This week a year ago, encouraged by my Ever Encouraging Husband, I joined Strava. I would not have noticed this fact had it not been pointed out to me by EEH, aka Coty. He loves Strava - all those stats, segments, elevation profiles, energy outpout numbers, effort comparisons and achievements. He uses the heatmaps to find good routes when we ride in new places. He knows how fast he needs to ride to get a PR on a segment and how fast the KOM (King of the Mountain) rode the segment. He is King of the Mountain on a number of segments.
For the record, we even share King and Queen of the Mountain on a segment that is called by the poetic name, "O Pioneers!" Sounds like we braved the elements, crossed the prairies in our covered wagon, ascended the distant, snow-covered peaks and conquered a kingdom. Really, all we did was ride a little bit faster on a not very hilly stretch of Pioneer Mill Road, than the seven other people who have ever ridden on that particular 2.6 mile stretch of road. No one was there to crown us when we reached the end of the segment, no fanfare, no cheering throng. Shoot, we didn't even know we'd become royalty til we got home and uploaded our rides and checked our stats. But king and queen we are, that is until someone else coming down Morrison from Flowe Store decides to turn left instead of right. One of these days, I expect someone who is hankering for ascendancy to the throne will make that turn and we'll be summarily dethroned.
Anyway, what I also wanted to say about Strava is that it is one of the ways Coty continues his longstanding, unfailing encouragement of my exercise endeavors. Instead of "liking" a post as you do on facebook, Strava which is not just a workout log, but also social media for athletes, allows you to give "kudos." You click on the little thumbs up icon on your friend's entry and there it is, kudos! Yay for you! Way to go! No matter what I do, ride 30 miles or stroll 2, he gives me kudos on Strava. I once told him it wasn't necessary - seemed kind of silly if we had just finished a ride together and he could just tell me in person. Which he always does. But on every single Strava entry I've posted, he has, without fail, given me kudos. And I don't think it's silly anymore. It is sweet. And encouraging. And constant. Like he is.
So, here's what he showed me tonight - the Trophy Case page of my profile which I'd never noticed before that tallied what I've done in the last year ...
Bike rides - 1,207.9 miles
Runs and walks - 226.3 miles
Swims - 29.25 miles
It will be interesting, a year from now, to see what those numbers are. It is always my intention to do more, be more consistent, ride farther, run faster, swim longer. That'd be nice, but even if I don't, I know the kudos will keep coming from the man who has faithfully encouraged me as loooong as I've known him!
For the record, we even share King and Queen of the Mountain on a segment that is called by the poetic name, "O Pioneers!" Sounds like we braved the elements, crossed the prairies in our covered wagon, ascended the distant, snow-covered peaks and conquered a kingdom. Really, all we did was ride a little bit faster on a not very hilly stretch of Pioneer Mill Road, than the seven other people who have ever ridden on that particular 2.6 mile stretch of road. No one was there to crown us when we reached the end of the segment, no fanfare, no cheering throng. Shoot, we didn't even know we'd become royalty til we got home and uploaded our rides and checked our stats. But king and queen we are, that is until someone else coming down Morrison from Flowe Store decides to turn left instead of right. One of these days, I expect someone who is hankering for ascendancy to the throne will make that turn and we'll be summarily dethroned.
Anyway, what I also wanted to say about Strava is that it is one of the ways Coty continues his longstanding, unfailing encouragement of my exercise endeavors. Instead of "liking" a post as you do on facebook, Strava which is not just a workout log, but also social media for athletes, allows you to give "kudos." You click on the little thumbs up icon on your friend's entry and there it is, kudos! Yay for you! Way to go! No matter what I do, ride 30 miles or stroll 2, he gives me kudos on Strava. I once told him it wasn't necessary - seemed kind of silly if we had just finished a ride together and he could just tell me in person. Which he always does. But on every single Strava entry I've posted, he has, without fail, given me kudos. And I don't think it's silly anymore. It is sweet. And encouraging. And constant. Like he is.
So, here's what he showed me tonight - the Trophy Case page of my profile which I'd never noticed before that tallied what I've done in the last year ...
Bike rides - 1,207.9 miles
Runs and walks - 226.3 miles
Swims - 29.25 miles
It will be interesting, a year from now, to see what those numbers are. It is always my intention to do more, be more consistent, ride farther, run faster, swim longer. That'd be nice, but even if I don't, I know the kudos will keep coming from the man who has faithfully encouraged me as loooong as I've known him!
