one day at age 30 or so to feel what it would be like to run on younger legs, but he disagreed saying that the sense of accomplishment of our activities now at our own geezer age is so much sweeter only because we’re geezers. I guess so, but…I’d still love to be able to have a little peek at my younger self running 
PlanMom- I have years and years of logs to remind me of my younger running self. Your muscles are simply stronger. Hills are not as difficult. Races still hurt as much, but you are a lot faster so they don’t last as long! Your recovery is faster. You can run with people- even guys- at a reasonable pace and not be at the back with what feels like a fast pace these days! Marathon training doesn’t take as long!
MoWC, that sounds very pleasant
I ran this morning–8 miles. Temp was 80 when I finished, but only 66 percent humidity. I also lifted weights at the gym with my son.
I went to my usual Pilates class this afternoon - I think it gets harder every time I go. Today we did the usual exercises only added two pound weights to everything. Doesn’t sound like much, but with the number of reps we do and then immediately transitioning to a new exercise - it adds up! One younger woman started out with 5 pound weights and had to quickly abandon them. I do feel a sense of accomplishment every time I finish, though! Easy run tomorrow morning, thank goodness. I think I am going to add in a few hot yoga classes - as I look back on the classes I took previously, my joints definitely felt better after I was done. I have a cutback week next week which will help.
Oh, and I’m having Thai food for dinner and a beer. Guilt-free.
Just wonder about Fitbit? If this thread is representative of their entire universe, wonder how long they can maintain customers long-term.
Almost 80 today so I cycled for about an hour and a half on the bike path. Need to get my bike computer fixed. Not registering mph/rpm/miles.
800 meter gut-check time trial yesterday - 2:39. About 80% effort? Satisfied overall. Think I’ll go much faster by the time real race comes June 11.
@MomofWildChild – I long ago threw out my running logs from the 20s. What I have preserved are moments from a very few specific runs. A long run on a day when the cherry blossoms were falling off the trees and covering the path. A day when running up Summit Ave felt easy and joyful. A 10K race where Bill Rodgers said it was hard–but for me, it was unexpectedly easy. A track mile where I was able to kick past another runner right at the end. I try to pull those old feelings in on the days when I feel old and stressed, and bring back those moments. I refer to it as “channeling my inner 25-year-old”. I may be slower but I can still feel that joy.
Thai food sounds wonderful Sabaray! Unfortunately this is a fast day for me…maybe I can eat it tomorrow when I gorge myself cause I’m starving!!! 
Well, your FItbit customer services friends seem to be much nicer than mine!
Finally got them to replace my unit - BUT - I have to send it back at my expense and they will not exchange for a different model. I sent a not-very-nice email back and then promptly called LLBean - where i purchased it and should have called long ago - and they will be sending an Alta next week, will pay for the return of the wonky Charge HR and then credit my account for the difference in $$$. Totally should have dealt with them first - but since I was TRYING to troubleshoot, I kept with Fitbit.
What a freakin mess! Only had a choice of black or plum but at this point to have something that works will be golden!
Stay tuned - sure hope I like the Alta!
@ohiopublic, at the risk of stating the obvious, did you check the spacing of the sending unit and the magnets? A couple of millimeters can be the difference between working and not working.
I’m happy about that, abasket. It’s easy to buy more bands for the Alta, too. I think you will like it. I did have good customer service with FitBit- maybe they knew I was a lawyer! Or maybe I just got lucky.
dmd- Those are great memories. I actually do go back in my logs to look at things. I remembered that one of my early triathlons was in Birmingham at the gorgeous state park right near my cousin’s house and I went back and found my log entry. I like to compare my PRs to those of my young running friends, although I think it scares them that I am now so much slower! They will see…
I love Thai food.
Michael. Haven’t done that yet. Can you explain? I know there are “pieces” on the wheel and frame? I didn’t install it and should probably download the manual.
@ohiopublic – if it’s a simple mileage calculator (mine is a Cateye), it uses a magnet on the wheel (attached to one of the spokes) and it counts every time the magnet passes the other magnet, which is mounted to the front fork. If the magnet on the wheel or the fork magnet slide, the counter doesn’t work. Alternatively, if you put the wheel on backward (which I did once), the counter doesn’t work.
Feel kind of stupid! Computer fixed. Thanks Michael and DMD. Although I thought I might have been faster today because I didn’t have the mph calculator holding me back. Sometimes I notice that with running too. Not looking at a watch doesn’t put any preconceived limits on your effort.
Good 800 time trial, Ohio! I bet June 11 will go well.
Per another mod who follows these things more closely, the sniping level on the diet/exercise threads in particular is out of control. If we need to resort to harsher penalties and more suspensions to get people to act like adults, we will. I sincerely trust we do not have to resort to that.
Just clarifying again for @dmd77 and others- it really wasn’t directed at anyone on here. Dmd’s post just reminded me of it
I had a horrible run tonight! I was so looking forward to it and it was a beautiful day/evening. It was really hot and I just felt as if I couldn’t breathe. And my legs were hurting. So I finished 6 miles, but I did have to do some walking, for an overall pace just under 9 minutes - slow for me with that distance. I am assuming that it was just an off night and tomorrow will be a better day!
I missed out on all the drama on the other threads. No great loss, I’m sure. I have really enjoyed this thread and have ALWAYS felt that the posters are very helpful and positive.
I skim a blog by an obesity researcher & neurobiologist, Stephan Guyenet. He had a very interesting series of blog posts about Food Reward and Why We Eat. It might seem obvious to others, but it amounted to a major paradigm shift for me.
Whether we eat, what we eat, how much we eat, how often we eat, has so much to do with how yummy, palatable, and rewarding a particular food is, in addition to how easy it is to obtain. Duh, right? But it really got me thinking about what it means to be hungry, versus the brain seeking reward and pleasure from eating certain foods.
One of the take away messages is foods that light up your reward pathways in the brain like the fourth of July will make you feel hungry (more! more! more!). But surround yourself with basic, plain, boring food & it will allow actual hunger cues to work----nearly impossible in the food environment we all live in nowadays.
I’m not explaining it very eloquently, but if you’re interested in this sort of thing, I highly recommend looking him up. He has a book coming out, this year, I think.
He also had a good series about the Set Point and Body Fat Regulation. Some of the science goes over my head, but I find it so refreshing to read something that acknowledges some complexity beyond CICO (calories in, calories out).