Gear review: polar M400

I was so blessed to have won a polar giveaway contest this week. It seems a dream come true as a running watch is something I've always wanted but they are all so pricey and there are so many options. How do you choose? Easily. Win one! 

So it was announced Tuesday and I passed along my mailing address in anticipation. 

To say this week was crazy is an understatement. The last 2 weeks before Christmas the kids are crazy, filling in for missing staff, a crazy snowstorm Thursday which led to running kids out to the road to their parents as cars were in ditches and across the road, add in finding out my pregnant best friend was having an emergency c section in Waterloo as baby girl's heart rate dropped, to having to push my car out of the snow...yeah. It was a week. So getting home Friday from work and seeing a package at the door was so exciting. 

First, before all else, I had to take a selfie 

I knew I wanted to get in a run (treadmill as it was 6 by then and pitch black) before I got too hungry. 

Post run I opened my watch and started playing. 

It's so simple and easy to use. I'd read a few reviews online once I found out id won it and I mirror a lot of what I'd read. 

It's light. A little large on a slim female wrist such as mine but I like big watches. 

It's comfortable, I could easily wear it 24/7 as intended. Not certain about during showers, but I slept in it last night and that was fine. Though I may not do so regularly. 

It's more than just a running watch. It tracks your activity levels and syncs with an app on the iPhone with just the press of one button on the watch. 

It is neat to see just really how often you are sitting and standing. 

Disclaimer: Before you judge my amount of time sitting I have to let you know today I drove the 2 hours to Waterloo to see Ashley and baby Harper for the 12-2 visiting hours and drove the 2 hours back. I am so in love with my neice. 

I had originally planned on taking my watch for its first run this morn but when I got the text from Ashley to come at 12 that took priority. So we got back around 4:30 and with minimal daylight left I quickly suited up to run my subdivision 5k. 

It was about -1 so decent weather but for some reason the roads hadn't been properly plowed since our Thursday snowstorm and that snow has turned to slop on the road so my run wasn't overly speedy or straight or dry...but a run is a run! I love how big the screen is and so easy to read. It also beeps every "lap" which I've set to 1km to let me know my splits. 

It's nice to have the freedom to run without my iPhone if I want. I used to use mapmyrun and hear I can sync my watch with my mapmyrun so I can keep tracking with the app. The downfall to that is I will miss my music and the safety of find a friend when I'm lost and so my parents can track me in a race. But be read the polar M400 has a "return to start" feature when you're running and lost it helps you get back to where you started. I also know I can still bring my iPhone if I wish but I don't have to. Come winter I try to run headphone free anyway for safety. 

My watch won't freeze like my iPhone or take on water (water resistance to 30m). Consistent, visible feedback, much more accurate Gps than mapmyrun. 

Workout summary 

I like the reminder of my daily activity and how to reach it with suggestions such as walking or jogging for a set time. 

I love how personalized I can make it with 4 different options for main watch face, personalized sport profiles for what I normally partake in. Personalized goals. 

I mean, it's the first and only watch of this  type I've ever had but I have no complaints, I love it. 

It also came with a heart rate monitor that I'm excited to try out. It came with a usb cable to connect to my computer to sync workouts, set goals, track activity, personalize sports and favourites. And that's just what I've learned so far in less than 24 hours. 

It's so simple yet smart, user friendly yet complex, big and easy to read yet light. I can't wait to learn more and play more. 

Plank a day: week 1

So I've officially been plank a day-ing for one week now, 7 days. 

Planks are a weak spot for me. Okay, core is a weakness in general so I figure planking every day will do nothing but help me. I've also decided that the minimum I will allow myself is 1min. I've been tracking my progress in my notes:

As you can see I started off pretty good and was showing progress daily. Then Sunday hit. I don't know what happened but for the next 3 days my planks were brutal. It was all I could do to make it to that minute. 

Fast forward to today. I've learned that if I'm feeling good to ride it out until I no longer can hold on, and then give it ten more seconds. I can usually tell whether it's going to be a good one or not by the first 10 seconds. I could tell today it would be good. I like to watch my progress and can't wait to see my planks go beyond 2 minutes and then...who knows! 

Hydration review: reload

I chose to try this one as the package was small and the flavour said watermelon. Mmm 

It says to mix with 10oz but I put it in a bottle that's likely just over 20oz and even then the product likely could have been watered down more. 

It needed to be well mixed for a little while and came out looking like this.

It tasted delicious! Very sweet which I like. Almost reminded me a bit of bubblegum floride. I understand that may not sound appealing but if you're looking for a yummy taste it's got it. I may tire of it as it was sweet but zero sugar content. 

It did the trick. I'm a satisfied customer. 

I'd potentially purchase it. 

Race review: Santa shuffle 5k

I love the santa shuffle. This is the second year I've done it. Last year I ran with my two friends, Andrea and Chris. 

This year I decided to sign up as my run club has this run as their graduation run for the 5k group. 

Some members of the run club. 

I also offered in passing to the run club my colleague and I started at school if any of the kids wanted to run it id run with them. So that brings us to today. My run club includes a colleague and a parent from school so they both joined with their kids and another student came too. 

I love the Santa shuffle for many reasons:

-it supports the Salvation Army and they do a lot of great things in the community. 

-it's so low key and accepting. Sure you have the handful of hardcores but for the most part people are dressed festively and having fun! I love wearing ridiculous things and having fun stuff on. Remembering the love of running, not just the competitive side. 

Note my children's elf costume from the dollar store. Including elf shoes with bells. My genius moment included cutting the bottom off as to not slip. They stayed on the whole time but were a little worse for wear by the end. 

-it's not chip timed. Like above mentioned, low key and laid back. 

-still a "real" race with bibs and some of the nicest bling I've seen. 

-a great race kit.

-there's a 1k "elf run" for kids. They too get a medal. 

It was such a rewarding experience running the race with two students, one in grade 3, another in grade 6. They ran the whole 5k without stopping. It's so great to share my love of running, the highs the lows, the challenges and the rewards especially the feeling of accomplishment. All of a sudden their accomplishments are so much more meaningful than mine. 

An "elfie" with my favourite elf. She went and got this costume because I did. What a sweetheart. Except that it amplified the fact that I was wearing a children's costume as it actually fit her. 

And ran with this guy,(left) his brother ran with their mother. He was in my class last year and if I picked favourites it would be him. But I don't. :)

I'm so thankful for running. And teaching. When I can make those two intersect somehow the love just overflows. I've been running for just over two years and I wish I'd found my love of running sooner. I'm thankful to have a positive influence on children in healthy ways in hopes that this is just the beginning for them as I wish I'd found it as a child too. What a blessing to be a runner teacher. :)

Plank a day challenge.

Core strength is something I lack. What better way to improve it than with something I hate: planks. So I've decided to #plankaday and see the gains I can make. I'm already proud that day 1 was one whole minute as I can't tell you when I've ever been able to do that. It's all because of my Monday sometimes Wednesday bootcamp class. 

And today was day 2. A slight gain after a treadmill 5k. 

Hydration review: Nuun tri-berry

I've been receiving stride boxes for about a year now and for the most part have just been hoarding the contents. My OCD self recently just organized them into categories so I've decided since my winter runs are mostly treadmill runs I'll try out all hydration products...it's something I struggle with. I get tummy aches from dehydration but it's so hard to stay consistently hydrated. Especially with a busy job. 

So today I tried the Nuun tri-berry. I see a lot of IG friends endorse Nuun and I'd tried the lemon lime (?) flavour at a race once and threw it out. But berry sounds yummy, right?

I mixed it with more than the recommended amount as I find they are often too strong. It was fun watching the tab dissolve. 

At first I was not a fan. The taste was similar to the lemon line. It almost has a carbonated taste too it which I don't love. Even though I watered it down, in my opinion it could have been more watered down. 

The taste grew on me as my run continued. And no tummy troubles. No weird texture. Overall I don't hate it but I don't love it. Out of 10 maybe a 6 or 7. I'll keep trying!