You can't spell team without BACON.

changing worldwide game of capture the flags where there are many flags).  I belong to the Resistance (we are nicknamed Smurfs, and we believe that our minds should be free from alien influence (okay, some weird backstory stuff...)). It has enabled me to meet people from all across the U.S. as well as across the world (*waves to her new friends*).

A very wide range of people play (all different ages and fitness levels), and the game is flexible to allow for all sorts of gameplay. We have people who play 10 minutes a day, we have people who play for much longer. People play on foot and by bike (and sometimes by car, but I think that is silly).  And it's a great way to learn about your local area cause there are portals EVERYWHERE (even in Ukiah, CA, Chris!).
  

Richmond Resistance

Quite often we get together and do these things called anomalies (large scale cross-faction events with rapid, real-time gameplay). My first anomaly was in Asheville, NC on June 7 (Resistance won!).  After that it was Gettysburg on June 21 (Resistance won the city, the day (multiple cities across the globe) and the whole Interitus series!), Richmond on August 9 (Resistance lost the city), and most recently Baltimore on August 23 (Resistance won Helios 6!).  

In Baltimore, I took my first turn as a team lead -- and my team did AWESOMELY.  Super proud of all of them.  There's no I in team, but "team" is an anagram for meat.  And well, bacon is awesome.  And just like bacon, my team was awesome.  Not only did we play well, but we had a lot of fun doing it.  My team was silly, supportive, and I'd work with them again any time.

My awesome Baltimore Helios Team!

Okay, so why am I talking about Ingress in my fitness/weightloss blog?  Well... I started playing Ingress in December 2013.  It helped get me out of the house during some of the worst weather DC had to offer (ahem, ice storms!?).  But most importantly it helped stave off a large part of my depression/isolationism after injuring my lower back in February and again in May (one of my Ingress buddies visited me in the hospital). It kept me moving.  There were days I could only walk around my block, and there were days I spent 3 hours walking.  When I was most depressed about not being able to run or go to the gym, I knew I could at least walk.

There's also a very strong social aspect to the game.  More than just anomalies, we often get together to work on various operations/initiatives.  For instance, brunch.  In DC we love our brunch.  We'll often plan Ingress activities around brunching. We will go to different neighborhoods for "unique hacks" (i.e., going places we've never been before) and often unique restaurants.

Anyways... I just wanted to introduce you (my health gain/weight loss family) to my other family (my Ingress team).  I'm not sure I've really ever introduced you all before, so play nice!