Zip and Mighty Mouse Spend the Weekend Together

Hi kids!

It's Zip. The Fitbit.

I have had the strangest weekend. It was super relaxing which I guess is good considering it was a long weekend. Apparently relaxing long weekends is what people do.

On Friday, we didn't do very much. No early-morning swims because there was an after-work golf game on Friday AND a long run on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn and the golf game never happened. So Friday was a really quiet day. So quiet in fact that Céline didn't even upload my data at the end of the day.

She was probably too embarrassed by the less than 1000 steps she took. 

On Saturday, we got up early for our run. I've learned that it's taper time now so we only had to run 14k. Funny how just a few weeks ago the thought of running 14k would have caused my circuits to seize up and now I'm getting all snobby about it.

Like, omigod, we're only doing 14? What's the point? We might as well just stay in bed. Who only runs 14k? That's like for the last generation Fitbits. Losers. 

Anyway, so we ran 14k and it went well. She's like a freakin' metronome. Every time she uploads her Garmin data, her pace is always, and I mean always, 6:30min/k. Doesn't seem to matter whether we're running 7k or 22k.

I'm hoping to talk her into some speed work after the half marathon but I haven't pushed that yet. I've learned that she's not a big fan of being told what to do. She does, however, enjoy a challenge. 

Anyway, so we finished the run, she stretched, iced her shins, drank her chocolate milk and then showered. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

After her showers she started doing strange things. She went down into the basement to get a red bag. With wheels. It was kinda cute actually and complimented my green colour quite nicely. She started putting clothes and shoes into it. She packed some of her earrings and necklaces and she grabbed her makeup and her hair dryer. She packed some Larabars and even grabbed some of her diabetes supplies. They all went into the red bag. Then she took me off, placed me on the desk, carried her red bag downstairs...and left. Doug, the nice guy that she lives with left too. He had a black bag.

They didn't come back FOR ALMOST 30 HOURS!!!!

They took Dexter with them. Lucky went too. I was all alone in a super quiet house and there was no one for me to talk to.

Oh, except for that little mouse. He came out after they left and started dancing around in the kitchen. Silly thing slipped and fell into their sink. The sides were so high and slippery that he was stuck in there until they got home again and rescued it. We chatted a bit while we were waiting.

He seemed really scared that he would get in trouble but I told him that Céline was really nice and would probably rescue him by putting him into a tupperware container and letting him outside. Turns out I was right on all counts except the Céline part. She was the one that spotted him but it was Doug who did the catch and release thing. It was her idea but she said that her hands were full and asked him to do it.

Personally I think she was freaked out about finding a mouse in her sink but didn't want to admit it. 

Anyway, so they came home finally. Wherever they were seemed to be fun and exhausting. They collapsed on the couch for the rest of the evening.

Monday morning, as it turns out, was a holiday. They slept in a bit and there didn't seem to be any exciting exercise on the horizon. Céline headed out to see her family after breakfast to play with her wickedly adorable nephew. Even me, a mere Fitbit, knows the cutest, smartest and strongest baby in the world when I see him. Then, just as I was settling in for a quiet day on her hip, she headed home, put on what I've learned is her golfing outfit, and we headed out again...

...for an 11k stroll around the golf course. We played 18k together. Man, she's really getting better. She was hitting some pretty great drives and even hit a few that were farther than the ones by those boys she plays with. They seemed impressed and I flashed a little grin their way.

After the game, we grabbed a quick dinner and headed home again for a bit of couch time before bed. Such a strange weekend. It was nice to have a bit of time off but I'll be glad to hit the pavement again on Tuesday morning.

We're supposed to run 7k. Maybe I'll try to sweet talk her into 8k. 

I also need to talk to her about writing a blog entry about Rose. She's the latest addition to our little family. She's super cute, a lovely shade of pink and is giving Dexter a bit of a complex. 

But more on that tomorrow...

The View from the Top

Psst! It's Zip. The slightly exhausted fitbit.

I spent another eventful weekend hanging with my pal Céline.

Guess what we did?

We golfed.

We cycled.

We climbed to the top of a pyramid.

Céline insists that it's a figurative pyramid, not a literal one. From my point of view, it sure felt like a real life pyramid. 

Saturday morning started off the way every Saturday morning has started off since I arrived on the scene. 

We got up early. 

Céline pulled on her running clothes and clipped me to her sports bra. She headed downstairs and spent some time with Dexter. He got dressed in his special running outfit (a ziplock bag). See, he's not waterproof and gets cranky if he gets wet. 

She laid out her Nuun, water, salt tablets, edisks, glucometer and snacks for Doug who was going to meet her en route. She put her left earbud in (right stays out so she can hear the traffic) and strapped on her Garmin. 

Out the door we went. The first Saturday we ran together, Céline ran 18k. Last weekend she ran 20k. I guessed she was running 22k this time and I was right. (Fitbits are smarter than they look you know!)

I have to say that it's a heck of a lot easier when I know how far we're going before we leave. 

I settled in for the ride and got ready to enjoy the scenery and enjoy a long chat with Dex.  

Céline started off the way she usually does. She ran well, strong and consistent. But she was slower than usual so I peaked my head out to see what was going on. 

Omigod! 

I tucked myself right back in again, shivering and terrified.  

She was running straight into a wind tunnel. Directly from Alaska. It was incessant and freezing. It took my breath away. Head down, she stubbornly carried on, straight into it, for 8k. Finally we reached the point where we turned out of it for a while. Things immediately quieted and she sped up again.

Doug met us at 11k for the first pitstop. After a quick drink, he asked Céline where she wanted to stop next. "Meet me at 3rd and 8th. I'm heading into another wind tunnel and I want to get it done before I stop again." 

The next 3k were terrible. It might have been faster to walk. Instead of running a kilometre in 6:15 or 6:20 she was running them in 7:40. I felt so bad for her but I was shaking too much to be any help. Dexter was crying. We held on for dear life, hoped she'd make it and prayed that we didn't blow away in the process. 

She made it! She stopped for a drink, a blood sugar check and a snack and then headed home. The rest of the trip felt easy after that last stretch. I had no idea the wind could blow like that. And I had no idea that people actually ran in that kind of weather. 

When we got home, Céline opened the door, smiled at Doug and said "I made it to the top of the pyramid!". 

"What the eff is she talking about?" I whispered to Dexter. 

"She's training for her half marathon" he explained. "She has been adding mileage every weekend for two months now. Today was her longest run. Now she starts decreasing her distance for the next few weeks to rest and recover for the race. It's called tapering. She thinks of it as climbing up a pyramid. She's made it to the top - now it gets easier."

I thanked Dex for his wisdom (he has been with her for over six months now so he's know what's what. 

I climbed a pyramid on the weekend. 

What did YOU do?

Zip-a-dee-doo-da!

Pssst! It's Zip. The Fitbit. 

You have to help me.

I have been purchased by a madwoman. 

Do you know what she did on Saturday?!? 

She woke up at 6:30am. On a weekend for heaven's sake. After waking me up at 5am or earlier all week. Who does that??

She pulled on her running tights. I have already learned that running on a Saturday means that we're headed out for a run that is longer than the runs we do before work. Last weekend we ran 10k together on Saturday so I figured we'd be back home within 75 minutes and enjoying a warm cup of coffee while we stretched. 

She headed out along the same route we took last Saturday. So far so good. 

I've noticed that she starts off kinda slow. It seems to take her a few kilometres to warm up. She slowly found her rhythm and her pace picked up bit by bit. 

As we approached the corner we turned at last weekend, I smiled and prepared to congratulate her on being half done her run. I was also looking forward to heading back into a warm living room as it was starting to drizzle a bit. 

She didn't turn. 

She didn't turn at the next corner either. Or the one after that. 

When she finally turned, we were 8k from home, I had no idea where we were and I was starting to worry she was running to Toronto. That's about when Doug pulled up in the car to see how she was doing. She said she was fine, feeling pretty good actually, had a few sips of water and carried on. 

At 10k, she turned left down a street we have never been down before. She ran 2k down that street and then, if you can imagine, turned around and ran 2k back to the 10k spot. Except it was now the 14k spot. 

She pulled over at Doug's car, drank some water and Nuun, checked her blood sugar and compared it to Dexter (who, to my happiness, was along for the ride. At least I had someone to talk to). She had a gel, half a pack of fruit chews and headed off again. 

I had no idea where we were but home was nowhere in sight. And it was still drizzling. 

She ran another 3k and she actually got a bit faster with every kilometre. Like 20 seconds faster than she was running at the 10k mark. One last quick pit stop with Doug at 17k for a drink and then he left and she carried on to run the last 3k home. 

Twenty freakin' kilometres!! On a Saturday morning. Before 10am. 

Twenty one thousand steps. 

She's a complete nutter. 

She bounced into the house and announced that she felt great. Her blood sugar behaved, nothing hurt and her energy held. I'm learning that these are really important things. 

I am also learning that there are different definitions for 'sleeping in on Saturday morning'. 

Looks like I'm going to have to learn to love the wee hours. 

Zip's Easter Weekend Adventures

Hi kids!

It's me, Zip. Remember? The Fibit.

Well, I arrived a few days earlier than expected and I was able to spend the entire four-day Easter weekend with my new pal Céline. 

We seem to be getting along (that's a relief!) and I've already learned a few things about her. 

First of all, she's the most active sedentary person I know. It's crazy. She'll be all quiet and peaceful in bed for, like, 8 hours and then suddenly the alarm clock starts chirping and she's up. Next thing I know we're dressed and heading out for a run in the dark.  

Or a bike ride in the freezing cold. I mean I don't really track bike rides since I'm a pedometer but she took me along anyway. Probably to test whether or not I counted steps while she was riding. 

Well I'm pretty smart and I assure you that I did NOT mistake a bike ride for a walk in the park and I didn't count a single step. She seemed pleased with that. 

She also took me to the pool but I'm not waterproof so I sat in her locker. It was a little creepy since I was stuck in there with this guy named Dexter who kept crying out for her until she came back.  It was dark and she took a long time. I almost started crying too but didn't want her to think I was wimpy. Anyway, that's another story. 

So she's pretty active but then she'll also spend hours happily sitting quietly on the couch after whatever activity she just finished. Sipping her coffee and reading. For hours. 

Like hours and hours. 

There were two pretty crazy days though. Friday and Monday she took me golfing. I could not believe how much this lady walked. And she had already been out for her 5:30am swim. 

Both golf games took just over four hours and she walked and walked and walked. She also carried her clubs which seemed a little hardcore but she assured me it was actually quite comfortable and easy to carry them. 

On Friday she walked over 13,000 steps and I logged the distance at over 10k. On Monday she walked about 15,000 steps and together we walked about 11k. 

I've been with her four full days now and, according to my calculations, she had walked 55,000 steps and covered 43km, including a 10k run on Saturday morning. 

That's, like, a lot. 

Now, today is a work day so I'm guessing my job is going to become a little less interesting. She'll run in the morning before work which should be fun but she warned me that her job is pretty sedentary so I'm guessing I'll be having a pretty quiet day. 

Hopefully I can guilt her into walking around the block after lunch...

So far, my biggest worry is that she will forget to take me out of her pocket at the end of the day. Twice I ended up in the laundry bin before she remembered I was still attached to her pant pocket. 

Since I really am not waterproof I'm guessing I will eventually meet my demise in the watery depths of the spin cycle. 

Until then though, I'm going to hang with my new pal C and cheer for her on the golf course. 

She did well by the way...for a beginner.