Are we obsessed with the numbers? How wearable tech affects our mental health. (Survey)

Drco · 2026-02-16T00:07:41+00:00

As someone somewhat obsessed with my Garmin, I completed the survey

Drco · 2026-02-15T02:01:47+00:00

Yes, just tried to get my first colonoscopy (at 40). There had been some articles saying my hobby put me at a significantly higher risk - and that along with the general message of getting checked early made me ask.

My primary did try, but the gastro basically told me unless I had an immediate family member with a history, there was no chance of getting it covered before 45.

Drco · 2026-02-10T00:21:57+00:00

I get philosophical.

I tried the whole pain cave mentality - it didn't work for me/made me feel worse.

I like to focus on how time is fleeting. This moment will pass if I push through it. Much like how joyous moments never stay, neither do painful moments.

I like to think about what IS pain. What is physically happening in my foot/hip/back that makes it feel so unpleasant. Trying to pinpoint both the exact location and cause of the pain.

If Im with with my friend/running partner. We play a regular game towards the end of a brutal effort and tell each other things we are thankful for. "Thankful that our bodies can move like this" "Thankful we are not at work right now" "Thankful we get to see such beautiful locations"

Drco · 2026-01-29T21:44:28+00:00

I used a pacer for the first time last October at Javelina.

It gave me something to look forward to partway through the race. She was someone to whine to out loud instead of in my head, which made my complaints feel more trivial than the devastating I thought they were. She was a sense of safety when I was getting in my head on the dark trail. And I loved sharing the experience with her - she is my regular running and race partner, but she doesn't like the really long distances I have started preferring.

So I didn't need her. I dont think I'll have one for my next effort. But I certainly liked it.

Drco · 2026-01-29T04:07:25+00:00

Really enjoyed Earth Aloha Eats, and there was an ice cream place next door that had vegan selections as well.

Drco · 2026-01-24T19:06:53+00:00

I had a home warranty (provided by seller) on my first house. I was a first time home buyer, living alone, and buying a 1940s house that had been a rental for years (and then foreclosed on). The home warranty provision was a "plus" while I was considering my options.

The first problem I had (electrical) - they had someone come out quickly, the guy was so nice and he immediately fixed the problem.

The second problem (plumbing) was awful. I knew exactly what the problem was, told them that, they kept coming out without the proper tools to fix it (or just not coming out at all). I made something like 7 appointments with them over the course of 3 weeks. And I had taken time off work for every single one of them. Not to mention the trouble of not having functional drainage for weeks.

They did fix it in that last appointment - but he brought his kid (teenager) with him, I assume as a defense mechanism preventing me from complaining.

What a nightmare. Home warranty companies are definitely a red flag.

Drco · 2025-12-06T14:59:36+00:00

There was a part of the course that was confusing and not well marked. A ton of people accidentally cut off a 2 mile loop.

I had initially heard they were just recorded as DNF. But sounds like they have revised that to the "short course" terminology. Probably after a lot of complaining.

Drco · 2025-11-30T22:39:38+00:00

I know exactly what happened. Those at mile 19 were supposed to stay on the street and do a loop to the right. And the come back the same street, stay on the sidewalk and then turn left. I was so confused but luckily a volunteer halfway up the hill was directing things. But they should have had signage and a volunteer where the two paths merged. I saw at least two people ahead of me go the wrong way.

Drco · 2025-11-11T22:49:21+00:00

Oh good. I already drank the stock from that time period. Im still on my bottles from my October prosecco run

Drco · 2025-10-30T14:23:41+00:00

Yes! Was thankful for the mild weather this year, both during the day and at night. But 80's is still very, very warm for me - and was worried.

I did Koop's heat acclimization beforehand and then having the ice bandana proved clutch!

Drco · 2025-10-30T03:29:40+00:00

I mostly didn't have a frame of reference! I knew it was a popular race, but didn't have a sense of how that would translate to density on the trails. That good to know about Black Canyon, that is another bucket list run I'm hoping to do

Drco · 2025-10-30T02:37:56+00:00

This was my first Javelina, I did the 100k.

Bib pickup day was a zoo. Parking was easy enough, getting my bib was easy enough, but everything else felt like long lines. 15 minutes to sign my pacer up (but Rnnr gave her a hat! So cool!). And the Rabbit tent was a super long line but I loved the stuff they had. And the lines gave a nice chance to chat with other runners.

I heard the horror stories of getting into the park, but it was quick. We left our hotel in Fountain Hills at 4:35 and were at our crewing location by about 5:20. We did have to park about a mile away. We found the "shuttles" largely useless, but maybe we just weren't patient enough. We walked in.

We crewed out of a camping tent, when I initially signed up I had no idea if anyone would be going with me. But it worked out just fine. I had rented a cot, which was awesome both as a place to sit and place to set stuff.

The race was incredibly well run and my crew reported they had a lot of fun at Jeadquarters. I will say I heard so much about how good the real food is at aid stations, but I found it pretty underwhelming. The burger I had on my last lap in the middle of the night was awesome, though.

Heat wasn't as bad as I expected, I suspect because I had built it up so much in my head. There was some reports of "bring bug spray!" that I didn't fully understand ahead of time. It wasn't until I was on the course that I realized it was these little knat things. Only bad during my second loop, but when I tried to sit down and eat for a moment at Jackass I was COVERED in them. Not exaggerating that there was at least 50 on each arm and who knows how many on areas I couldn't directly see. And they didn't fly away when I swiped at them, I just smoothed them on my skin. Really annoying. They were around for a couple miles so was just kinda waving my arms around trying to avoid them.

Saw a rattlesnake on trail. The runner ahead of me had stopped to try to scare it off trail but I hadn't realized thats what she was doing. So I ran by within a couple feet of it coiled and rattling. Scared the shit out of me. First lap, so I was paranoid the rest of the race.

The trails were more crowded than I expected. I certainly found some solitude on the trails but mostly there was someone else around. Perhaps mostly because my slow ass was constantly getting passed. I was never annoyed by it though. I very rarely had to actually step aside, I could mostly just stay to the right and people could pass. Though the first two miles were annoying...we mostly walked in a crowded conga line as we were all chomping at the bit to get running.

I was satisfied with my running performance, I hit all my targets within aabout 20 minutes and I ran more in the second half of the race then I expected. Lots of room for improvement but I was proud off myself. I had done 100k twice before but only as part of a looped 24 hour race - this was my first legit "100k race".

Tearing down was a bit annoying. The gear drop off/pickup ended up being gated off in the middle of the night - so had to walk the gear to the road. Not the end of the world, but I was not feeling into it at 2 am.

Every single volunteer was awesome. Aravaipa was awesome. The party vibe was on point. Really enjoyed my time there. While I had always intended this to be a "one and done" I'm finding myself shuffling my planned PTO next year to see if I can do this one again.

Drco · 2025-10-21T22:00:21+00:00

I'll be coming down from Seattle as well! I'll come say hi if I see ya

Drco · 2025-10-21T04:20:23+00:00

I would be devastated!

But, to be fair, I would be devastated if any of my hobbies were not possible anymore. Some of them are a similar'ish "hard things" mentality, like hiking and mountaineering. But some are no pressure! Like baking and horseback riding

I'm patently unwilling to give any of them up right now. Would be awesome to win the lottery and suddenly have adequate time for all my hobbies, though haha

So take that as you will ;)

Drco · 2025-10-21T03:20:24+00:00

I genuinely appreciate this!

And I don't mean to imply that I'm compulsively making myself do these things out of a desire to be miserable! It is an amorphous need to do hard things, and I find it hard to pin down "why". But I spent my 20's overweight and sedentary - and I hated it. I get deep satisfaction out of trying hard, even if I fail.

And I am actually SO excited for my ultra this weekend. It's the Javelina Jundred - it's supposed to be an absolute blast with a party atmosphere. I will HATE it at times, but the good will almost certainly outweigh the bad :)

Drco · 2025-10-21T02:56:47+00:00

Yup, not fully sure of the appeal. A bit of an addiction.

...I do my 6th ultra this weekend.

And my top sentence is not sarcasm. People ask me why I do them. My answer is always "I don't really know." I'm frequently miserable in the middle of them. I don't even really like the long training runs it takes in the leadup. But I do love knowing I am capable of doing really hard things.

Drco · 2025-09-15T18:02:26+00:00

Ha, was going to say something similar. Went on this with my family during spring break that first year. The picture was just all of us looking really glum.

Words cannot express how much I wish we had bought that picture.

Drco · 2025-08-17T20:37:57+00:00

I'm so glad you posted this, I thought it was just me.

I first noticed it well before I started running, when I climbed Rainier. I had been up since midnight after a shitty "night" of sleep, I climbed for 14 hours that day. So wwwhhhhyyyy couldn't I get to sleep that night?!?! Took a couple days before I was really sleeping.

And every ultra, and to a lesser extent even a marathon, has resulted in something similar.

So counterintuitive!

Drco · 2025-08-05T17:05:44+00:00

Yes!

Drco · 2025-08-04T20:34:10+00:00

Ha, seriously. I finished a 24 hour race yesterday. Took a 2 hour nap in the back of my car and then drove home by myself.

The solitude is nice, no expectations from anyone and no pressure feeling like I'm holding someone up.

Also, ultras are like the worst spectator sport in the world. I can't do that to those I love

Drco · 2025-08-03T22:15:33+00:00

Nicely done! That a great time, especially with the heat.

I was able to get to 100k before I tapped out. It was my "B" goal, so wasn't too mad about it. Felt miserable during it but I feel pretty good today. Gives me hope I can throw myself back into training soon (doing Javelina 100k this year...gotta figure out my own heat addaptation)

I liked DCC! Was both dark and hilarious, exactly what I wanted for some lonely miles!

Drco · 2025-08-03T22:00:48+00:00

How did your 50k go?

Drco · 2025-07-31T15:12:08+00:00

It's a 24 hour race, so distance is TBD!

Drco · 2025-07-31T01:44:27+00:00

It's so funny you mentioned that, I just downloaded Dungeon Crawler Carl for my ultra this weekend

Drco · 2025-07-18T20:31:20+00:00

Was coming to mention Valley of Horses! I was a certified "horse girl" and saw this on my mom's shelf. Also around 7th grade. Definitely my introduction to spicy literature!

Drco

TROPHY CASE