Technology

I'm baffled by this Fitbit and technology in general.  It's amazing and I'm in the wrong line of work.

The goal on my Fitbit is set for 10,000 steps a day.  This past week I only hit that goal once which is fine since I'm off from work and there are days I just want to hang in the house and chill.  Right now I'm still enjoying watching the number of steps I take and Cody is too.  So a few months ago, I signed Cody and I up for the Ringing in the Hope 5K race.  Part of me likes to run these races.  All the people that you don't know all getting together to run for a cause.  (In this case, ringing in the hope is supporting the local charities and the people they serve in your community.)  I like the thrill of wondering how fast/slow I'm going to run the race and I do love getting Cody outside, away from electronics and get his blood pumping as well.

Cody was really excited for the race.  The last race he did a few months back he ran it in 31 min.  He was determined to beat his goal so to me that was really impressive.  I myself would be happy too if I could beat 34 min but I'm doing this race cold turkey again so I'll be happy if I tie my time.

Here's our race results from last year:  
Jen:  39:54 chip time  (12:52 min/mile)  215th place (women)
Cody:  39:50 chip time (12:51 min/mile)  176th place (men)

Last year Cody stayed with me.  This year he and his buddy took off.  But I wasn't too far behind them.  I could actually see them and I actually caught up with them at one point which totally didn't happen on the last run in the fall.  I think the boys were goofing off a bit in the beginning before the race started so they blew some energy out.  Then I think since they were together they sprinted at the start and started to peter out as the race went on.  I told Cody always pace yourself.  But does he listen?  NOPE!

So to get to the point of my post on technology.  My Fitbit must have picked up a significant amount of heart rate spiking as I was running.  Because when I checked my Fitbit this morning, not only did I pass the 10,000 steps (which I knew since it buzzed when I reached my goal) but it actually listed a new category on App which was RUN!  I was amazed.  I guess I didn't read up on my Fitbit like I should have but it was a cool surprise this morning to see that it picked up my 5K run. 

So on December 31st at 1:01pm I ran for a duration of 36:13 min (which sounds about right and if so, totally blew my previous race time back in September) and I had 6,025 steps.  So this little gadget has peaked my interest and is actually seeming to be motivating me to beat these goals.  Like I said Technology!  Very cool.

And to top it off, last night I was showing my friend Dance 2015 and 2016 not thinking anything of it.  I told her that this game is cool cause you're dancing but yet exercising at the same time but it's fun so you're not thinking about it.  But it's so incredibly exhausting for those (like me) who are a bit out of shape.

Low and behold, when I looked at my App this morning, there was a history of an aerobic exercise which again blew my mind.  I started it at 10pm which was right and in the process completed 1,103 steps and danced for a duration of 18:57 minutes.  Which again blew my mind because I was having fun doing it and never realized that I was doing it for almost 20 min.

I also can see where my heart rate is during both activities and during the run I averaged 165 bpm  and during my aerobic activity I averaged 117 bpm, and while I'm tying this post, I'm at 76 bpm.
Dare I look to see what's a normal range and what's not?  Nahhh.....no need to scare myself right yet.

So as I said earlier, I'm baffled by this Fitbit but I think I can understand how it does what it does.  I sit here and wonder why I never thought of this?  I guess I wasn't meant to be a millionaire. 

But I am enjoying it and so far it's motivating me to keep up the good work!

By the way, the race times aren't posted yet for this years race. Looking forward to seeing our times.