Tag / MDM

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The Ever Growing 10,000 Step Club

Last year, as I was finishing up my second year with the Fitbit, I took my last look at the top 25 step days I’ve had since I first started tracking my steps way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 116 times.  In the past year, I have managed to add an additional 49 occurrences, raising the total to 165.  With my third year using the Fitbit coming to an end last week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new look at my top 25 step days over the past 6 1/2 years, featuring 7 new entries.

btn10K-41: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

My best single day total continues to be from my 2013 trip to Disney World.  The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles.  And yes, it still bothers me that I didn’t get those 12 additional steps to reach 25,000.

2: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps

My second highest day shares much in common with my #1 day, taking place in Disney World in March of 2016.  The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.

3: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My third highest total came nearly 2 months after my highest, thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.

4: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps

The first new entry came last August on the first day of my trip to Boston with Danny and Michael.  After landing in town, we traipsed to the Science Museum, a breakfast joint, our hotel, and, finally, Fenway Park.

5: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps

Our second new entry came last July, as Angelina and I took a day trip to Disney World to celebrate her high school graduation.

6: 9/19/2017 – 20,028 steps

The third straight new entry, which helped to double my total of 20,000 step days from the previous 5+ years, had a myriad of activities.  First was the latest edition of the Sprint and Stride, followed by a trip to Best Buy with Val to buy a new TV, then off to her apartment to install the new TV, and, finally, Season Ticker Holder Family Night at Wrigley Field.

7: 11/11/2017 – 19,590 steps

Our fourth straight new entry came thanks to last fall’s trip to California to see Angelina skate.  This day was spent in Anaheim at Disneyland.

8: 6/2/2016 – 18,725 steps

Day #8, which dropped 4 spots, comes from June 2016’s trip to Universal Studios.  Our first full day at the park, we split the day between Universal and Islands of Adventure, taking in all of the different Harry Potter options.

9: 6/4/2016 – 18,617 steps

Our next entry is also from the June 2016 trip to Universal Studios.  The day included another trip to Islands of Adventure, and would have ended up even higher but for an afternoon trip to the hotel pool.

10: 6/21/2017 – 18,290 steps Continue reading →

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2018 Calendar

Now that Christmas has come and gone, we can unveil the cover to this year’s calendar gift, given annually to my mom and sister, made up of pictures I have taken throughout the year. Once again. this year’s calendar was produced by the good folks at Shutterfly. As in year’s past, we will unveil each month’s photo on the first day of the month throughout 2017.

This year’s cover features Angelina, Danny, and Michael at Lincoln-Way Central following Angelina’s high school graduation last June.  The main picture has the three of them together, with cut-ins of her hugging both of her brothers.

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Fitbit III: Week 35

Another up and down week, as I ran my streak of days over goal to 15.  Things got off to an ok start on Sunday with my final trip to Guaranteed Rate Field of the year, finishing a whopping 72 steps over my daily goal.  Monday used a lunch and learn in North Plaza with my two warring girls to finish at nearly 7500 steps.  Tuesday was a big day, coming in just shy of 9500 steps.  Wednesday again used a trip to North Plaza, plus an after work dinner with Hayley, to help finish just above 7200 steps.  Thursday finished above 10,000 steps, thanks to a trip to Lincoln-Way West to pick up Michael from swimming, which I circled twice while waiting.  Friday was back down in the 6700 range, before another 10,000 step day on Saturday, thanks to a morning walk to clear my head (didn’t work) and an afternoon trip to the grocery store.

Total steps: 58,676

Daily average: 8382.3

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Where Everybody Knows Your Name

This past weekend, I finally got to use my birthday gift from last year, a trip to Boston to see the White Sox take on the Red Sox with Danny and Michael.  The trip started early Saturday morning, with a trip to O’Hare to catch a 6 AM flight.  After arriving in Boston, we took a bus and a train to get to the Museum of Science, where we spent most of the morning.

With food on our mind, we wandered back over towards where we got off the train and found ourselves in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, where we ended up at The Paramount, rated as one of the 10 best breakfast spots in Boston.  A long wait through the oddly run restaurant, where you order and get your food prior to being seated, ended up in a decent meal.

After eating, we headed to our hotel, which was located in the medical district.  We checked in and relaxed for a bit, before deciding on going for ice cream prior to heading to Fenway Park.  Like nearly everywhere else we went, the ice cream shop was a little hole in the wall, but it certainly served its purpose.  From there, it was short walk up Brookline to the ballpark, which was… a little underwhelming.  From the outside, you could barely tell that it was a stadium.  Michael even asked where it was as we were standing outside it.

The game went about as you would expect.  With James Shields on the mound, the White Sox did not put up much of a fight.  We were sitting down the left field line, with a good view of the Green Monster.  The seats, which may or may not date back to the stadium’s opening in 1912, were not really designed for people well over 6 feet tall, so there was a lot of uncomfortable shifting as our knees were smooshed in to the seats in front of us.

After the game, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.   Continue reading →

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Fitbit III: Week 16

After 2 down weeks, I managed to make it back over 50,000 steps for the week and finished above goal every day for the first time since early April.  Things got off to good start on Sunday, thanks to a Mother’s Day trip to Brookfield Zoo and, for the first time in years, decent weather.  The nice weather continued Monday and Tuesday, which enabled me to put in some extra time outside to far surpass the daily goal.  Wednesday managed to just barely surpass 6500 steps, while Thursday was able to use a trip to Michael’s band concert to cross the 7000 step barrier.  Friday was looking rough, until an after work trip to purchase a new mattress pushed me over the top.  Saturday was another big day, thanks to a pointless trip to Wrigley Field, where I stood in the rain for an hour waiting for the gates to open in order to get a bobblehead, only to have the game called literally 1 minute before the gates opened.

Total steps: 52,640

Daily average: 7520

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Fitbit III: Week 13

We are one step closer to tying last summer’s record of 14 straight 50,000 step weeks, thanks to my highest total in 4 weeks.  Things got off to a strong start on Sunday, thanks to a tilt between the White Sox and Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field followed by Michael’s birthday celebration at Outback Steakhouse.  Monday scored an impressive total of over 12,000 steps, thanks to an after-work session trying to get the Mercury out of the garage and running again.  Tuesday was even better, falling less than 200 steps short of 13,000 due to another trip to the South Side, minus a parking pass.  Wednesday fell back down to my goal territory, despite trips to Target and Meijer for car fluids.  Thursday had a bit of a bounce back up nearly 9000 steps, thanks to a trip to North plaza and a few smoking breaks with Val.  Friday broke 7300 steps, with more car work.  The weather turned bad on Saturday, as rain kept me inside most of the day, leading to a disappointing total of 3100 steps.

Total steps: 58,534

Daily average: 8362