I have never considered myself a runner. A cyclist, yes (over 25,000 miles thus far) but a runner? I have always absolutely HATED running.

Some of you will remember that I recently had a minor medical scare and it inspired me to give running a go. We are now a month and 10 days into my running experiment and I actually look forward to my runs. I have only missed running two days in that time. One was when I was going back and forth trying to figure out which shoes I liked better and finished a run with a back ache. I skipped the next day so I didn’t aggravate it. The other skipped day was yesterday. I have ran over 40 miles in January thus far… and the winning shoes are the Vibram Fivefingers.

After finishing my fourth 5K since the New Year started and getting a PR (personal record) for time on Saturday, I decided to take a day off. I didn’t really feel like I needed it but wanted to makes sure again I didn’t overtrain. I am really looking forward to my run today… and that is a situation I have never been in.

For those who didn’t read my earlier post, the running goal is a half marathon (13.1 miles) in November of this year. Well, that is the race goal, but not the life goal. The life goal is to be fit… period. To that end, I have already dropped 13 pounds and although I think weight is a simplistic health measurement, it is a visible one.

I have to take some time though and shout the praises of my Apple Watch. I am one of those who doesn’t chase the latest gadgets. It was fitting that I would get an Apple Watch with version 5… but I didn’t get it for the “coolness” factor. I got it because I read about how it could be used for monitoring various health aspects.

The ability to tie it to a bluetooth blood pressure cuff encourages me to check it daily. The “rings” is a feature that surprised me with how useful it has been. Tracking how much exercise, calories moved and time spent standing is a gamification aspect that absolutely works. When I see I have just a bit to go to finish one of my rings, I get off the couch and “get ‘r done.”

In addition, the Awards are cool.

Just the latest of many cool awards. This is a game worth playing.

by Chris Doelle