Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Garmin Fitness chat with Alexi Pappas

Garmin pro athletes Alexi Pappas and standup paddler Jenny Kalmbach were at the Garmin HQ for a Facebook chat, and since I am a longtime Garmin (Forerunner 220) runner and am sort of obsessed with how cool and inspiring Alexi is to mere mortal runners like me, I thought I would transcribe her replies here. You can watch the full video below, including all of Jenny's replies, and also be sure to follow @GarminFitness and join the facebook.com/garminfit page.

Q: How do you structure your day and fit in everything you want and have to do?

A: The first thing is, I lay out my clothes and everything the night before -- which sounds like the person I didn't think I would grow up to become. But it makes the day a lot easier. That way, when I wake up and head to practice, everything is ready to go. I do normal things like eat and practice but I also eat every day.


Q: How many years have you been a professional athlete?

A: Four.

Q: How many times a week do you eat whatever you want to?

A: I feel like I'm mostly eating whatever I'm craving. So for me, it's not as much about limiting things -- although I would say I eat less sugar, less processed sugar -- as much as I know when I need certain things. I'll like crave steak, and then I'll think I need to go immediately and eat red meat. Or I really need a glass of milk, or I really need some chocolate, and I'll go get those things immediately, because I think our bodies are telling us we need those things.

Q: What are your favorite foods for a cheat day?

A: Sushi. I mean, that's not cheating, it's just delicious.

Q: What's your favorite type of sushi roll?

A: I really like raw salmon. That's my favorite thing. Or eel. Or that weird egg thing that they make.

Q: What Garmin are you wearing?

A: 735.

Q: What are your favorite features on this product?

A: I rely on my Garmin really heavily for the mileage, honestly, and that it's consistent. Because I'm traveling so much -- I haven't been in one place for more than three weeks in over a year. So when I travel and train, the one thing that's consistent is my watch helping me determine that I'm running the proper mileage, and it's crucial to my training.

Q: What's new for you in 2017?

A: I might try a longer race, like I've never run a half-marathon or anything longer. So I might try something even longer.

Q: How tall do you think your bun is?

A: I think it's probably between 4 1/2 and 6 inches tall, if you count from scalp to the frizz. It's disgusting that I'm saying it.

Q: What stats do you monitor on your various Garmin devices when you work out?

A: Pace is very important to us. If we have a very long workout, we have to make sure we don't start out too fast. Sometimes you're on a random road, and I'm very grateful that something besides my body is determining my pace, because otherwise I would mess everything up.

Q: What's been your favorite thing about being here at Garmin?

A: I think it's kind of cool to have grown up with a product your whole life. My high school graduation gift from my dad was one of the older Garmins for my car, and now to kind of see the device become useful in my current profession, which is no longer driving high school students, but as a running professional athlete, is really cool. And to see where it all happens is special.

Here's the full chat that you can find on facebook.com/garminfit. Be sure you are following me @marathoner!

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