Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Since I’ve found Runner+, I hadn’t logged onto the Nike+ website for a while. I thought I’d check out the Nike+ website to see how they’re doing and to see if they released that cool Nike+ watch that I had read rumors of months ago. Their site is still a clunky Flash site that is difficult to use. Instead of the Nike+ watch, they were advertising the Nike Amp+, which is useless to me. Worse still, I found a link to buy a replacement sensor.

Cool, I thought! I needed a replacement sensor and I ended up buying a whole new Nike+ kit for twenty dollars at the Apple store. I could use the replacement sensor on my old kit and give it to Mike or my sister. I clicked to add the sensor to my shopping cart and this is what I found:

$19?! Are you kidding me?! You expect me to pay one dollar less than an entirely new kit?! Really?!

Every time I start to like Nike (I was loving my Air Zoom shoes), they do something like this and make me HATE them all over again.

Kiss my a$$, Nike, I’m buying a Garmin Forerunner 50!

Update 02-22-09: It has been a year and a half since I wrote this entry and I can’t believe how WRONG I was. Firstly, the sensor all by itself is TEN dollars less than a whole kit. I kind of got a little confused there.

More importantly, I LOVE my Nike+. Not only did I NOT buy the Garmin Forerunner 50 (doesn’t work with a Mac), I’ve bought TWO Nike+ sensors. They each have lasted about a year. I keep the sensor in my running shoes all the time, so it gets a lot of work. Twenty dollars a year is totally worth it.

Two weeks ago, the indicator on my Nano said that my sensor battery was low. I didn’t even flinch. I immediately got myself to the Apple store and bought a new sensor without grousing at all. I love my Nike+ that much. Garmin just haven’t figured out the social aspect of Nike+ and I’m beginning to think they never will. Nike UNDERSTANDS that I want to race against other people every week.

Whenever I run, it’s ALWAYS with my Nike+ and Nike+ running shoes. I have been hard on Nike in the past, but honestly I LOVE my Nike+.

With as much running as Mike and I do, we go through a lot of shoes. Mike, obviously has more of a problem with this because of his feet. I only have two pair in the pile. My OLD Rykas that are beyond use and the Dr. Scholls that never really worked for me.

Who IS Dr. Scholl, anyway? Was he a real person or just a company mascot? Wikipedia says he was a real person:

• William Scholl – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The company was founded by William Mathias Scholl, who was born in 1882 and graduated from Illinois Medical School in 1904, thereby becoming a doctor (podiatrist). Scholl and his company invented a number of foot care products, which he marketed with his company after 1906. These include the Foot Eazer, the Zino Pad, rubberless stockings, Foot Wings arch supports, and Ball-O-Foot Cushions. The first company retail store was opened in 1928. William M. Scholl passed away in 1968 at the age of 86, leaving the company to his nephews, William H. Scholl (1920-2002) and Jack E. Scholl (1926-2006). The company had an initial public offering in 1971.

Well, his running shoes didn’t help me at all.

Right now, I’m wearing Nike+ Air Zooms. I like them because they work with my Nike+, but they have an added benefit of being LIGHT. They weigh half what my Rykas weigh. It’s a plus that they don’t hurt my feet, but mostly I like them because they log my miles without a funny thing on the top of my shoe.

This pile is going to GoodWill. They might not be good for running anymore, but someone might be able to use them to mow the lawn.

Update 11-06-13

These journals are no longer for sale, but the forms are still available to download so you can make your own.

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I created myself a yearly journal and I realized that I liked it so much that I wanted all of you to be able to have one as well. This book has a page for each week of the year to track your calories, exercise and how many healthy foods you’re eating.

If you follow Weight Watchers or track your calories the old fashioned way, this form makes things very easy. It has been available for download since June and if you want to make a book like this for yourself, you can do it with this Excel spreadsheet:

• Starling Fitness » Weight Watchers Form

If you’re not spreadsheet savvy, you can buy this journal from Starling Fitness.

The journal includes the following:

• Non-descript black cover
• Directions on how to use this book
• One sheet of stickers (for those weeks that you do an EXCELLENT job!)
• 12 monthly pages (to document your measurements, paste your monthly photo and write your monthly evaluation)
• 54 dated weekly pages
• 3-Hole Punch Binder Rings (you can easily remove pages without ripping them out)

The absolute coolest thing about it is you don’t have to wait until January 1st to use it. I will print it up with starting the month you specify, so you can use it immediately.

The journal is 3-Hole Punched for use with a Daytimer or other binder that takes 5 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ forms.

Update 01-29-08: Here are some photos of the 3-Hole Punched Journal so you know what to expect. They also have the same non-descript black cover and are bound with three plastic rings that make it just as easy to remove the pages.

You can also remove the rings and put the pages into your Daytimer or other 3-hole binder.

Order a Starling Fitness Yearly Journal (3-Hole Punched): 5 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ for use with a Daytimer or other planner: $25.00 plus shipping

These journals are hand-made so they take a while to be made. I usually ship within two weeks of payment. Journals are shipped using the U.S. Postal Service and usually arrive within five days.

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Update 12-09-08: The comb-binders are no longer available, but I am still selling the journals in the 3-Hole Punch version. The current journals are compatible with the Momentum Plan.

While I was taking pictures for yesterday’s entry, I filmed myself running on the treadmill. It seemed like such a calm little video, that I thought I’d share it with you.

Download this video for your iPod

Next time you consider skipping your workout, pretend that a video camera is watching your every move. If national television was watching you, what would you do? Skip the workout? Probably not.

I run and I walk. I usually like to believe that I am doing “better” when I run than when I walk, but is this idea correct? Wendy Bumgardner answers that question:

• Does Running Burn More Calories than Walking? by Wendy Bumgardner

It seems that the most important factor in burning calories is DISTANCE, not speed. You may burn more calories with less mileage if you run, but it’s not as dramatic as being able to go that extra mile.

What’s the best speed?

If you can build up your walking speed to 5 mph, or 12 minutes per mile, you will be at the top calorie burn per mile and achieve the same burn as a jogger. If you are a runner, you don’t get any calorie burning benefit by going faster than 10 minutes per mile or 6 mph.

Next time you’re tempted to kick your butt and go a little faster, remember that you won’t see any extra benefit unless you actually cover MORE MILES than you would have if you had walked the whole time.

I’m finally back on the treadmill after two weeks of sickness and one week of laziness. It’s amazing how quickly I let myself get out of the habit of running daily. There are so many people running that I’m no longer able to copy the charts on one screen, so you’ll have to click over to Runner+ to see all the results.

iMum dusted us all on Level 1 this week. The Level 1 race is very lively. If you’re starting out, give it a chance!

Level 1 Results 10-22-07

It was a close race, but bcharris49 beat out ajmiarka on the Level 2 Challenge.

Level 2 Results 10-22-07

Once again, gkoenig won the Level 3 Challenge. A special nod to cinziachi66 and ted for duking it out all week.

Level 3 Results 10-22-07

RicC is the winner of the Level 4 Challenge. Unfortunately, blackang is having a hard time choosing the appropriate level to run at.

Level 4 Results 10-22-07

Let’s give a shout-out to timmz, who has taken Level 5! There are still only three competitors on Level 5. If you want a smaller race, this might be the one for you.

Level 5 Results 10-22-07

Rasmus is finally getting a little competition on Level 6. He still won, but patcini and blackang were right on his tail.

Level 6 Results 10-22-07

Congratulations to all the competitors! Join us at Runner+ and show off your mileage!

If you exercise by running or walking, you can compete in the Starling Fitness Challenges on Runner+. All you need is an account at Runner+ (free) and you can log your miles there. If you have a Nike+iPod kit, then your runs will automatically be added, but the site will also allow you to add your runs manually. If you would like to compete against runners on your level, here are the links for this week’s challenges:

Level 1 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 0-10 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 1 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 2 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 10-20 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 2 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 3 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 20-30 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 3 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 4 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 30-40 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 4 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 5 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 40-50 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 5 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

Level 6 weekly challenge from Starling Fitness. This level runs between 50-60 miles a week.

• Challenge: Starling Fitness Level 6 (11-05-07) – RUNNER+

This website is supposed to be funny. Yeah, it’s kind of funny, but for me, it hits too close to home.

Crying, while eating

All of them seem staged and the “reasons” they’re crying range from silly to hilarious. The only problem is, I really turn to food when I’m sad. It actually lifts my mood and I can feel it working about halfway through a meal.

I have come to notice this pattern, so I have a bunch of alternate activities that I can try to make myself feel better: reading, writing, exercise, talking to friends, setting a schedule, and focusing on work. Just because I’ve noticed the pattern, however, doesn’t mean I’m free from it. It just means that I feel guilty AND sad when I resort to food.

Via: Twitter / Daniel Johnson, Jr.: This is still one of the si…

If you are abusing your body by bingeing, purging or starving, you are teaching your child how to have an eating disorder. I learned how to binge by bingeing with my father. This postcard from PostSecret showed me how my father must have felt when he realized he had passed his eating problems on to me.

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PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.