Allison of The Broad Running Broad published a great article in early April on the popular InsideTracker. You can check it out here.
Seems all the running influencers are somehow a part of the biomarker and nutrition tracking app, Inside Tracker. The premise is you submit your labwork to them, it’s analyzed for nutritional, hormonal, etc deficiencies and then a customized plan is sent to you detailing how to improve your health. The fine print though. Turns out you can pay upwards of several thousands of dollars per year for their customized plans and labwork costs. Until now I hadn’t heard anyone share the deep, dark details.
And, on that note, the Navy really distorts what health and fitness looks like. Probably all branches but I’m only speaking to my own. Maybe distort isn’t the correct word, but it certainly played into my distorted views. I haven’t looked lately – there’s no reason to – but the height/weight requirements are completely impractical. Truth time. I currently weigh 150 lbs. That’s a lot in my little, distorted, unhealthy mind. I don’t like that number. I don’t like it at all. However, I’m liking how my clothes (still) fit, I can run, I can keep up with mini, I can do my job without restriction, I can LIVE. So what’s the problem? Well, nothing, I guess. Again, it’s just a number! Kel! It’s just a number! Ugh. I hate how society places value on the number on the scale. How many times have I said it doesn’t matter – but that stupid voice inside my head says something is wrong.
Deep breath. I’m trying. There’s a fitness friend I follow along with in social media who also weighs the same. It was a bit of a news flash when she casually stated her weight. It clearly doesn’t define her. But going back over her story, she seemed to have struggled many years ago, too. Hmmm. I’m sensing a pattern here.
Nonetheless, I’m sticking with my plan of “training” for a 10k and strength training 3-4x a week. Last week was the highest mileage week since December…a whopping 8 miles! Tell the press! Or is it hold the presses? Meh. I sincerely feel strong this time around. It’s incredible how much we rely on our back end to propel us forward when running. Of course I knew all this. I just had to break something before being reminded.
Isn’t that always how it goes? The little things creep up on us and, then, BAM. We’re in over our heads with lab work plans and physical therapy and who knows what else. Meh.
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I ask you –
Have you heard of InsideTracker? Have you tried it?
What things in your life do you believe you may have a distorted view of?
Tell me your word du-jour! Lately mine is “meh”, but I use “whackadoo” daily.
Running on Fumes 
I don’t keep track of anything in depth. I know what works for me. My 170 is better than my 2012 170. I’m shaped more like a V than a b. Not quite there, but better. I’m 46, so being a V is tough with a young kid.
I ran twice last week for the first time in 6 months. The big hill at 0.8 miles didn’t get me, but the second one at 2.1 did. Run 2? 2.3 miles without stopping. Got through that second hill, but that was it. That’s fine.
We worry about how we match up against others too much. All that is important to me is that I am in better condition now that I ever was. EVER…age 16, 26, 36–and that tells me I’m doing something right.
When I tell old man stories at work, I always start with, “100 years ago….”, or, “In olden times….”
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Way to go on your run, Larry! That’s great!
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-Never hear of Inside Tracker, but I am now intrigued.
-My distorted view: things (eg jobs, promotions, fitness goals) come easy for everyone else but me. I partially blame social media because most folks post only their highs and not their lows.
-My word(s): Eh, Whatever, So (and the Spanish version Y Qué?)
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It’s tough to figure out what the norm is because of social media influence.
Your words are fun!
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The social media thing really hit me near the end of my PhD life. As you probably know from reading this thing, I’m pretty open. During that time, I pretty much posted the good, bad, the ugly, and the hot ass mess of my grad life on Facebook. Meanwhile, I see many folks in my and other programs posting things about how great life is, pictures from beautiful locations, rainbows, and unicorns. One day, I randomly caught up with a few folks in my program and was told all of these horror stories of what they were going through. Thinking to myself, I was like WHY THE HELL DON’T YOU TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS TOO.
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Absolutely! It’s not like it’s their job to “sell” the program to you – too late for that!
You are very real in your blog posts and presumably in your own life. I like that about you! You tell it how it is.
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Sometimes, I think I might tell it how it is too frequently. I think this is because my dad has been overly critical of everything I do (I think it’s a W. African thing). On one hand it sucks and it is annoying, but on the other hand it has given me thick skin.
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I’ve never heard of inside tracker. I used a run tracker a few years back, but I eventually get bored with trying to keep it up to date.
I probably have a distorted view of money and budgets in a professional setting due to my exposure to the excesses of the DOD and to my work in the financial sector.
The word of the day is usually “gooberenski” for my son, or “tiny-hiney” for my daughter.
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Those are the most creative pet names I’ve heard of! Love them!
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The Navy standards are ridiculous. As far as PRT goes, when I ceased being part of the “3 mile a year club”, and started getting in shape, I became a cardio machine. When I went to CFL school I ran the mile and a half in 10:25, at the age of 47. At 6’2” I weighed 205. BUT, then I got into weightlifting. Wanting to be a late in life body builder i put on a good bit of muscle! Well, at my height my weight to be in standards was just 211, and i went up to 220. So even though I was still running the 1.5 miles in about 12:00, and doing 70 pushups and 80 sit-ups for an overall score of Outstanding, weight wise I was out of standards and had to get taped every cycle!
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This is a common story! I’ve seen men (and women) who are in great shape and can score high on the PRT be taped each cycle while men (and women) who can’t pass a single portion of the PRT fly through the weight cycle.
It makes no sense.
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