Microsoft Band and Strava

I was planning to get a FitBit Surge (I can't remember if I've written about that here...it was something I wanted for Christmas, then my birthday, then I gave up on the idea because I didn't want the black one and they haven't yet made the other colors available).

I branched out and kept searching for another comparable device and landed on the Microsoft Band. It's also black, but it's thinner and more sleek looking in my opinion.  Plus the screen is colorful, which makes it more fun for me.  I've been wanting it for a combo Mother's Day/Anniversary present (which is obviously still a few weeks away...May 12th is our anniversary so it makes for some heavier weighted gifts this time of year).  I kept hinting to my husband that I wanted it sooner, since it just became available on Amazon a few weeks ago and kept selling out quickly...so as a nice surprise, he got it for me last week while my parents were visiting us here in Arizona (they drove all the way from Pennsylvania for a week-long visit...it was a great trip).

So I got the watch last Thursday evening...put a screen protector on that evening (it needed to set for 12 hours, untouched, which is a super big bummer for anyone who has been wanting a new gadget for a while...patience is not something I have in abundance).  Started wearing it Friday morning and went for a run that day around lunchtime.  I left my huge Note 4 at home and loaded up my tiny little iPod Nano with a book and a podcast.  Having less weight, even just that small amount, for my run was so freeing.  I haven't taken my phone on a run again since.

Then, on Saturday, I came down with a miserable stomach bug (a lingerer from a couple of days before)...I ended up in bed all afternoon and felt almost bad enough to go to the hospital.  I got to catch up on TV though and Steve watched the girls and kept my parents entertained, and I survived.

So then on Sunday I rested and took it easy...Monday I did my first 'Guided Workout', which was something I'd researched about this watch and looked forward to trying.  The workout downloads to the watch, then you start the activity and it counts down each exercise and gives you your time and heart rate and calorie expenditure....it was really great.  I burned almost 250 calories in 26 minutes and I don't doubt the accuracy of that.  It was a really hard workout that I felt really proud of afterward...and if it weren't for my wrist tracking my progress and effort level, I don't think I would have worked so hard.  I was also really sore for a few days (I'm still sort of sore, but I've also done a lot of running and another guided workout this week).

As if this watch couldn't get any better...my favorite running app (Strava, which I was sad to stop using when I started leaving my phone at home) is now one of the connected apps with the watch!  It was just announced a couple of days ago.  I just stumbled upon the news today so I haven't tried it out yet, but I immediately connected my band to their service and now I'm super tempted to go for a run tomorrow (even though I just went today and I am prone to shin splints when I overdo it).

Everything about the watch so far seems extremely accurate.  My heart rate on runs is always in the 150s, which feels right (I always feel close to death on a run...no big deal).  It's tracking my sleep more accurately than I think my Basis watch did (I always knew I wasn't sleeping as much or as well as my Basis told me I was).  Unfortunately, I feel like it gives me low numbers for calories burned, but it's probably accurate, and my pant size and eating habits definitely reflect it.  If only I could get my motivation for avoiding snacks and alcohol in check, I'd be at a perfect weight.  One thing at a time.

All in all, I'm quickly falling deeper and deeper in love with this watch.  It's perfect for anyone who is as obsessed with gadgets as I am and wants a way to better track their progress with fitness.

Crap!

I've written every day for a month and a half and I just randomly forget to write a post yesterday.  Steve got home, that'll be my excuse, but it's not a good one considering he fell asleep on the couch at 8:30 and I watched TV and went to bed an hour later.  There was no reason for me to neglect this other than just complete mindlessness.  Damn it.

I'm in Barnes n Noble for the first time in over a month writing in my journal, which is what made my mind make the connection that I forgot to write a post.

Have I mentioned my plan of staying up from 10-midnight to start writing?  It's going to be rough for a little while, it'll take some getting used to...I was tired enough for bed last night at 8, but I'm prepared to work at it and I hope my body just adjusts to it and it becomes an easy habit.  I just can't think of any other time to fit it in, and I'm sitting here watching people read and write and work on homework and there's no place I'd rather be.  And I want to do this forever.  So it'd be nice if I could eventually do this for a living.  It's extremely unlikely, I know, but I don't care.  It's what I want.

So...NANOWRIMO is less than a week away and I've never done it before, but it seems like a good time to dive in and try it out.  Here's the thing...with both my desire to start a new project and my need to make a habit of writing every evening and wanting to make the 10-12 thing a habit, it just seems like the perfect time to try accomplishing the 50,000 words in 30 days.  What's stopping me?  If I sleep until 6 or 6:30 it's a smaller amount of sleep than they recommend, but I really don't have any other time of day to do this.  And it'll be my corner of the day...something I do for me...so I don't foresee it being detrimental to my health or anything.

Maybe I should go look into NanoWriMo strategies...and sign up on their page.  Gotta say, I'm pretty psyched.

Coffee after dinner...that's how I plan to make this happen...in the beginning at least.  And I have my trusty awesome 8 inch tablet (Asus VivoTab) with the great Zagg keyboard and OneNote program to jot down ideas on my soon to come Samsung Note 4...I sound like a commercial, I know, and it's a little disgusting, but I love gadgets.  In a serious way.  They have always been something I've loved so I'm pretty thrilled with the fact that so many of them exist now and they're so popular in general.  I was the type who wanted a calculator watch, because who wouldn't want the ability to easily multiply 124 by 7 on your wrist whenever you need to?  I wasn't even the nerdy math type, I just liked the thought of how convenient that would be.  Of course, I had one and barely used it.  Then I begged my dad for a cell phone back when they first came out.  Begged him.  Because how awesome would it be to be able to call my friends wherever I was?  I was only 12 or 13 and had maybe one or two friends, but that didn't stop me from wanting one so bad.  Imagine my delight when the iPhone came out...and then the iPad...they created more competition too, so everyone is stepping up their game, hence the fact that I'm switching to Windows tablets and the Note 4 Android phone.  And I'm an adult now with the same giddy craving for gadgets and the money to buy them with (irresponsible purchases, yea, but I don't get pedicures or highlights in my hair, or massages, so there's that).

Time to go over to the NanoWriMo page.  Wish me luck.

I also need to run tonight...it has been 6 days since the last time I've exercised...almost a record for laziness.