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Hey-Hey Newsletter friends! No, you are not mistaken, this is another newsletter! Did you guys doubt me? Here we are with newsletter #2 of the great come-back series! This week we have lots of goodness, both above and below the fold. So without further ado, let's get to it. If you’re new to this newsletter feed, welcome! If you have some extra reading time, you can always check out the Newsletter Archives and catch up on what stories have been told in the past! As well, there are two Quarantine Corner episodes that quietly got released for public consumption in case you were interested in becoming a DCR Supporter!
Yesterday I pressed send on the latest Quarantine Corner episode. If you are unfamiliar with what the QC is, long story short, when the world first came to a grinding halt in March 2020, I suggested to Ray that we do something more light-hearted for the DC Rainmaker Supporters. These regular video posts focus on behind the scenes of the business, personal product opinions, and stories of family life. Of course, I’m doing the shameless plug here for that video series because Ray has never really mentioned it in a post on the website. I would love to see more people signing up and commenting on these videos, as it really feels like the best way to keep things personable with all of you! So, what’s to come with today’s newsletter? As always, I’ll give you the latest update of what’s been happening on the website and YouTube, then, below the fold are the In-Depth Thoughts from The Girl section. The Website Another busy week for Ray, and lots of goodness popping up! First up was Strava’s new “Mute Activity” option. Not sure how my Strava account got dragged into this. But one day Ray asked “Hey, is your Strava App updated?” and I, of course, responded with “I dunno, did YOU update my Strava app?”. Yadda yadda yadda...and then Ray steals my phone, to which he’s immediately happy to see that I was one of 50% of the Strava users who got this new function! Woohoo, except I barely use Strava, so meh. Anyways, if one's workout is a bit less glamorous then you can mute it as to not fill up your followers’ feeds. Yeah, I think I summed that one up pretty good!
Next up was the infamous Fitbit Charge 5 In-Depth Review. Why was it infamous? Well, the product had some major flaws. Even though Ray said the Charge 5 had some features that could have made the product the best Fitbit has ever released, there were definitely some issues that could not be swept under the rug! Then there was the Hands-on Wahoo’s New SYSTM Training Platform. Did you know that Wahoo had bought out Sufferfest a few years ago? Well, they did. They re-named it. And they expanded the platform. But I don’t want to give up any spoilers, so check out the post would ya? There is a new Tech Tidbit post as well. As I have long said, I truly believe Ray only continues to use this “Tidbit” title to dangle the idea of Tim Horton Timbits in front of my eyes. He could at least show up with some Dunkin Doughnuts on the days of those posts? For those wondering, the only doughnut shop in Amsterdam is Dunkin’ so that’s the best we got. But anyway, you’re here for tech, and not calorie-rich snacks. Ray tells us little “tidbits” about the latest from Wahoo, Moxy, and Polar in this post; mostly items of note, but not really worthy of full individual posts per item.
More interesting, is the post of how Ray continued to try to kill his GoPro throughout a strenuous 40+ test research. Check out the post A Deep-Dive into GoPro Hero 10 Overheating. In reading this post and watching the video I started to feel bad for our daughters; fast forward a few school years when they have to do science projects and present their testing and findings… there’s a pretty high standard in our family now! Hahaha poor kids.
Last but not least, and hot off the press Polar Grit X Pro GPS Watch In-Depth Review. Like, just posted so I haven’t read too much into it. Ray said it’s a pretty good watch from Polar, finally combining a nice-looking watch with features. For Polar loyalists, it will be exciting, albeit Polar's most expensive watch. That’s if for this week, keep reading for the YouTubes and In-Depth Thoughts from The Girl. YouTube The YouTube channel is still doing its thing. Sometimes a video just happens to be the more effective way to get the info out there. Also, a PSA here. If you hit the like button on a YouTube video, or subscribe to a YouTube creator’s channel, that’s a really great way to support people who are putting out content. More importantly, if you subscribe, and I disappear again for another 4 months, you’ll still be kept well informed of new videos being published! · Strava’s New Muting Feature – An Explainer · Fitbit Charge 5: 9 Things to Know · GoPro Hero 10 Overheating: 40 Tests Later · Polar Grit X Pro: 9 Things to Know |
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In-Depth Thoughts from The Girl Hey, thanks for making it to the bottom of the newsletter! So what’s new? The last newsletter I was telling you about my need to get back to racing and finding some good options! Let me tell you, you guys came through! I had a pile of locals send messages my way with race ideas, and even an invite to join a team for some inner-squad races. So that’s really awesome and encouraging for getting back to it! Thank you! One of the races tossed my way, was the weekly “Park Run – Amsterdam Bos” edition, thanks to Mike! If you aren’t up to speed on the Park Run series (because I wasn’t), it’s a free 5km race. It runs completely by volunteers and seems to be super friendly/sportsmanship focused (well, the Amsterdam one was!). Having a mere 48 hours between discovering the race and taking part in it, I didn’t have much time for rest. Ray and I had already put down two hard speed-work workouts that week, the last one being Thursday afternoon, plus an hour bike on Friday. So I wasn’t looking to break any records or anything. But my coach and I both agreed I needed to get a fast, hard-effort tempo run under my belt so we could get a bit of an idea of where I am these days. So, the race plan went like this. Get up Saturday morning 8:00. Coffee 8:15. Run to the event as the warm-up 8:30. Race check-in 8:50. Air horn 9:00. And honestly, it was so much fun! I think it was my first stand-alone 5K in years. I was pretty happy with my effort, as I didn’t really have any expectations going into it. I ended up as the first female across the line, which in hindsight there weren’t that many of us gals! Haha, but since it might be the only time I get to report that here, I’ll take it for the win. Plus I 100% had the best mobile-cheering section!
Maybe if I can get a bit more race experience under my belt, I can have a better feel of when to push a little harder. I definitely have more than that in my tank, but honestly, I was all smiles crossing the line, and it was the icing on top of a great week of training. During a triathlon, I had to always “get through” the swim and bike, and THEN I got to lay down the hammer for the run. But toeing the line of just a running race (non-marathon) it was REALLY hard to know how fast I should run. Which I guess, at this point you might be asking “well how fast DID you run?” I finished in 21:22, which I think is pretty solid as a starting point. The long-term goal is dropping my 10km under the 40-minute marker, hopefully in the spring. I’d love to get another few Park Runs under my belt before the New Year, in the meantime I need to decide on a 10km goal Race. Anyways, I have yammered on for long enough now. Until next time, thanks so much for following along! ~The Girl |
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