FitBit Flex Un-boxing: My New Activity/Sleep Monitor

Back in January I purchased a FitBit One which was then the top of the line item for the company. I had great success with it monitoring my daily steps/activity/sleep and when coupled with an app like My Fitness Pal where you can log food intake, additional activities and such it gave you a visual review of your day...how many steps you took (you got badges depending on the number of steps), caloric intake, caloric expenditure, how many calories you have left available, heck it even lets you track your water intake!

This was working all well and good until one day when I was changing to go swimming and I clipped the One on my swimsuit strap and forgot about it. These items were not water resistant so after nearly and hour, I realized that it was on my suit and I tried everything to get it operational again with no luck. I emailed FitBit customer support and they sent me a new one even though the damage was my fault. Unfortunately, the new One was defective and wouldn't charge so again I contacted customer support and they sent another one and told me (I had asked) that the Flex would be shipping out in about a month for those that pre-ordered. Well, that made me give the new One to my husband who doesn't like anything on his wrist so he wouldn't deal well with a Flex. So far he has had no problems with it. However it took a little over a month an a half for me to get my Flex.

My FB Flex finally came in yesterday. This is just going to be an un-boxing post but I'll provide some answers if possible in a follow up post after using the product a few weeks.

Fit Bit Flex in the box. Current price $99.95 on Fit Bit's website.

Contents: Small and Large wristband, Fit Bit tracker
(small rectangular item on left),wireless USB dongle,
booklet telling which website to go to for setting up
an online account and finally a USB charging cable.

So there's really not much to mess with or lose with this item. The dongle stays in a USB  port on your computer and when the Flex is within 20 feet of the dongle it'll automatically update the info in your account with your activity since the last update.

The Fit Bit tracker itself fits into the back of the wristband and
simply slides in with the arrow (can't see on pic) going toward
a plastic window on the band. The window is visible on the
picture above on the small band.

The tracker once it is seated completely in the wristband.

The closure for the band can be a PIA. The two connectors
(near top of pic) tend to be loose because they can be taken out
and used on a different band. This is one item that can
potentially be lost.

From the box there are currently limited phones that the Flex can sync with: iPhone 4S & 5, iPad 3rd generation, Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (my phone) and select other Android devices which can be found at http://www.fitbit.com/devices.

On a computer it is sync compatible with Windows SP, Windows 8 and Mac OS 10.5+.

One neat thig about this is that you can also not only track your activity, but also your sleep. That could also be done with the One but I don't know about the older models. There are LED lights that give you an indication of how your activity is going (there a 5 lights with each representing 20% of your goal). And the syncing automatically is a lifesaver for time, couple that with a range on online apps that this unit is compatible with and you should be able to track you daily progress. While you can't keep a food diary on the Flex itself, using one of the apps will forward the information to the Fit Bit Dashboard (your account) and it will use that information to update calories in, calories out and how many calories are left for the day. Also, on the Dashboard you'll be able to adjust your goals as needed. Lastly the unit is supposed to be water resistant not waterproof meaning that it can be worn in the shower or in the rain.

So, that's the unboxing of the Fit Bit Flex. I'll test it out for a couple of weeks and report back with a full product review.

My Spirit of the Marathon

 

Tonight the old man and I watched Spirit of the Marathon (2008) in preparation to watch Spirit of the Marathon 2: Rome (2013) at the theater tomorrow night. Just to give you an idea of how bad we want to see this movie we're doing a 4 hour round trip to go to the closest theater to us showing it. Anyway, as we sat there watching on the laptop (on Hulu they don't have rights to show it on TVs and such, just via the web), I started thinking about my own marathon training which is leaving a lot to be desired. Through no fault but my own laziness I am no where near what I feel I should be in regards to preparation and mileage. The max I've done since my last half marathon is 10 miles and that was a couple of weeks ago. I need to be at 20 miles minimum by  6 weeks from now. That's a lot to build up to in a short period of time plus a week of tapering.

I'll likely do a 12 mile long run this weekend and bump it up by 1-2 miles each weekend. The weekend before taper is a half marathon mostly on the same route as the marathon I'll be doing. I know that this is more and faster than I should be doing, but I need to do some catching up. The big test will be the week before we leave for Idaho (where the races are), I'll have the hubs drop me off at a little town roughly 26 miles from home...and I'll see how far I can make it towards home. This should be particularly interesting as this highway has most of the hills in the county...not big ones, but just hill after hill for about 2 miles.

I think I've had the same gumption as those followed in the movie in that I won't let anything stop me (although I may need a cheerleader or two). I mean really, if I was having a neurological event (like the one at 2013 TinkerBell HM) and just kept going just so I could finish the race and get that medal. If that's not gumption, I don't know what is.

I will finish this first marathon (technically the second because I hiked the Bataan Memorial Death March full course) even if I have to walk the whole thing. Thankfully it's mostly downhill...my quads and hammies are gonna hate me, and hate me even more because of the back to back torture of downhill running.

So I ask that you wish me luck and somebody please send a virtual smack in the head to me for signing up for a total of 8 full marathons this year!! WTH was I thinking?!?

The first two are givens but yes, I am willing to die to finish.

Product Testing: Salomon Speed Cross 3 Trail Shoes

So, I've been running my Spartan races using some old MizunoWave Ascend 5's. They were doing fine, but there wasn't much grip on the inclined walls if they were muddy and wet, plus the shoes were a half size too small which has caused me to have chronic runner's toe on my first toes (next to the great toe) that just don't get a chance to heal up.

I had been watching for shoe discussions on a couple of different obstacle course racing (OCR) pages and found that Innov8 Rocklites, Mudclaws and X-Talons were very popular and highly recommended for the "stickiness" of the rubber to help keep you up on the muddy incline walls and getting out of the mud pits. The other shoe I found mentioned fairly often was the Salomon Speed Cross 3. Now I like to try shoes on before I purchase them online (much to the chagrin of the clerk). But since there were no dealers for Innov8 in New Mexico I happened to notice the Salomon SC3 at REI on our last trip to Albuquerque. I went ahead and tried them on making sure I went up another half size to allow room for my toes. The speed laces kind of confused me, but after trying the shoes a couple of times it was no problem. I ended up purchasing them that day after checking online for lower prices while I was trying the shoes on!

I took the shoes out for a short trial run/walk yesterday on the local ATV/horse trail. Although it had rained heavily a few nights before there was little in the form of mud. When I did find any semblance of mud I ran through expecting to slip but never slipping and feeling in control at all times. In the sandy areas it was the same, just felt like I was running on top of the sand rather than sinking into it.

As it stands right now, I'm expecting some good results with this shoe and it's fairly aggressive tread and stickiness. I am kind of worried about the shoe draining water as some people have complained of that, but I'm hoping it's a non-issue. After a few mud runs/OCRs, I'll report back especially after I see how they clean up post race. For now, here's some pic of the shoes.

Before the excess lacing is tucked away.

Clasp pulled down and excess lacing tucked into
pocket on the top part of the tongue.

Pretty aggressive lugs, not sure what the little
round bumps do but the stickiness of this rubber
you can feel even walking on concrete!

Another view of the lugs...
sorry for the bits of mud!

Heel view.

Inner arch view of shoe and a better view of the lugs.

Disclaimer: Salomon did NOT provide me with these shoes, purchased them myself. Nor am I getting any form of compensation for this review. All opinions are my own.