jawbone UP24 | Keeping up with the Walkers…

It has taken a trendy little wearable device to point out the fact that I’m not getting nearly enough sleep. I’ve been wearing a Jawbone UP since December. It tracks the number of steps I take each day, it helps me keep a food as well as a water diary, logs my weight and keeps a note of my general mood during the day. But the handiest part is that it tracks my sleep patterns.

I’ve seen the research that says we should all be getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night so I set that as my goal. I was fine over the December holidays but since getting back to work in January, I somehow cannot get to bed early enough. My Jawbone keeps warning me that I’m only averaging 6 hours of shut eye every night, way below the average and not enough to be operating at my best during the day.

I’ve started to take notice of my energy levels at work. Lately I’m grumpy. I’m stressed. I’m snappy. Most days when I get home, I have to fight the urge to snooze on the bed than put my trainers on and head out the door to run. To make matters worse, I’m getting even less sleep on weekends because we run track on Saturday mornings and a race or club run on Sundays so we never sleep in. Not only is sleep important for my work and my health, but my running too. Everything suffers!

So I need to do something about it. I need to be more disciplined and make it a habit to get to bed early. I have to wake up by 5:30 so my only option is to get to bed by 21:30 at the latest in order to get my 8 hours in. I’m taking it quite seriously too because I know I can only go on for so long before I burn out or get sick.

It starts tonight!

Before I headed out to run on Sunday, I threw my sunglasses in the drawer, choosing to run without them for a change. Lately, I find that I hardly wear them and run the entire way with them perched on my cap, so why bother? But there are definitely items which I can’t run without? Here’s my list:

My towelling cap

There are three ‘generations’ of running caps in my drawer. The first blue Nike one I happened to find at Meltz (of all places!). It set the standard for the next two caps because of the towelling headband. I sweat on my head big time and the towelling soaks it all up. The next two caps have both come with towelling and I simply cannot run without it! I haven’t been able to find another Nike cap but stumbled upon this blue Sailfish cap at Tribe on Main Street last week. It’s as if it was made especially for my head. Super light and fits like a glove. It’s a winner!

My sports bra

I’ve been a loyal Anita sports bra wearer for many years and never bothered looking for alternatives. Until I happened to see a survey of running bras which showed the CW-X from Contour Sports as the top sports bra and decided to try it out. I’m not a fan of buying clothes online but trust me, the sizes are a perfect match! The best thing about this bra is that it feels as if it’s holding me and all my jiggly bits tightly together. I’ve also had no chaffing during any track sessions or the recent half marathons I’ve run. It even looks attractive enough to be worn just on its own (if it was that confident). The biggest bonus: I throw it in the washing machine!

My thick socks

KK and I never really confuse whose socks are whose because while he loves all things Nike, I’m a huge Falke fan. I cannot run in thin socks and find the thicker the sock, the better. Combined with the cushioning of my asics running shoes, it’s as if I’m running on clouds. I just wish they couldn’t get all bobbly after a few washes.

My Garmin/Jawbone combo

Wearable devices has become the rage lately so when KK gave me a Jawbone UP24 for Christmas, I was thrilled! I’ve become slightly obsessed with it too. It tracks my steps as well as my sleeping patterns and suggests corrective measures and tips to help me monitor my health. It sync’s with all the apps such as My Fitness Pal and Strava (find me!) which makes it the perfect match with my Garmin. I even get a weekly newsletter showing how well/unwell I’m doing.

Are you the same? What are some of your favourite running items?

(ps: this post is unsponsored and all my own views and opinions. Basically, no one paid me to say these things…)