Fitbit and sleep pattern tracking

I was mistaken when I thought that I had to pay extra to log sleep patterns with my Fitbit. I was delighted to discover this.

So, I've been tracking my sleep patterns diligently. I wish I were as diligent when tracking my calories. Fitbit makes this so easy: you just tap the bracelet rapidly for a few seconds and you're in sleep more. A note of caution: clapping replicates this, I learned I was in sleep mode at a Pirates game and had to run it through my shoelaces to keep it from logging my day at the ballpark as a nap.

So you get these neat daily reports. For more detailed reports, you have to pay extra.

Here's an good night's sleep (not up for an hour in the middle of the night)

A typical bad night: wide awake at 2:30

A free sample report they gave me. Nice, but not something I want to pay an extra $50 for.

Another Errandonnee-ful day

Errandonnee #5

Breakfast
... after an early ride before class.

Errandonnee #6

Health

I had a CPR/Heimlich and defibrillator class. I've always wanted to take this class, I had put it off too long. I'd missed the past few for various reasons, and I was glad to make it to this one.... finally.

I'm now officially certified to perform CPR and use a defibrillator.
I hope these are skills that I never have to use.

Errandonnee #7

Bike shop
I stopped in at Thick to see if they could remedy my recently acquired sticky shifter disease. I also wanted them to re-adjust my saddle, I think the nose position was the cause of my discomfort and I wasn't able to undo the bolt attaching the saddle. Someone had tightened it with man-strength. When I brought the bike into the shop and started telling Christy about what I was hoping to have looked at, I heard a hissing and looked down to see my rear tire deflating. Good thing I was at a bike shop!

Errandonnee #8

Lunch (2)

Amazing cafe'

Errandonnee #9

Shop (2)
I made a quick stop at the Port Authority. I needed to get my own ConnectCard. I was constantly borrowing a card that belonged to my husband for the times I needed to use the T.
(Translation: a ConnectCard is a debit card for our public transit system. The 'T" is our Trolley/Light Rail Vehicle system that runs elevated, underground and even in a tunnel under the Allegheny river.)

Errandonnee #10

Library

Again, I was sharing a card with by beloved. He endured picking up my copies of Daft Punk  and Dead Kennedys CDs for me for far too long. I needed to get my own library card. He told me of the strange looks he'd get from the hipster librarians who would look at the CDs he was picking up, comment about how cool that particular band was and then look at my husband in his suit and tie and get a very confused look on their faces.

Errandonnee #11

Bike shop (2)

I had to stop here to return tubes. I was given the wrong size. Twice.
Not only that, but this bike shop also appeared prominently in a Fracking Company's TV commercial. This bike shop is dead to me.

________________________________________
I was riding behind a couple who looked like they were on new Wal-Mart bikes. The rear tire of the girl's bike was almost flat. She needed air. I called out to her and asked if she wanted to use my pump. They were so happy and grateful to have some air.

I discovered Vannevar has a doppleganger. I encountered a man who was cycling in Chateau who looked just like him, but at about 5 yards, I realized it wasn't him. Uncanny. Of course, I had a big old "Nice to see you!" grin on my face as he approached. I ran into him again in the Strip later.... again, grinning like a twit.
I confused the heck out of the guy, I bet.


I also saw a young woman on a huge unicycle

 and here's the Bastille bike police patrol

40 miles, a new record.

I ran into Yale yet again. I think he recognized me this time. I missed Vannevar and Terry because I left the South Side probably just as they were getting there. I rode until after dark and by that time I was hungry and my hands were numb, but a great day of errands and adventures.



___________________________________
W00t! I got my 20K steps badge and might even get a 25K badge all in one day!

Also in the good news department: I'm tied for first place in the FatCyclist contest!

My thoughts on the Fitbit Flex

I haven't been able to ride due to the weather, so I've been working on a Fitbit critique. I cannot wait for the trail ice-pack to melt.

Things I love about it:

• It makes me move more.
• It has a 'silent alarm' to wake me and remind me of certain things throughout the day.
• I can track what I've eaten (I'm super lazy about this though).
• The food tracker reminds me of how calorie dense some foods are.
• I can compete with my friends.
• I like the word 'dongle'.
• It only needs charged once a week.
• I can track my cycling by putting the bracelet through my shoelaces.
• I love the graphs. LOVE the graphs.
• Badges! I can earn badges!

Things that I'm not crazy about:

• Tracking my sleep patterns requires a $50 upgrade to a premium membership. Boooo!
• The bracelet color choices didn't do anything for me. Too bright! I went with black. 
• I'm not comfortable wearing a watch AND the Fitbit. I wish I had gone with the Force model that has a built-in watch. I'm constantly looking at the Fitbit to see what time it is and getting disappointed many times a day. I really should have gone with the Force. I miss my watch.
• They claim you can shower with it. I'm not sure Fitbit had in mind the sort of abuse I'd be inflicting on my tracker. I take the bracelet off for my scalding hot showers as a precautionary measure.

Logging my food is depressing, it's not even 3PM and I'm nearly out of calories?

I much prefer this way of looking at my calories consumed vs calories burned:

Not in the 'goal zone' but close...

I'm eating well too! (never mind the English muffin with butter.)

Bottom line:

I have to exercise like a fiend to match my calorie intake.

I am Pavlov's Dog.

Monday, I wasn't 100 percent.. or even 66%. I had a bad case of fatigue and angry hip. So bad in fact that I relented to the pain and took an ibuprofen, which I take very rarely. I used to take 800 mg at the mere thought of discomfort, but over the years reading so many reports of how bad NSAIDS are for us long term, I've hardened up when it comes to pain. I have to be dragging a limb, unable to stand upright or I need to see bone sticking out before I'll pop a motrin.
This was a bad day. I didn't ride. I wanted to curl up in bed with a heating pad and take a nap.
Later in the day, I was able to limp around to the side of the desk where I'd parked the bike, I noticed the rear tire had deflated.
I'd only logged 7,000 steps on the fitbit. This disappointed me, but sometimes, we just don't feel well enough. I'd logged 24K steps on Saturday and Sunday, so it evened out, I suppose.

Tuesday, there'd be no riding. I wanted to take the bike back to Thick again to get my drivetrain issues ironed out, the cadence magnet stable and let them fix my flat. I dropped it off after work. It was also my last day with my personal trainer and massage therapist, Laura. She was moving out of state in a few days. I will miss her. My piriformis will miss her more. Discovering that I needed 1300 more steps to hit my 10K target, I made an effort to move around the house more at the end of the day. It seems wearing the fitbit is changing my behavior. I check the lights and feel a sense of reward when most of them are lit up and smile broadly when I get the 10K lightshow and buzzing. Awesome.

Wednesday, Mutha Nature blanketed Pittsburgh in a slushy, crusty coating of ice, even if I had a bike, it would have been suicidal to try and ride in this cold, soupy slop. I have a new habit of using the bathrooms at work that are located furthest away from our offices with the intention of logging the extra steps. Sometimes, I use ones located upstairs. If I become permanently conditioned to doing that, this will be one small step forward. Pun intended.

Thick called to say my bike was ready. They mentioned that Chris had 'made something special' for my bar extender. What? MADE SOMETHING SPECIAL? OOooooh, this, I gotta see.

I gather that Chris dislikes when something isn't quite straight or level on a bike, he noted that my rear rack could have some pieces put on to make the rack level. I could tell it's a peeve with him. He probably couldn't stand that my bar extender was off-kilter and made some adaptation to straighten it out. I have to admit, it was bothering me too,  so I can't wait to see this thing!

I brought home the tire levers so I could practice changing a tire on the Monster. I had it done in about 10 minutes, much better than my first try. I went back downstairs to the garage to put the wheel back on and Hubby called down to me to let me know that The Macallan was eating one of my tire levers. I need to buy a pair of new tire levers when I go to Thick tomorrow. Grrrrr.

My dog ate my tire levers.

The luxury of time

Pittsburghers suffering with cabin fever were rewarded for their patience with a delightful 52 degree day. Snow and ice melted and everyone was out and about. They were jogging, cycling, walking, shopping and eating out in restaurants.

Hubby and I shared a gigantic omelet breakfast at Pancake House before he dropped me off at work and I got the bike and on the road early-ish. I made sure to put my new Fitbit through my laces so it would register my pedal strokes as steps.

I decided to get over to Thick and see if they could help my cadence computer issue and take a look at my front derailleur. The chain was still skipping and it was having a heck of a time shifting into the small ring despite having a tune up last week. It was raining when I started, but not long after I was on the road, I removed the Cleverhood and stashed it.

 The ice was melting on the Mon.

When I walked into Thick, Adam and Chris remarked at how bright my hi-viz pink was. I think I like the hi-viz pink much better than the yellow or orange. I chatted with the owner of Thick (Chris), we talked about the MS150 and I oggled the wares at Thick while I waited for the Wrenches to work on Ruby. I decided to get a different Bar extender and the Oberlauda mirror with the intention of attaching the mirror to the bar extender. As it turns out the mirror fits just fine on my handlebars, I was told it wouldn't work when I tried to buy it a few weeks ago. Yaaa! Rear-view mirror is back! I like this one much better than the Mirrycle mirror I had before my grip-change. I have buttloads of handlebar real estate now. I also picked up a much needed ParkTool chain cleaner contraption.

I stopped at BigDog in another attempt to have some oatmeal for lunch, but I was denied... again. I opted for a coconut macaroon and a latte. I had to be careful with the macaroon and restrain myself from eating the whole thing at once so I didn't have a hypoglycemia issue later. I love macaroons and it was difficult to not scarf down the whole thing. Even if the oatmeal was available, I would have had to go easy on the sugary dried fruit.

The cadence computer still registers no more than 50. *sad face* The chain fell off while downshifting before the Hot Metal Bridge switchback. *very sad face*

On the EFT, a rider coming in the opposite direction held up his arm to shield his eyes and jokingly said "I can see you!". Smartass.

I ran into Marko going the opposite direction on the return to base, and we had a brief chat on the Duke bridge before we went our separate ways. I thought it was very nice of him to turn around and make conversation. The weather was so nice that no one is trying to get to a sheltered destination in a hurry, so chit chat is no longer a dangerous luxury.

I stowed the bike in my office and walked to the T station (the TROLLEY for you non-Pittsburghers). I saw this poor frame at the racks at the station and I had a moment of silence for it. My Fitbit vibrated and lit up on the walk there, so I had met my 10,000 steps minimum! However, it told me I'd only gone 4.7 miles. Wrong.
Only one jerk flipped me the finger while left-crossing me on East Carson.

I took the T home and was happy to ride through Beechview, my old stomping grounds. I hadn't been through there in a long time and it was interesting to see how things have changed on Broadway. I was able to glimpse the Beechview Mural as we zipped by.


I lovely unhurried ride, 17 miles.

Gambling with Fat

I like reading about other bloggers' struggles with weight and food. I can relate, it's not that enjoy watching them struggle. I discover tips and tricks and live vicariously through their triumphs over food addiction... sometimes, I'm inspired by them.

 

Inspiration

So, when Fat Cyclist posted a weight loss challenge to his readers, I perked up.

Here's how it works:

• You create a goal at Beeminder.
• Swear your honesty at tracking. (yeah, it seems pretty easy to cheat at this)
• Lay some money on the line. 

I'm hoping I'll be more successful at getting back to that normal BMI (that I was only able to achieve for a fleeting moment) and ultimately, achieving better eating habits and exercise regimen.

I need to develop a cue-routine-reward habit for myself in regards to non-cycling exercise. I'm really drooling over the Fitbit... I'd be the sort of person obsessed over getting all those LEDs to light up by the end of my day. I watched Charles Duhigg on the Colbert Report recently and became so intrigued by habits and rewards and developing good habits that I borrowed a book of his from the Library.

So, much to my dismay... here's my Beeminder page. Why am I dismayed? It shows my weight. I really should have set it up to track BMI. I figure most folks can take a look at me and determine I'm on the pudgy side without the benefit of charts, graphs and numbers, so I need to stop minding so much that folks know how much I weigh.

A Reward System.

The other day, I was looking at cycling clothes. I like the idea of cycling in non-spandex clothes, but I'm not interested in returning to work in a dress riddled with sweat stains. Ewww. I found a blog that promoted the Perfect Pants, so I checked out these pants... made with Schoeller Dryskin fabric that dries quickly, repels water and does your taxes. They make tailored skirts out of this stuff too.
They're damned expensive, clothing made from this crazy, space-age Jetson's fabric... so I put them on my "I should save these as a reward." list. Looking at the sizing chart, I need the largest size they make. *sad face* Really? I'm as big as a female cyclist gets? *even sadder face*.

• Goal: not to need the largest size they make
• Reward: the cycling pants made from the skin of aliens.