Nike Fuel Band...my POV

I've had my Nike Fuelband for quite some time now.  And I'd say I've gotten the hang of things for myself.  Most people ask me if it's worth the $150?  Or how I like it, what it does?

I guess for someone who's pretty active like me it's some sort of investment.  Like a runner that pays up to $300+ for their Garmin.  For those of you not in the know, a Garmin (yes the same brand that makes navigation systems) is a watch, that can tell you your heart rate, how long you've run, how far, your pace...etc etc etc.  The Fuelband is a bracelet, that lights up with the time, calories burned, how many steps you've taken, and your "fuel."  This is basically your activity level during the day.  And to me, getting to see my activity level day to day is rewarding.  So yes, for me it is worth it.

I can tell you for me, all I really look at, at the end of the day is my activity level, or my "Fuel."  Did I make my goal, and how much further did I pass it.  And, sometimes at what time of the day was I the most active.  And, when you make milestones, like the best Wednesday you've had so far, or hitting your goal 7 days in a row, you earn badges and a little man dances for you.  A cheap thrill to end the night and a cute little pat on the back.

This was the day that I ran a half marathon.  This shows, I was most active in the earlier part of the day, while I was running it.  And not very active afterward. 

This shows me that I went wayyy beyond my goal of 3000.  Here's one of the badges that I've won.

And here is the little man dancing for me.

For those of you that want to know how accurate it is, I'd say for the fuel count it is pretty damn good.  I know that if I have a pretty active day at work, where I was walking a lot and I hit the gym, I'll get around 4500.  By the way, and you can set your own goal.  And I know some people that look at their band throughout the day and see that they are a little behind, so they throw in an extra workout just to hit their goal.

Now, accuracy of the steps and calories...I don't really pay attention to the calorie count on any of devices like this, because although it can track your activity level, it doesn't know that intensity that your are doing it at.

As for the steps, if I'm going for a run I'll track it on my RunMeter App.  That has proven to be pretty darn accurate for me.  The Fuelband however is not.  Because I don't use that feature at all, I don't care.  But, people always ask me so, I decided to see.  One day after an 8.63 mile run I decided to sync my band to see what it said I did.  At that point it said I only accumulated 7.4 miles.  And the night of my last half marathon, it said I only accumulated 12.8 miles for the whole day.  And I know for damn sure I went over 13.1 miles.  Thankfully, when mileage is important to me, I have over avenues to explore.

Below is the RunMeter app I use telling me that I ran 8.63 miles.  Beneath that is the Fuelband app telling me that I've only accumulated 7.4 miles by that time.

Any other negatives?  One big negative for me when I first was researching it was you can't swim with it.  Boo!  Being that I love the water, and if I ever decide to do a triathlon again, I won't be able to track my activity while swimming. 

And, it does have a tendency to break.  I have an idea of what happened the first time.  The second time it just wouldn't charge up again.  So, yes I'm on my third one.  But, the redeeming factor is that it's never been a hassle to exchange.

Like I said, for me and my purposes, I'm very happy with it.

San Francisco Giants Half Marathon 08.04.13

Yesterday, I ran the San Francisco Giants Half Marathon for the 3rd time.  And, I'm proud to say that I actually did some training for this race! lol

They did change the course up just a tad, but for the most part you start in front of AT&T park, run along the Embarcadero, past Ghiradelli, through the Marina and Chrissy Field to right under the bridge and turn around and go back.

I started to get my Sunday run routine in order as soon as I noticed the date was getting closer.   And, I got an 8.63 mile run 3 weeks ago, so I was feeling pretty good about race.  I don't really get any race jitters for runs anymore.  After 5 years, I think it's just about routine now.

I started the race and was a little worried b/c my knee wasn't feeling right a couple of days prior.  I even took a break from my regular gym time starting Thursday.  So, I ran will the littlest of caution.  I was going to finish this race regardless.  By the time I crossed the starting line, I noticed that 6 minutes had already gone by on the clock, but of course, I also started my RunMeter app.  So, I was off.

I didn't stop until about mile 6 or 7 to refuel.  By this time we were along Chrissy Field right by the trampoline and rock climbing place.  And I was off again.  When I got to the turn around point, I noticed the clock read 1:19:xx.  I thought to myself, "Whoa!  I'm making good time."  I continued to do the math, 1:19 minus the 6 minutes from the start time...if I continue at this rate I'll be done at 2:26...we'll call it 2:30 b/c I know I tend to get a little slower between mile 10 and 11.

I stopped again around mile 8 or 9 to refuel again, by this time we already at the piers on Embarcadero.  I still had about a third left in my bottle, but I didn't want to run out later down the line and I just wanted to be prepared.

At mile 10, they had another clock and this time it read just over 2 hours.  Again, I did the math.  If I'm running about 12 minute miles, I should get in at just over 2:30.  And even if I slow to at 15 minute pace, I'll still get in at 2:45.  Ok, only 3 miles left...keep it up!

At mile 11, I felt my muscles start to tighten.  Only 2 more freaking miles!  At this point, you just go on auto pilot, and make sure your legs just keep moving.  Anything to keep it up. 

As I ran up the sidewalk toward the park, all I'm looking for is the open fence in the back of the park.  Where is this damn fence! lol  You can hear the announcer.  Ok almost there.  You see the people turn in and now you are really almost there!  As you get in the park you see the people in the bleachers and take the park in and see the finish line.  And as I cross, I look at the clock.  No way, does the clock really read 2:36?  Minus 6...what!   I finished in 2:30!!!  Then I finally remembered to stop my  run app.  And that reads 2:31.  Whoa!  I PB'd!

Later, I found out that the times were already posted.  So, we all checked our times.  I officially came in at 2:30:47.

My Replica Ring Medal

The Running Divas #runningdivasf 

me and my medal

The first person I saw when I finished, the running divo! lol Arther

The turn two award, for running both the San Jose Giants Run and the San Francisco Giants Run