Hello June

Here are two blogs that I had stored in my Google Keep. They're not directly related, but what they have in common is that I didn't have time to type them out. They were all dictated using a voice-keyboard. Mostly while walking. I decided that when I got done with teaching I would subject myself to a health gauntlet and visit all the doctors that I had been procrastinating. I was confident that I would be able to convince someone to prescribe me some hormone replacement therapy (HRT). But I was unsuccessful. 

Here's what the doctor sent me. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322587

And here's what I sent back:

High cholesterol (even with fasting) and pruritus (hands, feet, and vulvar) together are perimenopause symptoms. I don't want to ignore the cholesterol issue, which concerns me. Additionally, mood swings have been severe with unexplained crying mid-cycle and 10-days of PMS now.

I have been using Ultimate Hydration Body Cream for my hands and feet, which was one of your suggestions. I've tried Bounce Back Muscle Recovery Body Butter for my legs, sometimes a lotion with cooling menthol can distract my mind from the itching long enough to fall asleep. I have tried aloe vera aftersun with lidocaine, which does not seem to help. I have even tried Moisturizing Coconut Shea Butter Lotion on my vulva when it gets bad. It's so hard to sleep when I can't get any relief.

Yes, antihistamine diphenhydramine HCl at 50 mg does help, but I worry about its long-term side effects. It carries a risk of dependence, and I am 4321 days sober as of today (one day at a time). I don't want to rely on anything that can lead to dependency. This information is relevant to my concerns.

I'm not sure which type of Estroven is recommended; several types exist. I cannot see how much black cohosh is in each tablet. A review article suggests taking up to 120 mg of the drug/day, which is actually three tablets. Some studies showed that black cohosh increased HDL and lowered LDL, but not all studies showed this. More studies showed that black cohosh had no effect on cholesterol.

Now here are some more thoughts that I didn't share with the doctor:

Since meeting with my GP, I started taking a Menopause formula as a daily multivitamin. It contains soy isoflavones. How much of that is recommended for a daily allowance of isoflavones? Is there a danger of overdose? Will these new supplements together help regulate my symptoms? I don't have time to look into all these things! 

How much calcium is too much calcium? Should I add a fish oil supplement? If black cohosh has efficacy comparable to low-dose transdermal estradiol, why can't I take estradiol instead? It seems more prudent to take regulated substances instead of botanicals not regulated by the FDA. Estradiol plus intermittent micronized progesterone had a significant impact on LDL cholesterol.

And furthermore, can we trust the government right now anyway? Why is our country being run by influencers and funding is being slashed for women's health initiatives? We can't win right now! It was a very heavy Month of Mama this year. With my units being cut at CSUN, I can't afford to hire an outside doctor right now and pay for hormones out of pocket.

Mother's Day Musings

I feel like as women we are taught to accept less. To do more with less. To work with scarcity. And create magic. And that's how we are incrementally left with nothing. The gift we want is to be left alone. We're so tired of creating all the magic for others. 

I am dictating this while wearing a bra that I bought 6 years ago that's totally falling apart. It doesn't fit well. It's not supportive. This should be totally unacceptable. Why is it that advertising can make such big promises? But in the end most garments don't even do the bare minimum in terms of fit and function. 

I was doing so well in my Motherhood Maternity era, both during pregnancy and early Postpartum. In my Kindred Bravely era. In my Latched Mama era. In my LuLaRoe era. My Levi's jeggings era. Now that I'm in my Sweatpants era, I really don't give a crap about how other people perceive me in terms of what I'm wearing. Melani Sanders or “justbeingmelani” Instagram started a WDNC club. I appreciate what I learned during my Sarah Wells era and my Ceres Chill era. And I'm ready for whatever is next.

You don't matter

What I hear the medical establishment saying to me right now is your pain is not real. You're suffering is insignificant. Your problems are imaginary. This is what people have dealt with for thousands of years. We don't care about you. We don't care that you're suffering. We do not care that your life is impacted. We do not care that you're not able to sleep. We don't care about your history of substance abuse. We don't care to actually help you. We don't think you matter enough to focus on your problem. Your contributions to society are insignificant or are largely in the past. You do not have enough value to warrant our attention.

We will address each of your symptoms as individual problems, not look at the total sum of what these clues point to. We are going to dismiss your concerns one at a time, chalk it up to a lack of healthy diet, a lack of exercise, and simply a family history of high cholesterol. We're not going to look at the bigger picture and say that this is a new problem that has arisen in the last 5 years. We're going to say that your numbers are borderline anyway, therefore no action is required.

At what time do you realize you aren't going to be able to fall asleep? At what point do you cancel tomorrow's workout? When do you shut off the alarm you had set for tomorrow? At what point do you realize it's too hot in your bedroom? At what point do you start googling symptoms? At what point do you lean into online providers and telehealth? At what point do you give up? I don't want to be the person who has given up on myself. I want to keep moving forward. I want to realize I am only at midlife. I have 45 more years to go. Family tree roots run deep.

References

C. Castelo-Branco, M. Gambacciani, A. Cano, M. J. Minkin, D. Rachoń, X. Ruan, A.-M. Beer, J. Schnitker, H.-H. Henneicke-von Zepelin & S. Pickartz (2021) Review & meta-analysis: isopropanolic black cohosh extract iCR for menopausal symptoms – an update on the evidence, Climacteric, 24:2, 109-119, DOI: 10.1080/13697137.2020.1820477

Gordon JL, Rubinow DR, Watkins L, Hinderliter AL, Caughey MC, Girdler SS. The Effect of Perimenopausal Transdermal Estradiol and Micronized Progesterone on Markers of Risk for Arterial Disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 May 1;105(5):e2050–60. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgz262.

On the plus side, I got results back from the pap smear (normal), the mammogram (normal), and the bone density scan (normal). I got a new eyeglass prescription but there has been a delay. The glasses should be ready for me to pick up in a few days. I am still waiting on the referral for colonoscopy.

how to PR in fun

If you have a race coming up, I encourage you to seek a PR in fun. Off the top of my head, here is a list of actions that work for me:

1. Take your pace and throw it out the window!
2. Don't compare yourself to others. Let them run their race and you run yours.
3. Sing out loud, create a banging playlist, and blast it.
4. High-five spectators. Stop for a moment and BE a spectator. Cheer for other runners. Thank the volunteers and police officers.
5. Celebrate non-scale victories! 
6. Wear an outrageous costume that puts a smile on other runners' faces—or, more importantly, your face. This will give strangers a way to initiate a conversation with you.
7. Bring stuff to give away: stickers, friendship bracelets, extra Gu. Make friends in the corrals and on the course.
8. Run with a friend or family member. This makes excellent race photos that are also family photos.
9. Take all the pictures. I ran with two extra fuel rods, and it was 100% worth it.
10. Use fun treats instead of gels. Think gummy bears, nerds, pop tarts, ice cream, and donuts.

Full disclosure, this next part in italics was written by CSUN's OpenAI ChatGPT Edu:

__________________________________

Title: Getting a PR in FUN — The Magic of Party Pace

There’s a kind of PR you won’t find on a results page.

It’s not tracked by your watch. It doesn’t require negative splits. And it’s not defined by anyone but you.

It’s the PR in fun. And it starts at party pace.

Party pace isn’t about slowness—it’s about fullness. Full of laughter. Full of stories. Full of moments when you remember why you fell in love with running in the first place.

_________________________________

After I read that, I almost cried. Because it's exactly how I felt about the LA Marathon. I wanted to write about how to get back to the fun of running. I also used ChatGPT to explore the concept of non-scale victories and how they can apply to running.

_________________________________

A non-scale victory (NSV) is a win that has nothing to do with the number on the scale—and everything to do with how you're feeling, growing, or living your life with more confidence and strength.

In running (and beyond), NSVs are the real-life rewards that remind you your efforts are paying off, even when the scale doesn’t move—or isn’t the goal at all.

Here are a few examples of NSVs for runners:

• Running a little farther or faster than you did last week

• Waking up with more energy

• Your clothes fitting differently (hello, stronger legs!)

• Making it up a hill without walking

• Saying yes to a race you once felt intimidated by

• Feeling proud in your own skin

• Not needing to stop during a run for the first time

• Recovering faster than you used to

• Choosing rest without guilt

• Smiling during your runs more often

They’re mental, emotional, social, and physical wins that deserve to be celebrated just as much—if not more—than any number.

________________________________________

I've had more than a year of non-scale victories to celebrate. I remember when I first started running I would say to myself, "one day I will run up to and around this corner without stopping." And it feels so good to get to that point. Starting over is so hard.

I looked at my training plan for today, I thought it said strength but it didn't. I get to take a break from my program and it feels good. Like I can breathe and have some mental freedom to write about how to let go and have more fun.

But wait, why would you sign up for a race you have no hope of winning? Because race day is the vibe. There's nothing like the collective energy of tens of thousands of people traveling in the same direction for the same reason, crossing that finish line, and getting a medal. It's about fitness and community. 

The race weekend is everything. The expo. You get goodies and learn about other resources that support your running habit. The kids' race. How adorable are the tiny runners? The warm-up. Some races have a fitness instructor who leads the group through fun exercises. The post-race experience. Some races have a breakfast afterwards. Most have music at the finish line. To each their own, I'm not trying to tell you how to enjoy running. Rather, I'm sharing what works for me. In the hopes that it might inspire you to manage your expectations in a way that allows you to taste the magic of party pace.

Finish line face

As many have said, the training is the hardest part of doing a marathon. If you follow a training plan, there will be days when you don't feel like doing your workout. The race is a celebration! It's your victory lap. You've already done the hardest part, which is the daily grind. And most likely, you've already achieved many of your non-scale victories. So enjoy your race day. You earned it.

When I crossed that finish line, I didn't feel elite. I already earned a PhD, which is something that less than 2% of the world's population holds. But the internet is suggesting that completing a marathon is similarly rare, so I guess I should be even prouder of this. After attending the LARR brunch last weekend, I realized that there are some people who have just completed their first marathon, but a lot more who have done 10 or more marathons in their life.

Sitting with my training group, someone asked, "Who already signed up for next year?" Almost everyone's hands went up. Now I realize that's a self-selecting group. Those who attended the brunch were invested in the community, but it surprised me that many seasoned runners were still planning to continue training and repeat the race in 2026. And I did it. I signed up for 2026. Not because of the brunch, I had already done it before the brunch.

These gals created a WhatsApp for the training group. Many returning runners said it was the most fun group they've ever been in. I had no idea since it was my first time, but I definitely enjoyed the camaraderie of the online support. The silliness. The inside jokes. The gifs. This group trained in fun and finished with a PR in fun for sure.

I didn't finish the LA Marathon with what I consider a glamorous finish time. I was nervous to say it or share it. But I'm not ashamed of my performance on race day. I walked a lot of my training runs, and I walked a lot of the actual race. I'm okay with it. I had a fun time. I experienced the LA Marathon like I would enjoy CicLAvia. It's an open street event with entertainment and snacks. Sometimes you have to embrace the suck (mile 20). And there's no shame in walking; forward is a pace (mile 23).

Mission Inn Run 2024 Race Report

The event itself: Where? How long? When? Weather?

The weather was good. It was about 55 degrees at the start and around 70 degrees at the finish, not too windy. Mt. Rubidoux shaded a good part of the trail, and the residential neighborhoods and parks had a nice amount of shade from mature trees. The 10k started at 7:45 a.m., and I was done by 9:10 a.m. It was enough time to stretch, cool down, and eat breakfast before the kids' race started at 10 a.m.

Course description and evaluation of event logistics

Downtown through a park, on a bike path, along another park, through residential, back through downtown. Plenty of potties, a simple start and finish line, and no waves at the start.

How you trained for the event

I followed a mixture of the Fit4Mom 10k training plan, the LA Roadrunners LA Marathon training plan, the Jeff Galloway runDisney half marathon training plan, and the Dumbo Double Dare training plan for the Disneyland race. I did observe a taper week before this race. I also focused on nutrition, hydration, and electrolytes in the week leading up to the run. I started to add hills and speed work 4 weeks before race day.

Your gear and nutrition

I had two cups of coffee two hours before the run. I ate a banana and Rx bar 30 minutes before my run. I drank an electrolyte drink about 1 hour before the race. I wore my Nathan Trail Mix waist belt to carry my Gu. I used the toilet about 20 minutes before the race started. I ate one Gu at mile 2 and another Gu at mile 4. Both had no caffeine. I drank some of my water with my Gu and some of the water ended up on my head, arms, legs, and chest.

Conversations you had

Dressing like Tinkerbell was a great idea. I had Disney Hits blasting on my Muzen, and people sang along. People were cheering Go Tink! It was excellent. I met a lady who was training for the Dumbo. She had hurt her foot, so she wasn't running that day. Lots of people started talking about the Disney races when they saw me. I saw a man who was wearing a Dopey 2025 shirt.

Your finish and associated emotions

Somewhere between mile 5 and 6, I started to run out of gas. I considered walking and giving up. I started thinking, how can you think you can finish a marathon if you can't even finish a 10k and I almost started crying. I just wanted the race to be over and for my family to come pick me up. But then we got to downtown, and many people were cheering. It gave me a kick of energy to finish the last half mile. My playlist got to "You'll Be in My Heart," I thought about my run club, and they carried me when my legs were tired. I felt like they were with me. Also, two dozen high school cheerleaders were yelling Go Tinkerbell!!!!! That inspired me to run through the finish line.

Your overall evaluation of the event

Overall, I loved staying at the Mission Inn and running the race. We parked the car and didn't need it. There are plenty of places to eat within walking distance.

Budget Tracker

10k Registration $60.31 (4 months early) + $33 for kids race (day-of)

Lodging $182.35 (4 months early) + $489.52 (at check out)

Costume = Pom Poms for shoes $7.29

Food 10/19 IHOP + BBQ = $50 + $55

10/20 Simple Simon + Spaghetti Factory = $50 + $60

10/21 Taco Station = $35

Snacks CVS + Market = $22 + $11.5

Race Photo = $20

Total $1075.97

Zone 2

What is Zone 2 and why is it important? How does it relate to weight loss? How does it relate to marathon training?

I made a video about the Magic Mile and why it's important. I shared the video with my run club. A magic mile is a time trial that you do every 3-4 weeks. You can take that one simple number and plug it into a VDOT calculator or JeffGalloway.com to determine what pace you can expect to do for different distances. The advantage of the magic mile is that it's very simple to measure. And it's an accurate predictor of performance on race day.

After recording, editing, posting, and sharing that video, I attended the LA Road Runners Thursday chat with coach David and he showed a graph of his heart rate and lactic acid from running and cycling. The way he explained it was kind of confusing to me, so I wanted to do a bit of WRITING TO LEARN, hoping that I would be able to understand all the colorful designations on the graph a little bit better.

Heart Rate-based training zones are a big thing now. Apparently, the big thing in exercise science a few years back was HIIT which is high-intensity interval training. Now the big thing is Zone 2 training.

• Zone 1 You can easily hold a conversation with someone.
• Zone 2 Roughly 65% of the calories you burn are fat.
• Zone 3 Talking in this zone takes effort, but you could sustain this pace for hours?
• Zone 4 You are no longer burning fat to fuel your effort. Lactic acid production increases dramatically as you switch to burning carbohydrates for energy.
• Zone 5 Your heart is beating at 90-100% of the max heart rate. Talking is out of the question. Cannot hold effort for more than a minute or two.

The goal of the coach's chat was to discuss speed work and how that plays a role in training for a marathon. A way to lengthen your baseline (extending the scope of zones 1 and 2, preventing lactic acid build-up) is to train in some of your workouts at or near the anaerobic threshold. You can achieve this by running intervals or doing a HIIT workout. The LA Marathon training plan I'm following has only 15% of the workouts doing speed work or intervals. I have been trying to incorporate some of this as hill workouts.

• R-pace (repetition): VDOT = 10:43 mile
• I-pace (interval): VDOT = 11:07 mile
• T-pace (threshold): VDOT = 13:32 mile
• HMRP (half-marathon race pace): VDOT = 16:23 mile
• MRP (marathon race pace): VDOT = 16:32 mile
• easy: VDOT says 14:13 ~ 15:30 miles

VO2max is the “maximum volume of oxygen” an athlete can use per minute relative to body weight to produce energy during an all-out, sustained effort of a few minutes that is well above the anaerobic threshold. This has to be measured while running on a treadmill or biking on a stationary bike while hooked up to a ventilator and doing your max effort. It's very uncomfortable but I actually participated in a research study on cyclists while I was in graduate school. They measured my VO2max to qualify me for the study, to see if I had the aerobic capacity, in fact, of a trained cyclist. Then they measured my bone density to see if there were significant differences in the arm and leg bone density of runners vs. cyclists. The PI was Dr. Michael Liang at  California State Polytechnic Institute, Pomona.

A higher VO2 max is indicative of a higher anaerobic threshold, which, by definition, means a higher level of lactic acid tolerance. Functionally, this means that a level of exertion that used to be anaerobic (for you when you were a beginner) can now become aerobic with longer duration potential.

Lactate Threshold is defined by a specific concentration of lactate in the blood. (2 mmol/L) So you have to have blood drawn to measure this. Functionally, this means when you are putting your body through more stress, which takes longer to recover from.

Below your aerobic threshold, exercise is sustainable ‘indefinitely.’ Even very lean people have reserves of fat stored. However, if we can only store 2000 calories as glycogen in the muscles, this is why people tend to hit the wall at mile 20 of a marathon if they're running too fast (zone 3 or above), because the rate of calorie burning is 100 cal/mile. The point of fatigue will be determined by muscle glycogen stores, and at some point, you’ll hit a wall where exercise cannot be continued due to glycogen depletion.

See, the marathon training plan from the LA Road Runners is so confusing to me because it's like an alphabet soup. Last Wednesday's run was supposed to be 10 min easy + (3 min T-Pace + 2 min HMRP)x3 + 4 min T-Pace + 10 min easy. I don't hate math and I hate looking at this. If it were always the same, I would program my Seconds Pro app and then go from there, but this is just too confusing.

10 min 15 min mile = 0.66 of a mile 

3 min / 13.5 min mile = 0.22 of a mile 

2 min / 16.5 min mile = 0.12 of a mile

4 min / 13.5 min mile = 0.29 of a mile

total distance         =         2.63 miles

Honestly, I just can't do this math at 4:30am and it doesn't really work with the distances I have that I regularly run. Is this just to make sure we're not getting bored or is it really doing something for the anaerobic threshold? Last time I trained for a half marathon, I just ran through the city every other day. Sometimes with my dogs and sometimes without. I did two weekday runs and one long weekend run. I did about a 5k on weekday mornings before work and between 10 and 13 miles on the weekend. I had no training plan, no coach, no goal. Back then, my only goal was to maintain my sanity while finishing my PhD.

Okay, admittedly this blog post is a real jumble of ideas. But in all that confusion, I came out with an answer to my question, why am I going for a speed limit of 20:54 per mile in long runs? That seems very slow to me. The answer is that it keeps me in zone 2 or below. I've been tracking my heart rate as I walk Albert to school and as we go on long walks on Saturdays. If Albert is in the jogging stroller and we're going along at a pretty good pace (let's say less than 20-minute miles) then we're in zone 2.

The data above is from a 4-mile walk where we did about 18-minute miles. It was a conversational pace, we were chatting the whole time. I don't know how SamsungWatch5 sets the heart rate zones, whether these are defaults, or whether they're based on my age and max heart rate. I guess it's the formula 220 - age, which for me is 220 - 44 = 176.

I was starting to get bummed out because I've been running for a year now and I haven't experienced any significant weight loss. I was starting to accept the fact that just like breastfeeding where some people drop weight right away and some people maintain or gain weight, maybe I was that type of runner who doesn't lose weight while training for a marathon, maybe I am just destined to maintain or gain weight. But now this reveals that I might just need to slow down to stay in a fat-burning heart rate zone.

Coach Bennett on the Nike Run Club app is always telling us to run the mile we're in and have a goal for each run, even a goal for each mile. Don't worry about how fast you're going because sometimes faster is not better. You want the workout you're doing to meet your goal for that workout.

The only reason I was trying to get faster is that the LA Marathon has a time cut-off of 6.5 hours. So to run 26.2 miles in 6.5 hours, I would need to be running about 14.9 minute miles. So I've been obsessed with getting to that pace or faster for my training runs. It's very easy to get caught up in PRs if you look at your training data on Strava. There are no awards for going slower. But there might be rewards if what you are looking for is losing fat (inches).

Third Time Covid

Life hands me lemons and sometimes I pout about it. 

My son came home from school with an upset tummy. He felt warm. It was only the second day of school. After he got home, he spiked a high fever which I didn't measure because he fell asleep on me while we were sitting on the couch. He woke up 2-3 hours later and I gave him chewable Tylenol because he was willing to eat graham crackers. He went straight to bed and slept the whole night through. The next morning, Wednesday, I brought him with me to a workout but he stayed in the wagon in the shade. Thursday, my husband and I felt a sore throat. It got worse quickly. My husband got a fever and came home halfway through the day. His fever spiked up to 104.5. My fever reached 101. We both tested positive for COVID-19 that afternoon but my "T" line was very faint while my husband's was super dark.

Unfortunately that meant my son stayed home Wed, Thu and Fri. His school policy was that the child had to be symptom free and have two negative COVID tests in a row separated by 24h, or else he would have to wear a mask for 10 days. The policy at CSUN is the same. My husband would have had to wear a mask until Aug 25th when he started to show symptoms on the 15th. So we took basically two weeks to quarantine. Thankfully, I had just done a big Costco run and our fridge was fully stocked. And I did send my son back to school for his second week of classes (Aug 19-23), since he did test negative on Saturday and Sunday.

And further, I was so put out. I had been telling myself all summer that things would be okay. I would send Albert to school on Monday, August 12th and I would have two weeks: M-F Aug 12-16 AND M-F Aug 19-23 to prep my classes in a quiet peaceful house. But no, instead I was taking care of two sick people and I didn't get any quiet alone time. Now the semester has started, it's the end of week 2, and I'm still scrambling to get organized and finding my way back to the preparation that I wished I had been able to do. I feel terrible about being disorganized. I'm terrified of losing some important piece of paper.

I guess it's a blessing in disguise because now I don't need to be immunized by a COVID-19 booster shot. Also, it was easy to recognize the virus by my symptoms since I had it twice before. And based on the recommendation from another mama, we used our telemedicine benefits and got a prescription for Paxlovid. We took it very strictly at 7pm and 7am for 5 days starting on Thursday night. It tasted terrible! Supposedly, it shortens your symptoms because it blocks replication of the virus. I'm not sure if it actually helped but at least it gave us the feeling that we were doing something proactive.

2.88	R 8/15
no miles	F 8/16
1.16	Sat 8/17
4.56	Sun 8/18
2	M 8/19
4	T 8/20
3	W 8/21
4.8	R 8/22
2	F 8/23
4.78	Sat 8/24
no miles	Sun 8/25

I guess we were feeling well enough to get a long walk in on Sunday 8/18. I was well enough Thursday morning 8/15 to do my "two mile Tuesday" run. The week of 8/19-8/23 we got at least 2 miles each day because it's 1 mile to my son's school from our house. The other days that we got more miles is because I went to my department meeting on Wednesday. And the other days Tues and Thurs, I wanted to do a longer loop and time it to see how long it took to go from Albert's school to my office, which is something I have to do every day now.

But I was definitely upset about losing that time. I also had to cancel an appointment with my chiropractor who was doing some important adjustments to my neck, which still need to happen sometime. It sucked having to push that off to another week. And then, to really suck more free time, there was the Labor Day long weekend. LAUSD has Friday 8/30 off and also Monday 9/2 so I didn't get my Monday work day at my desk here. I was home with my family, which was great. I'm not complaning about getting to spend time with my loved ones. BUT there were things that needed to get done that didn't and still haven't gotten done. 

I know, I'm sitting here writing this even though I could be working. But I wanted to capture these feelings and experiences before I forget.

2022 COVID 1st time https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2022/08/july-2022-thoughts.html

2023 COVID 2nd time https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2023/09/covid-blues.html

Farewell Magic Key

Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company, M-I-C-K-E-Y........M-O-U-S-E. And it's time to say goodbye to our magic key. It's not that we didn't love it—we loved it. But our kiddo is outgrowing it. He's getting too interested in buying candy and toys, and it's getting out of hand. It's impossible to get out of the parks without a meltdown. Either that or spend more than $100 daily on food and souvenirs.

See Also https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2023/11/fun-month-boring-month.html

Magic Key #1 ($400)

• 5/16/22 Disneyland - Kayla
• 5/31/22 DCA - Kayla
• 8/22/22 Disneyland - Kayla
• 8/23/22 DCA - Kayla
• 9/12/22 Disneyland - Kayla
• 12/15/22 Disneyland - Kayla

Magic Key #2 ($450)

• 1/13 Disneyland - Mike + Kayla
• 1/14 DCA - Mike + Kayla

Magic Keys #3 & 4 ($900)

• 3/20/23 Disneyland - Mike + Kayla + Albert
• 5/15/23 DCA - Kayla + Albert
• 5/16/23 Disneyland - Kayla + Albert
• 8/21/23 Disneyland solo - Kayla
• 11/8/23 DCA - Mike + Kayla + Albert
• 1/11/24 RunDisney weekend - Mike + Kayla + Albert
• 1/12/24 RunDisney weekend - Mike + Kayla + Albert
• 2/9/24 Disneyland - Kayla + Albert
• 3/19/24 Disneyland - Kayla + Albert

Kayla (visited the parks 17 x $154 = $2618), which is a savings of $1,768 by having a magic key.

Mike (visited the parks 6 x $154 = $924), which is a savings of $474 by having a magic key.

Albert (visited the parks 8 x $154 = $1232), which is a savings of $782 by having a magic key.

• So, as a family, we saved $3,024 over two years.

Or you can think of it as $2,708 of unnecessary spending (giving our money to Disneyland)

• 17 x $100 = $1,700 on average daily spending (to Disneyland for treats and trinkets)
• 17 x $30 = $510 for parking (to the city of Anaheim or Disneyland) 

Not to mention the spending on Genie+ every now and then and hotels for the days that we stayed the night nearby at either Element Anaheim or the La Quinta near the GardenWalk. These calculations were done using $154 as an average daily ticket price. It could be more or less per day depending on the day of the week and the time of the year. 

The price of gas was surprisingly less than the admission, but still leaves a carbon footprint.

• 60 miles x 17 x 2 x 20 mpg x $6 per gal = $612

For my sister's visit this year, I have already purchased 2 x Ages 3+ ($275.00 each) = $91.67 per day per person for myself and Albert. Mike won't be going. Disneyland offers So-Cal Resident tickets occasionally, giving you a discount on regular ticket prices. And those tickets have fewer blackout dates than the Magic Keys. It seemed to have fewer blackout dates recently, even Fridays were available.

• Mike had a 3-day SoCal resident ticket = $249 for Aug 22-23 2022 + Sept 12 2022
• For Mike's 50th Bday Extravaganza we bought 1 ticket = $159 for Dec 15 2022
• $159 + $249 = $408, which is equivalent to 1 magic key

So I guess it would have been economical (or at least at a break even point) for Mike to have a Magic Key the first year too.

My sister and I have decided that May 2024 may be our last epic trek to Disneyland with the two cousins Evelyn and Albert. At least for a couple of years. Here is our spending from this most recent visit with just Albert and I to bid farewell to our magic keys.

• $5.50 cotton candy
• $6.99 dole whip
• $17.93 Bengal BBQ
• $12.58 cafe daisy
• $6.67 watermelon slush
• $5.92 cutie fruit 
• $7.26 lollipops 
• $30 for parking
• $10 for a new cars toy = $102.85

My dear husband encourages me to create the "Disneyland at home" experience going forward. We have a silly humidifier, as an aroma dispenser, in each of our 3 bathrooms. I have dozens of different Disney-themed scents. I have my Disneyland cookbook. We have Disney+ on the TV. And there are endless streets to walk here in the valley. I can always find something interesting to look at if that's what I need to do (lots of walking).

I always say that everyone needs a hobby. And Disneyland was kind of my hobby for awhile. Learning about it, going there, doing debriefs, researching cost-cutting measures, packing and revising packing lists. It was all kind of my hobby for a couple years. It was a great family-friendly place to go while Albert was young.

I guess I'm transitioning my hobby from Disneyland to running. Altogether, the races I have planned for the next year are just under what the Magic Key would cost, if you don't count the LA Marathon. I want to sign up for that one, at the current price, to save money, of course, but also to give me the commitment to say that I'm doing a marathon next year.

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runcation

I see a runcation in our future. This is where your vacation is planned around a run. To extend the distance covered in my workouts, I mapped out possible courses.

CSUN runDisney training 5k - https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1lRAyXTnYRC1nJS-4xYMXE9b5cCxG9rE&usp=sharing

Topanga runDisney Training 5k - https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1VXMuw9fTsV56tawq7dtORRGs1_0Dgtg&usp=sharing

Mason runDisney 5k training - https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1KzsxlSCtFftcqmGQaE1Q59eLsIy3sa0&usp=sharing

Chatsworth runDisney 5k training - https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1qIv3rFuuqsAgwZriCePSGntBLbVy1xo&usp=sharing

Porter Ranch 10k runDisney training - https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1rBG6BKEq64goG8jPOXmxxn6BTHBEj7Y&usp=sharing

I learned that what looks good on Google Maps maybe not practical, for example some streets have no sidewalks and some unincorporated areas don't have curb cuts for your stroller.

I want to go to REI to get some Clif Shot Bloks or maybe just order them from Amazon.

I learned that the Versa 4 doesn't create a map, nor does it connect to GPS, when you set it to "walk" unless you very quickly hit the "^" on workout and change the settings. So when I did the practice of the Mason route, it didn't use GPS to track distance so I'm guessing the distances on the route sheet are all wrong.

So I think the distances I tracked on the Cue Sheet for the Mason 5k are not correct because I haven't calibrated my Fitbit by walking or running on a track. I'm having trouble finding a track (whether indoor or outdoor) to use.

Cue Sheets https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ob-scNq3CWe8fmXwi2f_BMB09rMG-5fJsrNtOQ3bYSQ/edit?usp=sharing 

I feel the winter solstice coming. The days are oh so short.

We are planning to ride the Holiday Lights Ride with Walk Bike Glendale tomorrow. It's Mikey's birthday. 

smart watch fail

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.

Event	Date	Distance (mi)	Duration (H:MM:SS)	Pace (min/mi)
Newport Beach	Jun 2023	0.9	0:16:51	18.8
BodyWell	Mar 2023	1.03	0:13:39	13.3
BodyWell	Jan 2023	1.07	0:15:19	14.3
F4M Race	Nov 2022	3.48	0:53:52	15.5
Color Run	Jun 2022	3.2	0:59:48	18.8
Body Well	Jul 2021	1.02	0:11:39	11.4
Body Well	Jun 2021	1.07	0:22:33	23.2
Strength	May 2021	2.63	0:40:59	0.0
2/13 5k	Feb 2021	3.24	0:49:33	0.0
Mission Inn	Nov 2016	6.2	2:03:00	19.8
OC half	May 2015	13.2	3:22:00	15.5
CdM	Jun 2014	3.2	0:40:29	13.0
Mission Inn	Nov 2013	6.4	1:29:00	14.3
CdM	Jun 2013	3.2	0:39:00	12.7
Verdugos	May 2013	6.4	2:16:00	22.0
Downtown	Mar 2013	3.2	0:34:00	11.0
CdM	Jun 2012	3.2	0:40:00	13.0
Downtown	Mar 2012	3.2	0:28:36	9.2
Mission Inn	Nov 2011	6.4	1:07:00	10.8
CdM	Jun 2011	3.2	0:35:30	11.5
Raincross	Feb 2011	3.2	0:26:44	8.5
Holiday Half	Dec 2010	13.1	2:26:00	11.0
Citrus	Oct 2010	6.4	1:04:00	10.5
Raincross	Feb 2010	3.2	0:26:00	8.5
Mission	Nov 2009	3.2	0:37:00	12.0
Citrus	Sep 2009	3.2	0:37:00	12.0
CdM	Jun 2009	3.2	0:44:00	14.0
Redlands	Apr 2009	13.1	2:48:00	13.0
Raincross	Feb 2009	3.2	0:34:00	11.0

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.

Week	Date	Distance (mi)	Duration (H:MM:SS)	Pace (min/mi)
1	10/14/2023	0.45	0:13:20	29.5
1	10/17/2013	0.50	0:13:20	26.5
1	10/19/2023	0.71	0:13:20	18.8
2	10/28/2023	0.62	0:13:20	21.5
3	10/31/2023	0.42	0:07:33	18.0
3	11/2/2023	0.38	0:07:15	19.2
3	11/5/2023	1.50	0:29:20	19.5
4	11/11/2023	1.29	0:29:20	22.7
4	11/11/2023	1.47	0:30:13	20.5

I made a separate Google Sheet to track my training for Disneyland. When I registered, I said that I would do a 12-14 minute mile! Eek, so I'm trying to document my progress towards that goal. The reason why the workout duration is 13:20 a couple times is that I used 10/30 intervals with 10 seconds running and 30 seconds walking. That's 800 seconds total divided by 40 seconds, so 20 rounds. I don't know if I programmed that or if it was the default on the device. I know I did change the interval durations.

Then the second duration, 29:20 is 1760 seconds, which is 44 rounds, which for some reason is the max it would let me do. But that's fine because it corresponds to about a 30-minute workout, which is what the Galloway training plan specifies for 5k training on weekdays. I guess for a longer run, I would just restart it when it ends. Happy training! And thanks to the Rise & Run Podcast for inspiration and motivation in weekly installments.

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