“Prove it.”
(Strava)
Strava, getting started
My life changed in Spring 2012. I put my wife who was in labor into the car to go to the hospital. I ran back in the house to grab our bags, and for whatever reason, I stepped on the scales in the bathroom. I was shocked by what I saw. I had experienced the phenomenon of “Pregnancy Sympathy.” Just as my cute wife had gained a couple dozen pounds and put on a belly in the previous 9 months, so too had I. Only there was no excuse for me. I wouldn’t be delivering a baby like my wife would a couple hours later.
I weighed more than I had ever weighed before in my life. I was downright chunky. (Oh yeah, I remembered. My wife was in the car in labor!)
He was on Strava
So Strava is pretty much the coolest app out there. Today’s world is literally buzzing with social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, etc, etc, etc. Well, guess what. They have nothing on Strava. My friends laugh that the best way to get in touch with me is to find me on Strava. Forget the phone, texting, Facebooking. Those are all way down the list of priorities. Strava is where it’s at. If you’re looking for me, chances are I’ll be checking my Strava notifications.
Strava is an awesome motivator. It turns daily exercise into daily races where even though you’re riding solo, you’re virtually competing against friends, foes, people you don’t even know, and perhaps most importantly, it makes you compete against yourself. Sometimes it turns friends into foes, and sometimes foes become friends. It makes you push yourself faster and harder. Strava helps you discipline yourself. Strava equalizes the playing field. When you’re done with a ride and upload your data and the results come back, Strava can be brutally honest, or it can be extremely gratifying, padding your ego. For better, or for worse. It’s an adrenaline rush, all in itself. It’s awesome. It’s addicting.Continue Reading
New year, new beginnings
Happy New Year! This afternoon, I clicked on my Strava app and instinctively went to my stats page. I was shocked by what I saw. Everything had reset to ZERO. All of my hard work, my blood, sweat, tears: gone. But not to worry, too much. It’s January 1. It’s a new year for Strava, and Strava has to reset stats sometime. So the year begins on January 1. And not just mine, but everybody’s stats go to ZERO.
When I looked at my Strava stats page, I was a little shocked. “What?!” I thought to myself! “What happened to all my hard earned work???” Last year I put in 2,000 miles, and lots of elevation, and lots of hours. I worked hard last year. I was proud of my accomplishments last year.
But there’s also something to be said about having a brand new, clean start. It’s a brand new beginning. All of my Strava buddies are tied with me. It’s a new game!
- New beginnings = optimism.
- New beginnings = clean.
- New beginnings = freedom.