From 4 to 60 in 7 days
Rene’ Brown (CNO Participant)
Last weekend, I celebrated my grand daughter’s 4th birthday with a walk and this past weekend I helped my uncle celebrate his 60th birthday by attending a party in his honor in North Carolina. Uncle-brother has always been an avid runner and kept a hand written running log for years so needless to say he really enjoys wearing his pedometer. I knew his schedule was tight with out of town guest and party planning stuff so getting a walk with him on this particular visit was probably not very likely.
Before the car trip, I had tons of things to do. Clean my house, put in almost a full day at the gig, go to the gym (No. Go for a walk – the company gym hours didn’t fit into my schedule, but as a side bar – flex gym hours on Monday and Friday would be great). One of my walk buddies needed some new sneaks – so I walked with her. I’m glad I did because my goal was to clock at least 7,000 steps before the long car ride, plus I had to see kiddies on my second job. With that done I raced home and quickly packed.
One of my walk buddies needed some new sneaks – so I walked with her. I’m glad I did because my goal was to clock at least 7,000 steps before the long car ride..
I made sure I had the necessary stuff for the party, and my bathing suit. I don’t travel with out it. I also made sure I packed very nutritious snacks for the ride…bing-cherries, blueberries, apples, water, fiber-one bars, and some sugar free gummies. (Thanks Lynn for asking me to walk you to Nuts to You. My brother made the same face you did when I chose the sugar-free worms. The only thing stopping him from jumping back two feet was the fact that we were confined to the car.) Eating the snacks I brought with us was the plan – right?
I stuck pretty much to the plan until I saw the chocolate cupcake at Starbucks on one of our gas stops. I bought it. But I am happy to say that I still had some to eat well into the next day. Settling in, we devoured the cherries and blueberries and I happily looked at my 11,000 step, step count for the day.
By the grace of God, my brother, uncle, and I arrived safely at our hotel in Wake Forest, NC. The weather had been nasty starting from about 7PM and we left for our journey during the peak of the Friday night storm. Not to mention the fact that a tracker-trailer overturned on the highway causing the traffic to be even more hectic.
The next morning after a well needed rest, we had lots of time to spare. The party was at four, it was still very early, and we were operating in a southern time atmosphere where everything slows down and you immediately feel like “what’s the rush?” Or, you drive yourself crazy wondering ‘why people and time are moving so slowly?” The serenity of the calm was beneficial for everyone in their own way. For my uncle – he’s stuck in Hog heaven going 70 or 80 mph in the open air. Unc is a slightly older loc wearing biker, Deacon in the church, educator, and the older of my two uncles mentioned in this blog. My brother loves to run track, and play basketball. He lives for cardio and I like going to the track with him. He can run fast and I can run and walk at my own pace, but he – like Unc is not a fan of going too slowly.
After breakfast (I made a smart choice…oatmeal and fruit over the Belgian waffles), I got them to walk with me. They thought we were going for a short stroll around the block – but I headed out and they went with me. We were about ½ mile into the walk when Unc decided to ask how far we were going. Three miles! I proclaimed. Unc was a real trooper and when we found the small wooded shortcut of a path that lead to the back of a Target mega store, he ducked down the path and walked down the hill with us. We even jumped off the loading dock’s ledge like playful children and made other short window shopping stops along our route. They started to enjoy the slowness of the day as we made our way back to the Sleep-In. We didn’t walk the three miles that I so adamantly shouted out, but we didn’t do too badly.
With the NC sun beaming on our backs my brother and I kept the idea of plunging into the hotel’s pool alive, so when we finally arrived back at the hotel, 6,893 steps later, I knew I would have a good work out day and step count. It was only 11 AM, I was already so close to my first bench mark of the day, I was going to get my swim on AND I still had the party ahead of me. I ran to my room, took a quick shower and changed into my suit. I put on my shorts cover up, clipped on my pedometer, and took off all of my jewelry. But I couldn’t find the bag where I keep my lid, eye wear and ear plugs. Dang! I knew I packed it – oh well, I’ll just walk in the water – right? I won’t go swimming and I definitely won’t get my hair wet. That was the plan.
I’d love to say that my brother pushed me in the water. I wish I could say that I fell in or jumped in to save a drowning victim– but I can’t. I just walked in. The water felt so nice and calming and I was okay without emerging my entire head into the inviting body of water. I gave my brother a float lesson. I walked laps, did some karate kicks, leg lifts and squats too. It was at this moment that I banged my skull with the palm of my hand – and took my pedometer from my shorts. My brother was amazed with the gadget being sophisticated enough to be water proof. And I was amazed that I could still see my step count (7,043) on the LCD! No, I did not get into the pool with my pedometer! I was distraught to say the least.
I was so obsessed with getting steps that I took off all my jewelry, but not the pedometer! UGH~~! I guess I learned another lesson! Your pedometer is not water proof – but how could I still see the step count? Still – my brother wrapped it in a dry towel and I took my frustration out on the pool, I got my hair wet, tried to do some laps without my lid and goggles and got tons of water in my ears. I had to go the rest of the day without my stepper and my brother and uncle never stopped hearing me complain. An hour later the display had gone completely blank, but still we removed the battery and left the pedometer in the windowsill to dry out…Yeah right?
At the party, I shared my sad story with my pedometer wearing – uncle. The birthday boy and I have marathon history that bonds us and I knew that he could really feel my pain. I made it through the festivities and had a great time with my family, but ya’ll know I still felt some kinda way about getting my pedometer wet!
So what did I do – in addition to having most of my plate filled with string beans and salad – I had more potato salad than I should have had and yes – I had two pieces of cake and a glass of too sweet lemonade!
The next morning, promising myself that a broken pedometer would not break me, I went to the hotel lobby to borrow the tiny screw driver again. I wanted to see if – by some small miracle – the pedometer had life or did I drown it? I put the battery in and screwed everything into place. When I turned the pedometer face up – It worked! The time was blinking on and off waiting to be re-set. And it held all of my step count activity for the last seven days!
With my pedometer working perfectly, I was delighted and my brother and uncles shared in my joy as I sang a melody “I got a pedometer, I got a pedometer, I got a pedometer – hey, hey, hey, hey! Everything was right with the world again and I made sure I got well over my step count for the day before we embarked on our long journey back home to Philly.
Monday morning – I dumped my data as soon as I could and noticed that only one day during the week was off – it only transferred 392 steps but my pedometer read 10,352 for that day. I called Walkingspree and spoke with Tony. He updated my information with the proper step count and informed me that drowned pedometers were not covered under warranty. He advised me to update my step count every day for about a week to insure that I won’t lose too much information in the likely hood that any remaining moisture will corrode the pedometer. He also advised that as soon as possible – remove the battery and place the pedometer in a zip lock baggie filled with white rice for approximately 12 hours. Hopefully if any moisture is still within the unit – the rice will help to absorb it. So – I’m not out of the water yet!
I’ll keep you posted, but going forward I will forgo the few hundred steps it takes to get to the pool area and leave my pedometer in my nice dry room. By any means necessary – clock those steps – but wearing it while walking in a swimming pool…well, that’s not recommended!
Rene’
The importance of your stride measurement
Lacie Lyons (Consumer Participant)
For my first blog post I wasn’t sure what to write, there are so many things I want to share!
Accomplishing my 10,000 steps each day has not been as easy as it was before marathon training. Shocking, I know. Oh my average steps work out to 10,000 a day or more, however, Mondays and Thursdays tend to be less. These days I do cross training, whether its a boot camp workout, strength training or swimming. Obviously with swimming, I can’t wear my pedometer (I’ve heard they don’t like water a lot and I really don’t want to test it personally), boot camp and strength training is a lot of stationary work concentrating on muscle strengthening. At first I was really frustrated that I wasn’t reaching my step goal every day, however, I have come to realize that an hour and a half of laps or a strength training workout of an hour that leaves me hurting for days more than equals out any steps that do not get measured, and fortunately, walkingspree has an area in our personal account to record any other physical activity in our day!!
How, if I am having days with only 6,000 steps, am I averaging more than 10,000 a day over the course of the week? My long walk/runs on the weekend to build up my endurance for the eventual 42km marathon in December.
With the marathon only 16 weeks away, the long walk/runs are VERY important! This weekend, my training schedule had me set for a 16km path… pretty daunting! Planning and preparing for this approximately 3 hour journey was challenging to say the least. I don’t have one of those fancy smartphones that have a GPS application on them to track your distance for you so I had to map it out on a program online. Because I really wanted to be sure, I used to different plans to figure out my route, plan it out so I would walk by a bathroom at least every half hour (just in case! it is a 3 hour walk after all) and get it set. Double checking, the route seemed overwhelming and long, but I knew I could do it… and out I set. Sunday was a hot, humid afternoon, but I didn’t want it to slow me down (I am, after all, planning on doing the marathon in Hawaii… hot and humid is a great possibility).. I kept my pace up, working hard at a good clip, but since this was a new route, I wasn’t sure where the kilometer markers were and I had to estimate every 11 or 12 minutes would be one kilometer. After 2 hours I reach a point that was approximately 3/4 of the way to my scheduled turn around point. Concerned that I was walking too slow (I expected it only to take me 3 hours) but already exhausted from the heat, I decided the smart plan was to stop and turn around. Another 2 hours later I walked in my front door, exhausted and disappointed I hadn’t done the whole walk. Whipped out my pedometer to upload my steps, it said I had walked 28,000 steps, and the mileage that it recorded was 12.87 miles…. 20.7km!! I was shocked… was it right?? I immediately emailed my trainer with the details of my route. She confirmed (using her GPS program) that indeed I had walked almost 21kms (half a marathon!!!). The moral of the story? Remember to set your stride length properly in your pedometer! It can track your distance even better than a website that claims to be accurate! You can enjoy a real sense of pride sitting back and checking your mileage at the end of the day, even on days you didn’t “exercise”.
Until next week… happy stepping!
50 by 50
Jennifer Carruth, IEEE Participant
Hi Walkers! Jennifer here saying hello again from beautiful Southern California. In my introduction bio last week I mentioned that I had a big audacious goal I like to call “50 by 50”: to lose fifty pounds by the time I turn fifty in October of this year. I hope to hit that goal at my Weight Watchers meeting in the next few weeks. I have a lot of plans to help meet that goal and the next: 100 pounds here I come!
This past weekend was a challenge. I spent Friday evening through Sunday morning at a hotel with a group of ladies for an annual get together. We love to eat, drink and be merry, so I had to plan ahead and be very conscious of what I ate and how many steps I took. I couldn’t let this fun weekend derail my plans! My trusty Walkingspree pedometer was there to remind me to stay active. Luckily, we stayed in a lovely hotel with a pool and a gym. I am not quite ready to make a public appearance in a swimsuit – so hitting the gym at least once was the plan. I jumped on the treadmill Saturday morning and walked two miles before breakfast. It felt great and I was almost half way to my 10,000 step goal for the day. After breakfast we headed for the mall for some shopping therapy and I made up the rest of the steps there: ending the day with 13,188 steps. So far it was a guilt free weekend!
I have made a pact with myself that when I do have something out of the norm that I do it thoughtfully and with no guilt. By doing that it permits me to enjoy without beating myself up afterwards.
With my steps for Saturday out of the way I just had to keep an eye on the food. I had decided to keep the snacking in the hospitality room to a minimum. I must admit that I ate 5 M & Ms and they were fantastic! I have made a pact with myself that when I do have something out of the norm that I do it thoughtfully and with no guilt. By doing that it permits me to enjoy without beating myself up afterwards. When we went to the restaurant for dinner I opted for the salmon and shrimp grilled dry and two sides of steamed broccoli no oil. Most restaurants will grant these requests without blinking an eye if you just ask. This was difficult for me when I started making the requests. I have found that there is never any problem getting things the way that I ask for them. All in all the weekend went great. I left the mall with clothes in a size that I haven’t seen in years and that was a real boost!
I got home early on Sunday and went shopping again with my lovely mom. When that was over, I still had a lot of steps that needed to be taken, so I headed over to my cousin Carla’s house and we headed off. We walked and talked and by the time we were done we had logged over 5 1/2 miles! Total steps for Sunday were 18,781 and mission accomplished for the weekend : )
I am really excited that the company that I work for, the IEEE in the Computer Society California office, has a new Walkingspree challenge starting up tomorrow. The IEEE was named one of the 2011 Best Places to Work in New Jersey so we will celebrate by doing a virtual walk from Fire Island, strolling along the coast to Long Beach and then will head into New York City for a little shopping (smaller clothes please!). Finally, we will head over the Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island, before we head to the IEEE New Jersey office. I love that the company that I work for cares enough to continue this program!
I am also really excited this week because I signed up for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure® walk to be held in San Diego in November. Feet don’t fail me now! I am sure I will mention this again in the coming weeks as it really sinks in that I will be walking 60 miles in three short days!
Thanks for reading and KEEP MOVING : )
Meet Jennifer, Walkingspree blogger
Jennifer will be joining the panel of Walkingspree bloggers each week for a Wednesday post.
Jennifer Carruth, IEEE Participant
Hi Walkers! My name is Jennifer Carruth. I live in beautiful Southern California where almost every day is nice enough to take a walk outside. I am proud to be the mom of two beautiful adult daughters. I am not very proud to say that before starting Walkingspree I was overweight and very out of shape – I could barely take 2000 steps in a day, and it felt like torture!
I started on the Walkingspree program in May 2010 when my employer, the IEEE, gave us the opportunity to join as part of a wellness program. Those 2000 steps have increased, and my goal is now to take 10,000 steps every day. I don’t always make it, but most days I do, and most is ok with me.
I kept walking for a year and increased my daily steps gradually. In March 2011 I decided to step it up to the next level and really get healthy. I am not too shy to say that I needed to lose 100 pounds – so I set my first big audacious goal at “50 by 50”: fifty pounds by the time I turn fifty in October of this year. To reach that goal, in March 2011 I added Weight Watchers at work. I have the pleasure of going to a weekly meeting in my office with a group of beautiful and dedicated women and an awesome leader. I am excited to say that I am already three pounds away from reaching “50 by 50”. I feel so much better already!
In the weeks to come I want to share with you how I have made it so far. I’ll tell you how I participated in my first official 5K walk on the Fourth of July. Since then I have done another 5K and have another two scheduled during the next month. I am even going to start mixing in some jogging soon!
I will tell you about how I got past that 2000 step a day trudge with a truly inspiring walking buddy who kept me moving when all I wanted to do was stay on my seat and eat.
My life has changed forever, and it started with taking the first step with Walkingspree last year.
Writing something that others will read is something I have never done before, so this is going to be a really new experience for me. I guess this is the year for trying new things! I hope that you will stick with me and give me some feedback over the next weeks. Thanks for reading and KEEP MOVING : )
Meet Lacie, Walkingspree blogger
Lacie will be joining the panel of Walkingspree bloggers each week for a Wednesday post.
Lacie Lyons (Consumer Participant)
My given name is Lacie Lyons, though 11 years ago my name changed… to Mom! So chose which you prefer.
A busy self-employed single mom of two “tweens” and volunteer, I use my sense of humor to keep it all in check.
My children will tell people that I am just a kid, always playing, that all people are kids, just some people forget how to play. Playing with my kids has been such a great reward for me in recent years, learning to ice skate last year, learning to hula hoop with them this year, because when my eldest was born I was unable to even climb two flights of stairs. Realizing I wasn’t able to play with my son, I set on a journey to change my life!
Working to lose 120lbs, and being someone who is an all or nothing kinda gal, I decided I wanted to train to walk a marathon!!
Even though I was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis earlier this year I have kept at it, my stubbornness showing, and am 16 weeks away from participating in the Honolulu Marathon in December (hey, who could say no to Hawaii in December?)
My pedometer is there with me every step of the way (oh yes, pun intended). In the beginning I was forgetting to put my pedometer on in the morning, and since I often walk first thing before even a coffee, the pedometer got left on the dresser. No more!! I put it on and it stays on, even at night, so its there to catch my first stumbly steps out the door in the morning.
The pedometer has become such a focal point in the family that my sons asked for their own so that they can compete with me… wow, they get a lot of steps at recess and lunch break at school while I am sitting in my office!
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