running

Is it ever going to stop raining again?

| cheriarmour

If you are in a place where you have seen blue skies and you have seen the sun in the last week or so, please get on your knees and thank God.  Here in North Carolina, I have not seen the sun in over a week.  I’ve run in the rain nonstop.  And on Friday, I actually experienced my first cold rain in a while.

But whatevs.  It’s Monday.  It’s a new week.  A new day.  And here are a few things I’m planning for this week.

  • Make a list for everything I want to do/buy for the house. 

Moon and Lola StoreI hope you guys get what I mean.  But I woke up a few days ago and decided I hated everything in the house.  I hate the color.  I hate this couch I’m sitting on.  So I’ve popped by some boutiques here for inspiration.  I’ve been poking around the Pinterest.  And I’m picking out a new color.  ANNND as we do all of that, I will be photo-ing and taking pictures.  My mom knows EXACTLY what I’m going through.  She used to do this all the time in our houses.

  • Chicago.  I’m going to Chicago at the end of the week for a quick trip to run the marathon.  I’M RUNNING THE CHICAGO MARATHON THIS WEEK.  I don’t have a time goal.  I am not putting a ton of pressure on myself.  I am just going to run and have a nice time.  I have a block about this distance since I got so sick during Greensboro a few years back, so we’re not making a big deal about it at all.  Nope.
  • I need a new outfit for Chicago.  But I don’t want to break the bank so I need to either go to the outlets, OR (whispers this quietly) go to Dick’s.  Which is so irritating, but I don’t have time to do an order through my job, because I’m a big fat idiot.  I definitely need a new tank, I have a bra and bottoms, I need a new pair of socks, and I think I want to do a Flipbelt so I can carry my phone during the race.  Which brings me to this aside.
    • I’m not sure if I’m going to wear a GPS or listen to music during Chicago.  During my last long run, I relied on Kathryn’s gps, and didn’t have one.  We mostly talked, and it was nice to not be locked into my watch.  I wonder if I can just hitch a ride with one of the pace groups and hope for the best?  I’m interested to see what you guys think about that.
  • Write write!  I talked about this maybe last week?  Two weeks ago?  But writing/being creative makes me feel good.  I am doing more of that this week.  I am MAKING TIME for what I want to do this week.

Ok, so what do you have planned for this week?

What makes me feel like me!

| cheriarmour

Yesterday, after work when I realized I could sit at my desk for like another 3 hours and still not have everything I wanted done done, I felt completely overwhelmed.  I’d promised myself I would get out of my chair and hop on the treadmill for a few minutes, and when it came time, I was trying to convince myself that I didn’t need to, instead, that I could just answer more emails.

I was irritable, my throat was tight, and I just wanted to hide in a fort of my own making.  Like sheets and stuff.  Those were the best, right?  Except my mom would never let us sleep in them.  BOO.  So I hopped on the treadmill for a few minutes, and the funk, the fog, started to lift.

While I was on there, I got to thinking about things that make me feel most like me, things that ground me.

  • Painting my nails.  

IMG_3192I don’t have a ton of time, nor do I have a ton of money.  The act of painting my nails itself is fine, and I’ve perfected the art of gelling my nails so I get a little more than a day or two of wear out of my nails.  But something about having my nails done makes me feel so pulled together, even if I’m just wearing tights and a tank top.

  • Running…after the first few miles.  I think running can be tricky for me because I feel like such a fat idiot for the first few moments.  But once I hit my stride – once I sort of hit a good rhythm – which can be after 4 miles during a long run, or after 10 minutes – I feel like a lot of problems are a LOT more solve-able, and I can break things down in my head.  I’ve saved myself (and the world) from many a meltdown.
  • Doing creative things.  I like to write. I like to draw.  Sometimes paint.  Performing live.  And whenever I do any of these things, I start to feel most at peace and like myself.  During the time when we were engaged, I struggled really heavily with anxiety, and being able to look at paper, draw, address envelopes, and put things together really grounded me.
Card
I LOVE writing letters too.
  • Teaching classes.  I’ll let you in on a little secret.  Fitness instructors don’t always want to teach.  But just after the warm up, something takes over me, and I recognize my role as the exercise tour guide is exactly where I want to be.  I’ll smile, dance, touch, and encourage, and I feel like a million bucks after.
  • Cooking for people.  This also falls into the same category as creative stuff.  But I feel like I have purpose when I can cook for people – my husband, my brother, and his roommates, and have them enjoy it.  It’s the weird maternal part of me that I didn’t really think I had.
  • Being honest with my husband.  Spending time with my husband.  Holding Austin’s hand.  Playing and being silly with Austin.  Rubbing his back.  Having him rub my feet.  Doing our funny jokes, which are maybe only funny to us.  Going to the beach with him.  This is me.  This is us.  I love this stuff.  And I’m so happy that he can help me get both feet on the ground, when sometimes they feel like they don’t go.

So this is me.  This list is by no means exhaustive.  I will maybe keep adding to this and referencing this post.  But I want to know.  What makes you feel like you?  

 

When is it time to dump a friend?

| cheriarmour

First off, thanks to all of you guys who left a sweet comment on yesterday’s post.  I know I’ve absolutely overloaded you with commentary about our anniversary, so I’ll spare you more mushy gushy details, and instead, regale you with the tale of the blueberry cheesecake donut I ate this morning.

I’m not a really big donut eater, because as far as fuel goes, donuts don’t really score super highly on the nutritional density scale.  But since I’m a sugar addict and Rise opened a shop in Morrisville, I drove over after a miserable class at Flywheel this morning to check it out (and to check out the Fleet Feet that Bob opened out there next door).

As a complete aside, the class was miserable due to the fact that I’m a complete idiot and I had just a smidge too much red wine.  Working out after that much red wine is not fun, and I would not recommend it.

So anyhoo, I got the blueberry cheesecake donut with a diet coke which looked a little something like this…

via Yelp
via Yelp

And enjoyed it with minimal guilt 🙂 They told me they’re opening a Rise Donuts in Cameron Village, which is literally like 7 minutes from my house. I need to make a rule for myself that before I scarf one down, I need to eek out some effort. Like if I’m gonna eat donuts and an artificially sweetened beverage for breakfast, I at least have to walk to the shop from work or something. Or not…

* * *

When is it time to dump a friend?

This is one of those posts I started, then deleted, then started then deleted again because I wasn’t sure if it felt okay to write on.  But I think it’s honest, and it’s what I think about when I’m running and I’m interested in what you all think.

I’m not talking about a family member, I’m talking about your chosen family here, your friends.  I take my friendships seriously, and I’ve cultivated a seriously amazing group of friends (I think).

But what happens when I friend of yours becomes a liability, and you’re not in agreement with what they’ve been up to?  What happens when you tell a friend that you hate their bad behavior, but they keep at it?  What happens when instead of respecting your discomfort with the behavior, they try to shove it down your throat, and force you to accept it?  What happens when their bad behavior or bad choices could potentially, or begin to, affect your work.  What does it mean when, at the mention of the person’s name, you roll your head back and groan before you can prepare to see them or listen to what they have to say.  What exactly does it mean when you find yourself repeating the words “bullshit, bullshit, bullshit,” when you hear him or her speaking on their stupid and irresponsible behavior?

I guess I’m of two schools of thought.  I don’t need more friends in my life, so I’m pretty okay with ending a relationship if it seems dumb or counterproductive.  But I suppose I feel, or I’ve felt, on some level, that this person may have needed the friendship, would see the light eventually, and would stop dragging me into their dumb drama.

What do you guys think?  When is it time to throw in the towel on a friendship? 

Facebook | Twitter | Bloglovin

One week with a nutritionist, marathon training, and leg cramps!

| cheriarmour

Hola hola hola!

First, look at these really cute earrings one of my instructors gave me!Arrow EarringsI saw her wearing these cute delicate earrings on her last week, and I went looking online for them, but couldn’t find exactly what I wanted.  I liked them a lot, and I emailed her about them.  I was over the moon yesterday when they popped up on my desk.  Isn’t that sweet?

***

So remember I met with a nutritionist last week, right?  It’s been really really cool, to take some of the things that she’s said, and put them into practice.  I find that having someone to be accountable to really helps me to be super conscious of my choices.

After meeting with her, talking about food colors, and talking about my history with food and everything, she had me set a few goals for the next 4-6 weeks.

My short term goals for the next 4 weeks are to:

  1. Get to bed at or before 11pm Sunday-Thursday.  I know this is aggressive, so I want to start by getting in bed at a good time at least 2x/week. Typically my husband and I don’t even get into bed until about midnight most nights, and wake extremely tired.
    1. No playing on devices after 11pm. This includes iPads, iPods, and iPhones.
    2. If we want to have sex, we need to start earlier than midnight. This means on sex nights we need to be in bed even earlier than 11pm.
    3. I will engage in calming activities before bed**.  Reading a book, taking a bath, or doing some restorative yoga exercises.
  2. Get up earlier/get my workouts completed in the morning at least 2x/week.  Because I get to bed so late, I often feel too exhausted to get my workouts in in the morning, and end up having to squeeze them in around my classes or before the day ends.
    1. Get to bed at or before 11pm Sunday-Thursday.
    2. Lay out my workout clothes before I go to bed. **
    3. Provide myself with some kind of incentive, like coffee or tea, if I get up and complete a workout early.
  3. I want more green stuff on my plate for lunch and dinner.  I often find myself just packing whatever from the night before and completely forget a salad, some green beans, some kale, etc.
    1. I can’t eat my main course until my veggies are finished. Silly, but it works for me J
    2. If I want to eat more, I need more veggies, not more main course.
    3. Pack something green with my lunch, even if I’m eating something terrible, like a slice of pizza or a lean cuisines.

I’ve been really focusing on color and more veggies and was surprised how much better I feel like I looked in the span of a week!

Tummy Shot

I think the veggies are really really reducing bloat?  Could be my imagination though, but I like what my imagination is doing 🙂

***

And finally, marathon training is in full swing (even though I don’t want to talk about it because I’m still traumatized by what happened at Greensboro.  I just want to run Chicago and have a nice time.  That’s all I ask.

But after 15 extremely humid miles yesterday, I had a lot of trouble falling asleep last night.  My legs felt restless and tingly, and I repeatedly had to stretch before I finally fell asleep around 1 or 2.

Leg CrampsI picked these up from Harris Teeter, but ultimately, I think I’m going to pick up some Sports Legs off of Amazon, since a lot of folks in my trail and ultra running group have stated they have the same problem, and recommended this.

Okay, this is all a mouthful.

How was your week?  

Reader Question!

| cheriarmour

So I had a great question pop up in the comments a few days ago, and I thought that you guys could benefit from the answer!

Hi!
I’m a borderline overpronator with flat-ish feet. I’m not a runner, but I go for Zumba classes 3-5 days a week. I’m looking for new shoes to avoid the knee pain I seem to have after classes these days.
Would you recommend the transcend for Zumba I wonder? Or does it have too much traction for dance?
Thanks a ton!

First off, this is a great question, and I definitely encourage all of you guys, if you have questions for me, about anything, to ask. If I DON’T know the answer, lord knows I will try and do my best to find an answer for you!

And if you’re at all wondering what my qualifications are to even answer this kind of question, I have taught group fitness for almost 6 years now (eek), since January of 2010 officially with NC State, and I have worked for Fleet Feet Raleigh for a long time, where we are trained to assess and prescribe, so to speak, the best shoe for your most comfortable run.

Now, before you go and buy a new show for whatever activity you are doing, figure out what you will be doing with the shoe.  If you are a runner, you should be running in a running shoe.  If you are a tennis player, a tennis shoe.  Same for playing basketball.

But what do you wear if you find yourself teaching or taking a ton of classes in studios, like a Zumba, Cardio Dance, Step, or Kickboxing class?  A lot of folks tend to assume that you can just wear a running shoe for something like that, but that can be really tricky for two reasons.

  1. Running shoes are designed to go front and back, not side-to-side, or laterally.  There is a guidance line built right down the center of a running shoe that keeps that shoe wanting to move front to back.  So for a salsa, mambo, or any other move that you find yourself doing in a lot of studio classes that are NOT a bootcamp, the shoe is literally fighting you every step.
  2. Running shoes are designed to grip, and that gripping motion will tear up your knees and joints when you fight the traction and hit pivots, or movements similar to this one.  

So what’s a studio queen to do?

There are actually shoes designed for this specific thing.

Reebok Dance Ryka Dance

 

Both of these are available online – the first is a Reebok dance shoe, and the second a Ryka shoe.  I would link you to it buy Reebok and Ryka ain’t offered to pay me for it so I’m trusting you all to be able to find this without too much trouble.  But Reebok, Ryka, and sometimes Nike are the places I tend to head when searching for a good studio shoe.  The main difference between this shoe and a running shoe is that these are less grippy, hug your foot, and often feature a pivot point, a point right on the ball of the shoe that allows you to effectively pivot, cha-cha, mambo, or anything else.

Put any other shoe questions you may have in the comments!

 

Playacting at adulthood.

| cheriarmour

First things first.

I went for a run yesterday during the heat of the afternoon.  I am really and truly in the contemplation stage of becoming a morning person, and even though it seems really self-explanatory, I’m having a difficult time getting to bed at a reasonable time, and when I do wake up early, I feel like I want to stab everyone at least for the first 20 minutes of me being up.  I don’t know if there are like some tricks and trips for me to start becoming a morning person.  If I could honestly do something that would allow me to sleep less, I would do that.  But that’s not really a thing, is it.

Greenway
Greenway

I managed to shuffle my way over to greenway (yay tax dollars!) and ran in the shade for a while before shuffling back to work, completely drenched.

I still don’t know if it’s enough for me to start being a morning person, but I’m willing to contemplate it.

Do you guys ever feel like you’re just playacting at adulthood?

I do. I still do. And I’m not sure at what point I’ll start feeling like a “real” adult. I’m married, I have a house, I am gainfully employed and can freely move about the cabin that is life, and still, I feel like a kid.

That became the most apparent to me when, last week, I was asked to be on a panel for girls at a boarding school here in Raleigh, as the resident “women in fitness/wellness” person. At first, I wanted to say no because I don’t feel like I’m in any position to be paneling about anything. As we speak, I’m wearing the minimum amount of makeup to make my face passable, and thinking about the over under on whether I can sneak a nap in tonight and still fall asleep at the normal time once my husband gets home.

Am I the kind of person you really want to be talking to your girls?

When I spoke to one of the administrators at the school, she seemed so excited to have me and told me that the girls would love me.

Whatever you say boss.

I’m not sure at what point I will start feeling serious. Maybe it will be if or when I have kids. Maybe it will be when I don’t feel like I have to clean my house like a demon when I know people are coming over. Maybe it will be when I don’t consider candy and salads to be equally important food groups to my mental health. Maybe it will be when I don’t accidentally say “shit” in front of my boss’s boss because I dropped my work-issued laptop on its head. I’m not sure.

At what point will I start feeling like a real adult?

At what point did you?

Shania Twain Weekend

| cheriarmour

Hi!

It’s Wednesday.

And I feel like I haven’t gotten a single friggin productive thing done all week.  I keep thinking that if I pray hard enough, that God will magically grant me an extra like 8 or 9 hours and that I will be able to catch up on all the shit that I keep meaning to get to, but still manage to get pushed to the next day.

17 Moments Every Gay Man With Straight Friends Has Experienced

But I digress.

So I started off last weekend actually managing to squeeze a really short 3-miler in before I headed in to Fleet Feet to help them out for a shift.  That’s always really nice to do because you sort of get to socialize and still keep on top of new shoe trends and stuff, and it’s only occasional.  The extra little surprise paycheck also doesn’t hurt 🙂

Saturday night, I put in work on the August schedule for the Y, and I worked for a really good chunk of time since I knew that I would be in late on Monday  While I worked, my husband also worked on some stuff, so it was a relatively quiet Saturday night.

Sunday morning, I woke up early for 6 trail miles for a group I’m starting to get friendly with.  I tested a Hoka.  I’ve been curious about that brand since my knee started acting up, and I know the brand has really grown with trail and ultra runners.  Overall, the shoe felt good, but I’m still having a really hard time with the way the shoe looks, so I’m not sure if I’m quite ready to make a jump.  I do know, however, that though I’ve been a Brooks girl for a good while here, I’m not sure I’m in love with the Glycerin as much as I have been the past few years, and that means that I may have to find something as Chicago gets closer and closer.

So the run was 6 hilly miles in the state park.  It started off well enough.  I was keeping up, not feeling terribly pain in my knee, and enjoying some conversation with some of the folks in the group, as we wound our way on single-track trail.  And then, BAM.  I ran smack-dab into a bee that stung me on the thigh.

“SHIT!”

Amy, who was cruising right in front of me, was really worried, but I assured her I was fine and that we should keep cruising.  There wasn’t a whole lot we could do anyways, since we were a few miles out already, so I just focused on taking care of it later.  Toward 5 miles, when I felt that our direction was shifting back up toward civilization, I was feeling food, caboosing our group, and suddenly, I missed have kicked a rock or something, and down, down I went. And hard.

“SOMEONE FELL, SOMEONE FULL, RUNNER DOWN!”

I was embarrassed, and simultaneously on the ground, and I didn’t want to hold the group up.  So I hopped up, and kept moving, and shook off the pain in my left knee, willing the adrenaline to take care of it.

HokaA few days out, and the knee is sore, and I keep having to scratch my thigh, which makes me look like I’m scratching my crotch.  I’m just a mess.

Shania Twain + Gavin DeGraw

So after the run, and after I was able to convince my husband to take me to Waffle House for a disgustingly awesome post-run breakfast, I made a quick run to Charlotte because Shania Twain was playing, and Gavin DeGraw was opening for her.

Now in review, you’ve got to know that Gavin DeGraw is up there as one of my favorite singers in the entire world.  He’s ridiculously talented and he told me I was pretty like 5 years ago.  Which is really saying something, because I wasn’t really like, in peak condition 5 years ago.

Gavin DeGrawI also tried to convince him, via Twitter, to come up to our box, but he did not oblige.  I’m still a fan though.  He opened with Soldier, and at one point, hopped the security barrier, and just sort of meandered about the area.

IMG_2561[1]Shania, now.  She was a total peach.  I’m not a huge country fan, but she was awesome.  She sounded good, she was very pretty, and seemed very personable.  But to be fair, she’s Canadian, and I’ve never met a Canadian that I was like, “hey, you’re just an asshole.” Not even Justin Bieber.  He, at the very least, has provided me with a lot of years of entertainment.

That was me.

What did you do this weekend?

I’m a terrible homemaker.

| cheriarmour

Hi everyone!

For anyone keeping up with my sober June deal, you’ll be please to know that I am still sober, and it’s such not a big deal, that there really is not reason to update you on it.  I feel good, and I think after getting over the initial fear that you’ve shot all your friendships in the foot by not drinking, it really isn’t bad.  I think Nene of RHOA recently went on Kelly and Michael to talk about her experience with her cleanse and she said this, according to E! Online.

“So I go and I have all these tricks,” she revealed. “I said water in a wine glass. Last night I went to the Polo Club here in New York and I said, ‘I’ll have a Red Bull’ and they were like ‘We don’t have a Red Bull but we will send someone down the street.’ So they got me a Red Bull and I wanted it in a wine glass. Everything to make me feel like I’m having a cocktail.” 

I totally agree, and have had a much easier time when I can go in with a trick that keeps me hydrated, and also keeps folks off my ass with questions about what I’m doing.  Austin asked me the other day if I’ll keep it up, and I imagine that after this 30 days, my drinking will look a little different than it did before.

Weekend Updates

I hope you guys had a good weekend.  I took a little break from the blog because with all the devastating news last week, largest of all, the massacre out of Charleston, I really didn’t feel like it was at all appropriate for me to be blathering on about the minutiae of life when a monster had taken the lives of 9 innocent people in Charleston.  The thing I keep thinking of is when I saw Stevie Wonder in April, and he sat down at his piano, and started his nearly 4-hour concert with Love’s in Need of Love Today.  This act in Charleston was one of pure madness and hatred, and there is nothing that’s more ugly or evil.  It reminds me to keep living each day to the fullest.

Ok, I’m sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Switching gears, this weekend was really lovely because I got to teach a bunch and spend a lot of time with my sweet, sweet husband, which we sometimes don’t get to do on the weekends as much.  When we woke up on Saturday, I headed out to teach a Cycling class, and then went in and taught a Zumba class straight after, while Austin tried to coax the lawnmower back to health.  (He broke it last weekend).  When I got home, it was naptime, and then I headed out for a very short run before finally cleaning the house, which had gotten gross over the week.

Sunday morning, I met up with Amy, who trains at the Y, for about 6 miles in the State Park.

IMG_0279 (1)It was hot and sticky, and the horseflies were out in full force, but we really zipped along, and I noticed that my knee wasn’t absolutely killing me the entire time.  I’ve been really afraid to go hard with a possible meniscus tear in my knee, but since it’s looking like the process of getting it fixed will be a really slow one, I’m staying cautious on it, but not halting all activity.  I’m really hoping, if I need a repair on the knee, to do it around the holidays so I can lay low for a while and start training in the late winter and in the spring for any late spring or fall races I want to do.

The one lesson that was reinforced to me this past weekend?

I’m a terrible homemaker.

And it’s not like I don’t love a clean, fresh space, because who doesn’t, right?  But the actual consistent action of cleaning up, running a vacuum, clearing mail off the island, changing out the Plug-Ins, sweeping the floor, and throwing in a load of laundry and timing it perfectly so that I can fold it while I’m watching Netflix at night completely escapes me.  It frustrates me because a cluttered space makes me really crazy, and I know it frustrates my husband as well, so I really really need to brainstorm a system where I’m doing something cleaning related each day so my house doesn’t straight up get gross.  I feel like I’m just not wired to do this stuff though.  I’d much rather be writing a letter to my grandmother, or blogging, or running.  Washing clothing?  Not so much….

How was your weekend?  What did you do?  Are you good at house stuff?

The Fitbit Surge

| cheriarmour

Hi.  I’m still sober.  Still enjoying myself.  Might kill my husband because he’s talking over my show on Bravo, and I’m not 100% able to handle that with the greatest of ease.  Saw this little baby snake last night while I was walking with Austin.

11412223_10100580707419653_6346048840898149942_n
Garden Snake – NOT a Copperhead

Now unlike my run in with the baby copperhead last year, this guy was a million percent not poisonous, but he was laying in the street, and I almost stomped on him before Austin stopped me and we sort of helped him over to the side of the street.  Once we realized he wasn’t poisonous, I touched him with my finger even.  Call me whatever you call someone who’s all about nature!

The Fitbit Surge

See the fitness schedules that I'm working on for April and May beneath my new toy?
The Fitbit Surge

So, a month or so ago, I got my hands on a Fitbit Surge. Before, I had a Fitbit Flex, which is the plain band that you see a lot of folks rocking. I really loved it, but last year, just before the holidays when Fitbit announced their new lineup, including the Charge, the Charge HR, and the Surge, I set my sights on the Surge because it was like Fitbit had reached into my brain, and came up with what I’d been on long runs.  A lot of time, when I’d been running with my Fitbit AND my Garmin, I’d often wonder how and when the company would come up with something that combined the GPS with the activity tracker.  Garmin had come out with the FR 15, but I wasn’t super keen on the look, and I really wanted something that I could stay Fitbit friends with all my Fitbit friends with – I wasn’t a million percent ready to make the leap to a non-Fitbit product.  Call them illuminati, or whatever, but they totally got me.

Surge 2

So I got this thing a month ago, so let me run down what it is this thing does.

This is the Fitbit Surge, the activity tracker that combines GPS with step-counting.  It can be worn all day, just like your FItbit Flex, but it also can track your workouts, and keeps track of your heart rate through your wrist.  The app keeps things fun, and looks exactly like the interface for the Flex, however, it includes the stair floor equivalents of what you’ve done.

IMG_0217[1]IMG_0218[1]

A few other points you should consider before you buy:

  • Unboxing is ridiculously simple, and that’s what Fitbit has gotten right.  You can take it out of the box, charge it for a relatively short period of time, and pop in on.  Fitbit has also made it really simple to set up the device, or set up a second device on your phone.  The site is really really fun too!
  • The GPS hooks up really really quickly.  One of the complaints I’ve had with my Garmin (that’s overall amazing), is that depending on where you are, your Garmin might take its time to hook up.  That has not been the case with with Fitbit.  Most of my experiences with it and running (which admittedly hasn’t been a ton since my knee has been acting up), have been 20 seconds or less.  I’ve done about  dozen runs in it, so it’s pretty decent. [I have NOT tried it on a run longer than like 10 miles though, so I’m interested to see how it holds up to 20-milers.]
  • You aren’t gonna lose it like you did the Fitbit Flex.  I’m not proud.  I got drunk and lost my Fitbit at my sister’s wedding.  Also at Elon Homecoming.  Fitbit was great, and replaced it, but because there was that weird band thing, it would just pop off and lose itself.  This one has that watch band, so it won’t just run off.
  • The price.  Eh it’s $250.  That’s annoying.
  • Notifications.  It’s smart, so it hooks up to your Bluetooth, and your texts and phone calls come through.  Honestly, it was really cool at first, but kind of annoying when you’re on the treadmill and you’re being notified of this and that.  Like…no.  I don’t want you to be able to find me.
  • Custom workouts.  Love this feature.  You can turn on a timer/tracker thingie for weightlifting, elliptical, running, hiking, and just a general workout.  Very very cool.

Overall, I think if you have $250 and the itch for a new toy, this is a decent buy.  I definitely see it making some cool improvements over the years – I would love to see color and a more sleek face, similar to the Apple Watch (come to MAMA with that bit of tech), but for us mortals, I think the Surge is a fun and really useful addition, especially for us runners who’d been asking for something like this from FItbit for a minute.

Do you have any type of Fitbit or activity tracker?  Why or why not?