Month: August 2022

The culling continues: MyFitnessPal ain’t no friend of mine

Or: Subscription fatigue, Chapter 21.

A few years back, Under Armour sold MyFitnessPal to a venture capitalist firm. Recently, the app (not website) was updated to make the starting screen more convenient for premium users, and…less so for free users (who see ads instead).

I was okay with this, because free is free, and I tolerated the ads on the iOS version. I primarily use the web version, anyway.

However, the company has now announced that the ability to scan barcodes is being locked behind a subscription. It’s not a huge deal for me in practical terms, because I rarely eat new packaged foods that I’d need to scan (I’m trying to eat more natural stuff like fruits and veggies that are not canned, bottled or whatnot), but it’s something I do use occasionally. I find it odd and irritating that MFP would gate this behind a pricey subscription ($20 US per month or $80 US per year), but it’s obvious they are relying on a sizable chunk of its user base to pony up to make mad money from them.

I won’t be paying, and this is further incentive to find an alternative to the app/site, even though I have a streak that spans over 9.5 years:

Apps/sites I am currently mulling:

  • Cronometer (it seems decent but gates some stuff behind a sub, including a few things that are still free on MFP)
  • FatSecret (seems good, but the UI is pretty utilitarian)
  • Macros
  • Lose It! (yes, they use an exclamation point!)
  • Others, possibly

I am currently using Noom, which is paid, but that’s only for three months, after which I will drop it–it was more to motivate me to lose weight than to become a permanent diet/exercise tracker. It’s been working, too, or it’s just a fancy coincidence that my weight started dropping a lot more once I started using it.

As of today, I am 160.4 pounds, with a 150 pound goal. On January 1 I was 182.8 pounds. That, on my body, is rather chunky.

I’ll post again after giving some of the alternatives some time. I’m not even opposed to paying on an ongoing basis, but the cost needs to be really reasonable (Noom is not, hence using it strictly as a boost to get started).

Run 707: Horse poop detour

Today was one of those days when there just wasn’t a good time to run.

But I ran anyway, opting for an early morning start with the moderate temp/high humidity combo, since it was expected to get as high as 33C later in the afternoon.

In the end, the humidity, which started at 71% (!) defeated me and I only did 5K instead of a planned 10K, but at least I did a run. Plus, I did some decent interval running on the rest of the way around the lake.

Other than the copious sweating, the other notable part of the run was the start of culvert work along the Avalon Trail, which resulted in a detour along a horsie trail that ultimately connects to the Freeway Trail, then finally back to the main lake loop. It was longer than expected, at around 2.6 km, but it was kind of neat being on a new trail and much of the horse trail is, uh, rustic? Less groomed? And also covered in lots of horse poop. I encountered no actual horses, though. When it connected to the Freeway Trail, I thought I only had a short way to go before being able to get back on the main trail, but it went on much longer than I remembered. And this trail has no tree canopy at all, so the sun was blazing away on me the whole time (not forgetting that 71% humidity, too).

I actually posted fairly good times for the first three km, but by the fourth I could feel myself flagging and the thought of running the sixth km on the long, exposed Cottonwood Trail made me opt for the 5K. This actually worked well, since I was able to stop/start as I saw fit, making for a more pleasant finish to the lake part of the outing.

Weirdly, no dog issues today! And I saw the spitfire. She seemed to be suffering a bit from the heat/humidity combo, a bit. As we all are.

Oddly, my hip/left leg felt sore after the run, and not so much during. Not terribly or anything, but there it was as a reminder. If I could clone my right leg and copy it over to the left side, that would be spiffy. Short of that, I’ll just keep monitoring the left leg, I suppose.

The high is “only” supposed to be 24C on Friday, so a full 10K should be a lot more doable then. We’ll see.

Here’s a post-run shot of the trail around the athletic fields, showing one of the sections especially prone to flooding. You can see the fresh gravel used to level out the surface on the left (and how much was needed). The whole thing still looks unfinished to me, and would definitely still flood, so I’m hoping this is just the first part of a full resurfacing. This is also where the geese like to sit sometimes, for some reason. They were over on the shady bits of the field this morning, though.

Happy trails…until it rains (or someone runs the sprinklers).

Stats:

Run 707
Average pace: 6:06/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:39 a.m.
Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 30:40
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 22-24ºC
Humidity: 71%
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 154
Weight: 160.6
Total distance to date: 5187 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (295 km)

Walk 81: Brisk, with a side of lunging dog

Conditions were nearly identical today for the walk, though some high cloud helped shield the sun. I skipped sunblock and did not burn, woo.

I felt a little more spry today, though I can’t really say why, because in the morning I was utterly unenthused about doing any kind of exercise, then found myself running off/on enough to bring my average pace down to a zippy 9:00/km even.

I extended my walk to the lake, and it totally had nothing to do with having to use the port-o-potty there. Coincidentally, just before stepping into the port-o-potty, I walked past several girls and thought to myself, “I bet one of them tries the door, even though they probably saw me go in.” And then it happened, like it was one of those really bad episodes of The Twilight Zone that feature port-o-potties.

But the real capper came early, when I walked down Fader Street at the start and past The House With the Dog That Acts Like It Wants to Kill Me. After Friday’s run, this medium-large dog was being escorted on leash down the walk of its home when I trundled by on the sidewalk. Upon seeing me, it lunged, growling and showing teeth, because it is a Bad Dog with Very Bad Owners.

Today, as I was heading down the same block of Fader, I saw a guy with a hipster beard with the dog. There was more distance this time, so I slowed and watched as they crossed the street to a car. I assumed they were going for a drive, but apparently Jack Dorsey Jr. was just checking to see if it was locked or something, so they turned and came back, walking almost directly toward me. When the dog saw me, it again lunged. I did a melodramatic sprint to create more space just in case the leash played out more than expected, then stood there on the sidewalk, somewhat dumbfounded that this had happened again. Beardy guy and Bad Dog headed down Fader in the opposite direction. The guy never said anything or acknowledged me in any way. I still stood there, watching him.

He crossed the intersection and at one point glanced back to see me looking at him. He walked farther until we were about a full block apart, then turned around again, this time coming to a full stop to briefly stare back at me. I then turned and continued on my way.

Now I am contemplating calling the city to have them check out the dog (but really, to check out the dog owners, because it’s not the dog’s fault it acts like a barely-restrained killing machine). In the meantime, I’ll be avoiding that side of Fader Street when I go for runs or walks, now that I no longer feel safe strolling through my own neighborhood.

But the walk went well otherwise!

Stats:

Walk 81
Average pace: 9:00/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 9.13 km
Time: 82:13
Weather: Sunny with high cloud
Temp: 25ºC
Humidity: 51%
Wind: light
BPM: 114
Weight: 160.8 pounds
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Total distance to date: 596.93 km

Could it happen?

My fortune cookie fortune from Chinese food last night:

My reaction:

If I play those six numbers and win $13 million instead (the current Lotto 6/49 prize), I’ll accept that as compensation in place of people being impressed with my art.

Goose, drawn

I did this a few days ago, but never posted it. So now I am posting it! This is based on a photo I took at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in the past week.

This was mainly done using the 6B Pencil in Procreate, along with the Studio Pen.

Walk 80: A year of moving

The combo of heat/humidity was not making my socks roll up and down in delight this morning, so I decided to postpone my Monday run and do a walk on the river trail instead.

Weirdly, my pace was identical to my last walk–9:12/km. It was still warm and felt warmer due to the H-word, but it was okay otherwise.

I did stop a few times to take some photos, which may be technically cheating, but I can live with that. More significantly, when I completed my move ring on the Fitness app, it extended my move streak to 365 days–an entire year. Go me! Literally!

A moving experience (ho ho)

There may be some cloud cover tomorrow morning, so perhaps I’ll try running then. Perhaps!

Stats:

Walk 80
Average pace: 9:12/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 8.29 km
Time: 76:16
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25ºC
Humidity: 55%
Wind: light
BPM: 103
Weight: 161.7 pounds
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12
Total distance to date: 587.80 km

Thinking about overthinking and drawing a conclusion (also actually drawing)

Back in this post I wrote the following:

Draw a line every day. Don’t try to do more, don’t try to be perfect, just do a line, every day (or write a sentence every day or throw some clay, or whatever your creative pursuit happens to be). Emphasize quantity over quality and develop your skills without pressure to produce great art every time you sit down (or stand at your fancy sit/stand desk).

Some guy on the internet who looks just like me

I have done a few drawings since then. One every day? No. I have failed. I am bad and should feel bad.

I feel bad.

It’s such a simple premise, but I got caught up in the quest for perfection again. “I can’t just draw junk, it has to be something,” I’d think. And then it would be time for bed, and off to sleep I’d go! Repeat multiple times.

So here I am confessing on the interweb and trying to atone. Will I draw a line today? A mad veggie? I don’t know, but I will draw something, even if it’s junk. I promise!

Random things I find weird

Earrings are weird when described literally:

Punch holes into your flesh, then hang shiny metal objects from the holes.

close up photo of gold colored latched back earrings
Photo by Dima Valkov on Pexels.com

Boxing:

Two people put on gloves and punch each other repeatedly in the head and upper body. Wearing gloves magically converts this from assault to entertainment.

men doing sparring fight
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com

Wiener dogs:

If you want an idea of what humans will do when genetic manipulation evolves further, consider the wiener dog.

relaxed cute dachshund dogs sleeping on cozy bed
Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

Run 706: It’s not the heat, it’s the bad dog owners

Today turned out to be very similar in some ways to Monday’s run, with the pace being only a second faster (margin of error), but there were a few key differences:

  • It was cloudy. This was GOOD.
  • It was 23-24C. This was also GOOD.
  • Humidity was 68% and didn’t drop much during the run. This was BAD.
  • There was very little breeze until the last few km of the run. This was also BAD.

The lack of sun was a pleasant surprise and while it tried poking through the cloud cover around halfway through, the clouds smothered it back up, which was fine by me.

I decided to try an earlier start to at least get cooler temperatures and it worked, but unlike Monday, humidity was even higher and the first half of the run the air was especially thick. By the third km I was doubting I’d have the stamina to go beyond 5K, but I pushed past it and gave myself permission to stop whenever I needed to.

By the 6K mark I actually passed a slower runner, which is always a nice ego boost, so kept going. By the ninth km, the bottom was falling out, and my pace plunged to 6:26/km. Yuck. But at that point I’m not going to call it, so I did the opposite: I put on the “Get this over with” jets and finished the last km with a pace of 6:05/km.

I’m not actually sure why I was so slow on the ninth km. It was like my mind started wandering off task and I forgot that I was actually running.

Anyway, it was overall gross due to the H word, but I managed a decent performance, anyway. The hip started out fine and never became overly sore, so it was definitely better than on Monday’s outing, which was nice.

As to the bad dog owners, just a lot of people with their dogs off-leash today, mostly on the river trail. When I was a block from home, a woman had a dog (on leash) right at the edge of the sidewalk on Fader Street. I walked by, giving them a bit of a berth, and the dog suddenly growled and lunged at me. The woman had to restrain the dog fairly aggressively.

Tip: If your dog is trying to lunge/attack random people on the street, you are probably a terrible person and a horrible dog owner. Get your dog trained or give it to someone who gives a damn. Signed, Me! Sometimes I’m curious knowing what is going on in the mind of as person like that and other times I’m glad I don’t know.

I’m pretty sure if that dog was not on a leash that I’d be sitting in the ER right now, waiting to get a tetanus shot. I had enough of those when I was a kid, thanks!

Stats:

Run 706
Average pace: 6:09/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:16 a.m.
Distance: 10.02 km
Time: 61:42
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 23-24ºC
Humidity: 63-68%
Wind: nil to light
BPM: 153
Weight: 162.1
Total distance to date: 5182 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: Brooks Caldera 5 (290 km)