Best Running/Cycling App: Strava

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I’ve tried a few different apps to track my runs and rides. By far the best I’ve used is Strava. It is very stable and collects great data. It also saves your workout data if your phone battery dies and you can upload files from a gps device such as a Garmin. You can pay for premium features, but for most of us they aren’t necessary.

One of the best features is the segments. This allows you to compete against others on certain segments of your workout. You can track your PR for the segment and see where your last attempt ranked. I enjoy seeing improvement over the course of the season. One of the premium features is a segment alert that tells you when you are in a sgement so you can hit it!

There is also a community feature that allows you to track other’s workouts, comment on them, and like them. It also will tell you if someone else did the workout around the same time. So after a race it might say “you did this with 10 other people”. Or on a group ride it might say you rode with John.

Unfortunately,  Strava is really big in the cycling community but not as strong in the running world. Or at least not with runners I know. I would definitely recommend using it as a runner.

Here is a recent photo collage that uses Strava:

Have you used Strava? How would you compare it to other apps? Which app do you use?

Test of Government

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This is a quote that Keith Ellison had in his book:

Humphrey said in a speech, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life: the children; those who are in the twilight of life: the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life: the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” Those weren’t just words for Humphrey, it was his personal credo, and I quote it quite often.

It is still a good question…

What is Your Crazy?

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How do you define crazy? We all define crazy a little differently.  I say Ironman and ultra-marathons are crazy. But some people say I’m crazy for running at all. We were discussing crossfit tonight and I called my younger sister crazy for her daily workout routine.

So how do you define it?

Google says it is someone who is mentally deranged or wildly enthusiastic. For many of the above examples you could go either way…

Summer Reading

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What are you reading this summer? My Kindle and my bookshelves have a ton of good books that I need to read. My Amazon wishlist also has quite the collection.  That doesn’t count the free book a month I’m eligible for and the new Kindle First program, where you can keep a book from their editors choice of books before they are released.

Being eligible for 2 free books a month it is hard to read anything else. Using the Kindle Lending Library, the book you borrow has to be read on an actual Kindle device.  You can borrow a new book on the 1st of each month after you return your previous book. The Kindle device policy is a little annoying, especially since I’m not a fan of their Fire products. The OS seems to clunky, I prefer the traditional Android operating system. I’m pretty sure I’ve borrowed a book every month that I’ve been eligible to do so, which is probably 2 years or so. The Kindle Lending Library has a ton of books of all genres and styles. Some are pretty short too. I’ve found some new authors and read at least 2 series of books this way!

The Kindle First program is newer and you get an email with 4 editors picks that you can choose from. I’ve read several this way and downloaded a couple of other to read. This program actually let’s you keep the book, no strings attached.

So, what am I reading? Over the weekend I finished Superior Death by Matthew Williams . It was a relatively short legal thriller based in Michigan on Lake Superior.  It came from the Kindle Lending Library. I returned it and borrowed First to Kill by Andrew Peterson. I haven’t started reading it yet. I did stumble upon Supreme Justice which sounded interesting and happened to be a Kindle First book, haven’t started it either.

I’m almost 80% done with Plaster City by Johnny Shaw, which I’m pretty sure was a Kindle First book. It started slow but has improved if you can handle harsh language and some violence!  I’m almonst halfway through My Country ‘Tis of Thee an autobiography of Keith Ellison,  our Congressman. I paid full price for this and it has been an interesting perspective into his life. The other book that is currently part of my thoughts is The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou, which I purchased shortly after her death. I used it to finish last month’s 30 day challenge of poetry reading.

I have a lot more books that I started and got bored with. What about you? What are you reading?

Starfish, Drinking Water, & You!

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We are often confronted with overwhelming circumstances.  We got lost in the facts or data points about a story.  We struggle to not only feel connected to the problem but have no idea how to help.  Or maybe we do know how to help, but think our little bit of help won’t have an impact. Have you ever heard the story about the young man throwing starfish back into the water?

Trust me it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the billions of people who are suffering around the world. What can I sitting in Minneapolis, Frankfort, etc do about a problem in Congo, Somalia, Iraq?  Let me make it a little easier for you.  You can support me and my endurance efforts and change someone’s life.  Every dollar raised through my efforts for Team World Vision will directly impact a person in Congo.

Did you know that people are dying from waterborne diseases? Illnesses that might not you and me off our feet for 24-48 hours are literally killing people.  A person dehydrated from diarrhea – drink water that only makes them  sicker.  That’s shameful.  $50 can provide that person access to clean water for life.  See it is simple.  You give any amount and someone’s life gets better.  $50 is a nice round number – but any amount, $5, $10, $100, $1,000 they all change people’s lives.  Even a dollar would have an impact.

Today you can be the man in the Starfish story, ” it made a difference for that one.”  Click here to donate, then come back and read the story.

 

While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.

He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.

If you donate today and write Starfish in the message box I’ll send you a special starfish story card and pin! Please take 5 minutes to provide clean water and make a difference for “that one”.