So, it looks like I threw in the towel on the challenge a little too soon!
No sooner had I posted my surrender Saturday than some of my friends and family jumped up and said “Oh wait! We want to do this!” That means my challenge is back in play.
We’re going to start on Saturday, May 1. If you want to join us, or you want more info… go check out the web page I put together.
Okay, I have to admit to being a little disappointed. I had hoped that more than one person would take me up on my challenge.
When one gets enthused about something, something that really really fires them up, I think it’s easy for them to lose sight that not everyone is as excited as they are. I suppose that’s what happened here. At this point in my life, walking is what fires me up. It did once before, and it did good things for me then. Maybe it will now. And maybe, in 6 months, walking will just be a distant memory.
In the end, the only person I can really challenge is myself.
So I’m withdrawing my challenge. (And Tony, I’d be honored if you’d still join me in my walking. We’ll keep the challenge just between the two of us!
I’ve set myself two challenges. The first is to walk 500 miles between now and the first of September. The second is to walk 100 miles in the next 30 days.
And I’d created a KILLER Challenge program to track everyones’ progress. Sigh.
And that’s just what they’ll do…
A long, long, long time ago, in Eric Years anyhow, I was diagnosed with Diabetes… this was back in April of 2005. I remember the day. It was “Donut Day” at work and I’d just had about my 20th donut (slight exaggeration for hyperbolic effect) when I started having chest pains. I’ve been no stranger to chest pains since 1999, but these seemed just a little worse than usual. So, a friend drove me to the hospital. My heart, as is always the case, was fine, but the doctors suggested I see my personal physician about getting checked for diabetes. And that is enough of THAT story… I serve it up here for the sole purpose of setting up what follows!
One of the recommendations that came about as a result of “Diabetes Awareness Classes” that my MD sent me to was the importance of losing weight, and getting good exercise. It was at this class that I was introduced to the “10,000 Step Program”. I say that as if there is but one such program… there isn’t. Google “10000 Step Program” and you’ll see that everyone has one.
The concept is simple really… anything is better than sitting around watching TV. So, go buy yourself a cheap little pedometer, and clip it to your belt. You can find them for as little as $5.00. Put it on each morning, and each night before you go to bed record the number of steps you took that day. At the end of the first week, take all those steps and get an average. (So, look at this little table for an example of how to get an average:)
| Sunday | 3215 | ||
| Monday | 2976 | ||
| Tuesday | 3043 | ||
| Wednesday | 3427 | ||
| Thursday | 1233 | ||
| Friday | 1034 | ||
| Saturday | 3340 | ||
| Total | 18268 | Divide by 7: | 2609 |
First of all, the individual walking those steps is NOT a couch potato. But he’s close to one! Assuming you have a 2.5 foot pace (the distance between the toe of your right foot and the heel of your left foot when both are on the ground while walking) then 2112 paces, or steps, is equal to 1 mile. For the purpose of the 10k step program, we say 2000 steps is 1 mile… and therefore 10000 steps is 5 miles.
Okay, then, take that 2,609 average step and round it up to the nearest 500, in this case, 3000 steps. This is your goal. Each day during week 2, try to walk at least 3000 steps EVERY DAY… no averages this time.
The next week, add 500 steps (3,500) and that is your target goal for that week.
If you’re really out of shape, not in to walking, then set milder goals… or strive for a single goal for a longer period. You might, if you are the guy that walked those sample steps up there in my table, set a goal of 3000 steps per day for a whole month, and then move up to 3500 for the next month.
Back to my story. In 2005, I began the 10000 step program, and my average steps weren’t too far off those of the sample I just cited. On the day I was diagnosed with diabetes, I weighed in at 249 pounds. I set my goals low, and for a month at a time. My goal was to get to 5000 steps by end of summer. I found the more I walked the more I WANTED to walk. And soon, I was a walking fool! By mid-October, I was at 10000 steps a day, I was down to 200 pounds and things were going good. (By the way, it wasn’t ONLY exercise that brought the weight down)
And then the midwest winter hit. So I bought a treadmill. Then “Treadmill Boredom” hit. And from there on, my steps started going downhill. I quit walking, for a bunch of reasons, and I really don’t remember most of them! By 2009, I was back to being almost but not quite a couch potato. My weight had crawled back to about 240. I joined weight watchers, my weight dropped but I didn’t exercise more. I dropped back to 220. I got laid off, I quit Weight Watchers, I exercised a little more, and managed for the next year to keep my weight in the low 220s.
Just a note on the diabetes here. It’s under great control, even when I eat foolishly. My high numbers really don’t get in to dangerous territory… they approach, but they don’t make it. On a high day my level 2 hours after eating is under 150, generally around 145. High, but not dangerous.
Walking, walking… yes, back to topic. In March I got a job in Downtown Omaha. Scott and I carpool… which means he drives me to 19th and Dodge and drops me off. I then walk the 4 blocks to my office. At lunch, to find food, I have to walk… there’s lots of good food in downtown Omaha and a walk can be anywhere from 1 block to 10.
After work… I get out of work at 4:30. This is a mandated EOD for me. Due to contracts and unions and such and the fact I’m a contractor for 2 more months, I am not allowed overtime. And while I’m fine working an hour or two overtime every day with out reporting it… that’s a big no no… so I have to leave at 4:30… or the 8 hour mark. (That’s why I’m writing this at noon on a Wednesday. I worked 6 hours last Sunday, and 4 hours 2 Sundays before that, so I had to take a day off to get caught up!) Scott gets off work at 5, and takes 25 minutes to get down town. What to do?
I walk! I’m back to participating in the 10000 Step Program. I set a goal of 5000 steps a day for April. In May, I’ll up that to either 6000 or 6500 steps a day. That shouldn’t be too hard, as I’m close to that for April… and just yesterday I put in 10,075 steps! I’m loving it!
So there you are. That’s what’s going on in my life.
Now, here’s my challenge to you all! Who wants to join me for a “Community Challenge”? The idea is, as many people as email me or make a comment (it has to be approved by me, which means I have to know who you are) I’ll take that number, and we’ll set an arbitrary “Community Steps” count… say, if 10 people sign up, we’ll set a target of 500,000 paces by September 1. Everyone will email me their daily steps either daily or weekly. I’ll put a Cumulative Step Count up here on my blog every Sunday or something. And we’ll see how it goes! I’ll spend some time today refining this idea and post more if I get any takers. How’s that sound?
If you’d like, email me and I’ll try to help you set up a “plan of action” for the purpose of this challenge.
I bet I can walk farther than YOU can!
We’ll set up a prize or something. What d’ya say?
Man.. these boots are gonna walk all over YOU!
Okay, today’s post is short. Just like my walk today!
There is, it seems, a limit to the joys of walking! Tonight, my shins are killing me. And my legs feel like I’ve walked a hundred miles. Perhaps next week, I should be a little more careful, walk a little less. Take better care and build up to what I’ve been doing!
On my walks, I’ve encountered some interesting buildings… buildings I never knew existed in Omaha. For instance, here’s an interesting one:
This is the Omaha National Bank building… Omaha’s first “skyscraper” build in 1888! It’s rather interesting architecture. Here’s a closeup of the statue above the door:
These photos really aren’t all that good, I’m afraid. They’re taken with my Blackberry. Yes, Kate, I know. I should get one of them new-fangled iPhone thingy’s so I can take better pictures… AND use Yelp! I’m waiting for the check. 
It’s been an awful long time since I last posted an entry on our blog. I’m sorry to you all for that. As you are probably all aware, I started a new job the day after Scott and I got home from our trip to California and New Mexico. Because of that, time has been a little shorter for me than it has been in the past. And, to be quite honest (and admittedly more than a little silly) I’ve been afraid to write much about my new job for fear of jinxing it! Even though I don’t really believe in jinxing.
My job is in Downtown Omaha, near the corner of 18th and Harney. There’s something downtown Omaha has that my previous office in west Omaha did not. And that, quite simply put, is “Something Fun To Do”. It has character. There are sidewalks and places to see! It’s fun down here!
Scott and I have gotten into a routine. We leave home about 7:25ish, and head west. I won’t go in to the details of that, though right now that isn’t as straight forward as it might seem. Ah, what the heck, I’ll tell all. The 16th St. Viaduct in Council Bluffs is being renovated starting this past Monday. This means that the viaduct EAST bound lanes are being torn out, concrete, girders and all. West bound traffic has been diverted to Avenue G and the new viaduct up there, while east bound is now using the west bound lanes on the old viaduct. Anyhow. Scott and I leave at 7:25 a.m.
We reach 19th and Dodge in Omaha at about 7:45 a.m. There, I am dropped off, and walk the 4 blocks south to my office. I stop in the Civic Center for coffee en route.
I’m discovering all sorts of new restaurants that I never knew existed down in the heart of Omaha. Indian and Thai and Bob’s Grill… there are different food vendors in the Civic Center every day… and I haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s available yet!
Paul & Deb will appreciate that I even have stopped in at the Jazz and actually enjoyed it! The 4 of us ate there and hated it back in September 2007. At lunch it’s fun!
As a contractor, I’m not allowed to work any over-time for DOT.COMM. So, I’m out of the office most days at 4:30. What to do, what to do? Walk!
I’m having the time of my life walking! Since I started counting 2 weeks ago today, I’ve logged over 40 miles!
So, that brings us to the end of today’s post. I’ll have more to post in the next few days.
