Hoh, Liza, Ward and Alta Run A Race

I spent a good part of the last year trying to decide if I should invest in an activity tracker. I did online research, watched videos, read reviews. To be honest, my interest was mainly in the FitBit line of trackers and this past week I finally bit the bullet and got myself a FitBit Alta.

Renee had been trying to convince me to get a Garmin Vivo-Something-Or-Other like she has, but I was reluctant due to its size and the fact that it has a digital monkey that you have to keep alive by being active. She did manage to convince Lori and Paula though, who are now both proud monkey mamas. 

I can't handle a dead monkey on my conscience. The monkeys come with names and you get attached like you would with a pet. Renee already killed her first monkey (Todd) and is now responsible for Liza. Lori has Ward and Paula ended up with Hoh. I think we've reached the bottom of the barrel with our Hoh jokes, but if you think of some new ones I'd love to hear them.

The only creature my Alta has to keep track of is me and so far it's been doing a great job. There are daily goals for steps, calories, distance, sleep, water, weight and activity and if you are the least bit OCD you feel like you have to reach them all. They turn a lovely shade of green when they're completed and there's nothing worse than looking at your app and seeing one goal in yellow while all the rest are green. Then you start running on the spot while you brush your teeth or putting laundry away one sock at a time. Anything to up those numbers.

Our first official race with our new running bling was the Mundy Pond 5 K. I was going to sit this one out but Paula has this idea in her head that because I suggested the half marathon and the Tely, we have to run 37 kms in races of her choosing as well. 

Thanks for the awesome photo George!

At the Saturday morning group run, Renee made the mistake of asking me to push her to finish the race in 35 minutes, a comment she regretted the second we approached the start line Sunday morning, but there was no going back. The four of us started out together but with the 496 other runners all crowded close, we ended up split into pairs. I ran with Renee and Lori ran pretty close behind with Paula. There was a lot of swearing (not sure if it was directed at me or the situation in general) and even though Renee was 21 seconds shy of her goal, she did get a PB, as did Paula. Monkeys were fed bananas, step goals were met and no Hoh's were harmed.

Since there were more than three people in our age groups we didn't get medals but Paula did win a prize - a Tely 10 belt she plans on wearing when she runs the race in July. I noticed that it has a nice sized pouch for carrying Rice Krispie cookies.

Speaking of which, I'll soon have to whip up a batch. Our next race is the Harbour Front 10k which is also the first long run of our half training. It's only three weeks away which means our training starts two weeks from today. Hear that girls - TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!!! Not sure where the time has gone but surprisingly I'm looking forward to starting the whole process. Maybe it's the PB's or maybe it's the spring-ish weather but we all seem to be in the same frame of mind and are ready to give this all we have.

Maritime Race Weekend, here we come!