Well it finally happened. My smart watch gave up the ghost. I don't know how long smart watches typically last, but this one only lasted 1 year and 6 months, which seems short to me.
It looks like I bought it during the Month of Mama (May) in 2022. Here's me wearing it while making my son's Halloween costume for the cargo bike.
 |
| Oct 2022 |
I got a few bands for it right away because I didn't like the band it came with. I prefer fabric that absorbs sweat rather than a silicone elastomer. Both wash easily with dishsoap and water. I also enjoyed the velcro closure instead of the aluminum buckle. I've lost a watch before from a bad clasp mechanism. But sometimes I wear the band that came with it.
 |
| Aug 2023 |
Honestly, I am lost without it. I use my watch SO MUCH to gauge the time while teaching. I loved the clock face that had really big numbers. It is called MEGA TIME. What's great is that I can set up my Versa 4 to look exactly like what I had before. Although the menus are different, at least the clock face looks the same.
Interestingly, I had just requested to download all the data from that device on November 10, 2023. Which was 3 days before it died. Looks like I used the FitBit Alta HR from Aug 24, 2018 until May 15, 2022. This is what it looks like when you get all the data from Google, which has acquired Fitbit.
I used the guided breathing mindfulness for 8 sessions. I also used the menstrual health tracker. I logged 12 periods (all postpartum). I had the premium subscription for 6 months (May 2022 - Nov 2022), but I don't remember any specific useful features.
I guess one useful thing from the premium subscription was the readiness score, which you had to wear the watch 24/7 for it to work, but I did find it useful to know when it was "safe" to workout again. Although there's also that thing called "listen to your body" that is just as good. So I guess that's why I didn't extend the premium. Also, when I wore the tracker 24/7 I started to get a rash on my skin and it didn't smell good. That funkiness and itchiness caused me to sleep with the watch off. Therefore I wasn't able to see the readiness score, therefore I didn't use any other premium features.
I did buy another one, the Versa 4. Maybe I should have taken more time to research alternatives rather than just buying a replacement for what I lost. I'm not loving the interface that Fitbit offers on the web. It's not easy to see your mile pace and splits. Maybe it's better on the app. Maybe I should have taken the opportunity to switch back to Garmin.
 |
| Data Recorded by Interval Workout |
This forum post explains adjusting the interval durations on the Fitbit Versa 3. When you open the Exercise app and choose Interval Workout, swipe up on the tiny "^" at the bottom and you will see your Goal to the left and the Interval settings to the right. Set them on the Versa 3 screen. Swipe up some more and you will see the other possible setting choices. All of the other exercises have different, relevant setting options when you swipe up.
What's weird is that I can see in my data tracking that I logged many workouts via MyFitnessPal, and I used Strava on my phone to track some of the official runs. I guess it's because the Alta HR only tracks heart rate and doesn't have GPS. I figured out how to see my pace on the website; it's pretty useful. I wasn't sure what was tracked when logging an interval workout. It doesn't record a map, but it does calculate your pace. Only when you specify the workout as a "run" does it record a map.
Just for funsies I went back in time to see my mile pace for workouts and events of different lengths and durations. I'm worried because I told runDisney that I would run between a 12 and 14-minute mile, why? Because in a recent assessment, I was able to run almost a 14-minute mile without training and after 8-weeks of training, I was able to run under a 14-minute mile. So it doesn't seem completely ridiculous.
 |
| View Details to See Pace and Map and HR |
The annoying thing about this activity history is that you can't sort by workout type, or distance or duration. It would be great if each column would have a sorting function. Or if you could filter by date. Like if you know the date of some event, it should have the function to show only data recorded on that date. But as it is, you have to click "Load 10 more" repeatedly until you get back to that day. It's only chronological and does not have any sort function.
 |
| Run Data: Pace, Elevation, Heart Rate, Calories, Steps |
 |
| Run Data: Map and Splits |
Okay so I'm re-convincing myself that the Versa 4 will work for me. At least for a bit longer. Hopefully, the Versa 4 will last longer than the Versa 3 did.
No comments:
Post a Comment