Fitbit XI – Week 14

Another down week thanks again to some packed mornings with lots of back-to-back meetings.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, finishing with just over 3000 steps thanks to Easter activities.  Monday saw a nice improvement, jumping up to 3900 steps.  A small falloff on Tuesday put me down to 3800 steps.  A slight improvement on Wednesday left me 10 steps shy of 3900.  A trip to the office on Thursday led to my best day of the week, needing 26 additional steps to reach 6000.  Friday saw a natural drop, needing 40 steps to get to 4200.  Another drop-off on Saturday ended the week with just 3100 steps.

Total steps: 27,910

Daily average: 3987.1

Fitbit XI – Week 13

A down week thanks to some packed mornings with lots of back-to-back meetings.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing with 4700 steps thanks to a trip down to Rate Field to see the Sox of White battle their brothers in Red.  Monday kept up the pace, coming in at 4600 steps.  A big falloff on Tuesday put me down to 3700 steps.  Another drop on Wednesday dropped me to 3200 steps.  The nadir of the week came on Thursday as I fell to 2500 steps.  An improvement on Friday left me 26 steps shy of 4300.  Another dropoff on Saturday ended the week with 4000 steps.

Total steps: 27,278

Daily average: 2896.9

Fitbit XI – Week 11

The end of my quick trip to Dallas to see Michael helped keep me above 30,000 steps for the second straight week.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing with 5200 steps after flying home from DFW.  Going back to work on Monday left me 26 steps shy of 4000.  A small increase on Tuesday put me 28 steps away from 4300.  A day filled with meetings led to my worst day of the week on Wednesday, needing 24 additional steps just to reach 2800.  A nice bounce back on Thursday had me 12 steps away from 3800.  A night out on Friday to celebrate Danny’s new job pushed me up to 4600 steps.  Powered by my first visit to Wrigley Field this season, Saturday ended up being my best day of the week, coming in 34 steps shy of 6200.

Total steps: 30,838

Daily average: 4405.4

Dancing Time

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I found myself joining a free pool at work this year, so while most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, there is some personal pride on the line.  Things are not looking good for me to attend any game should a certain school from West Lafayette manage to make another run this year.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

My selections here are mostly chalk, with a couple early upsets but with the top two seeds heading to the Sweet Sixteen.  Michigan State is my pick to advance to the Final Four, though that may be some inherent bias towards the Big Ten.

Old friend Mason Gillis shows up with top seed Duke, who I have heading to San Antonio for the Final Four.

Continue reading →

Fitbit XI – Week 8

A touch of spring weather led to a decent week.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, needing another 13 steps to reach 4900.  Monday was even better, coming 24 steps shy of 6500 thanks to a trip to the Merchandise Mart for a work lunch.  Tuesday saw a big drop, falling back to 3600 steps.  Wednesday was easily the worst day of the week, barely passing 3000 steps.  A bounce back on Thursday pushed me back up to 4000 steps.  Another slight improvement on Friday pushed me up to 4200 steps.  A trip to the grocery store on Saturday ended the week on a high note, coming just 4 steps away from 5600.

Total steps: 31,875

Daily average: 4553.6

Fitbit XI – Week 7

A rough week of meetings led to a down week.  The week started slow as Sunday needed another 19 steps just to get to 3900.  Monday was even worse, dropping down to 3600 steps.  Tuesday saw a slight improvement, going back up to 3800 steps.  Wednesday was easily the worst day of the week, falling 11 steps shy of 2600.  A bounce back on Thursday pushed me back up to 3600 steps.  An addition 12 steps on Friday would have put me at 4400, my highest total of the week.  A trip for a haircut on Saturday ended the week on a highish note, coming in with 4300 steps.

Total steps: 26,227

Daily average: 3746.7

Fitbit XI – Week 6

A second week of training stayed pretty steady, although with lower lows and a higher high.  Sunday got the week off to a slow start, notching just 3100 steps.  Monday bounced back up, finishing with 4200 steps.  Warmer temps on Tuesday led to my highest total of the week, needing just 7 additional steps to get to 4500.  A slight drop on Wednesday left me 24 steps shy of 4100.  Thursday dropped down again to 3700 steps.  A nice improvement on Friday put me 12 steps away from 4400 steps.  I wrapped up the week on Saturday needing 28 steps to reach 4200.

Total steps: 28,277

Daily average: 4039.6

Fitbit XI – Week 5

A pretty steady week, as training combined with a cold snap left me with only a 231-step difference between my best day and my worst day.  Sunday got the week off to a decent start, finishing just 19 steps shy of 4200.  Monday started a two-week training course at work, putting me 40 steps away from 4200.  Single digit temps on Tuesday led to my lowest total of the week, finishing with 4000 steps.  A slight improvement on Wednesday pushed me up to 4100 steps.  Thursday ended up the best of the week, , finishing over 4200 steps.  A slight decline on Friday put me back at 4100 steps.  I wrapped up the week on Saturday with yet another 4100-step day.

Total steps: 29,025

Daily average: 4146.4

Remember When There Was A 10,000 Step Club?

My world was very different five years ago, as I was finishing up my fifth year using a Fitbit.  I had just added 45 new 10,000 step days, my third best year to date, and, with upcoming trips to Boston and California already on the docket, things were looking good to add a good number more and add some new tales to this list of my Top 25 step days.  Then, the corona virus happened, the world basically shut down for the next year or so, and I stopped needing to leave the house.  I’ve worked from home since March of 2020, which theoretically gives me plenty of free time to go out for walks, but, in practice, leaves me homebound more often than not.  I managed just three 10,000 step days for the just completed tenth year of Fitbit usage, which was a small improvement over last year but still tied for my second-worst total since I started this whole step tracking thing some fourteen odd years ago, leading to a total of 288 since I started keeping track back in 2011.  With that in mind, here’s the list of my Top 25 step days, which has now stayed static for five years.

1: 4/14/2018 – 27,470 steps

My best single day total is from my April 2017 trip to New York to see Angelina.  The day’s excursions included trips to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, Central Park, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Empire State Building.

2: 7/21/2018 – 27,278 steps

My July 2017 trip to Virginia, to hike up Catawba Mountain to McAfee Knob with Jeff and Val, fell just short of the top spot.

3: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

2013’s trip to Disney World, which spent 5 years as my single day best, included excursions to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom, and yes, falling 12 steps short of 25,000 still irks me.

4: 6/3/2019 – 24,665 steps

The first full day of 2019’s summer trip to Washington DC spent most of the day at the Smithsonian Zoo.

5: 8/8/2019 – 23,866 steps

Late in the summer of 2019, I spent two weeks in San Francisco for a work trip.   On my last full day, I went out after work, walking to Pier 39 and then back the other direction to Oracle Park to see the Giants take on the Phillies.  My totals would have been even higher, but I was dead tired and took an Uber back to the hotel after the game.

6: 3/18/2018 – 23,780 steps

My first day in Las Vegas for the 2017 IBM Think conference, the day’s totals include gallivanting around town, including a late night trip up to Caesar’s Palace from the MGM Grand to see Absinthe.

7: 10/24/2018 – 23,362 steps

My October 2018 trip to Boston to see Angelina for our birthday gives us our next entry.  While she was in class, I took tours of Fenway Park and Harvard, before meeting up with her for a late lunch and then heading to the airport for the trip home.

8: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps

My one-time second highest day took place during the ill-fated trip to Disney World in March of 2016.  The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.

9: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

Still my highest total at home in the state of Illinois, the next entry comes thanks to the 2013 BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.

10: 12/29/2018 – 20,374 steps

We wrap up the top 10 with 2018’s trip to California and the trip to Disneyland to see Danny perform with the Lincoln-Way Marching Band.

11: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps

The next entry came in August of 2017 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.

12: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps

Down to #12 is my 2017 trip to Disney World, a one day journey with Angelina to celebrate her high school graduation. Continue reading →

Fitbit XI – Week 3

A decent week, thanks in part to surpassing my daily step goal for the first time in 2025.  Sunday got the week off to an ok start, finishing just 3 steps shy of 3900.  A nice improvement on Monday, thanks to some unseasonably warm weather and a lunch trip to Portillos, left me 22 steps away from 4800.  A road trip to Iowa on Tuesday to see Purdue defeat Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena put me over 7600 steps, my first time reaching my daily goal since my trip to Boston in November.  An early morning drive home followed by a day of work on Wednesday dropped me to 4000 steps.  An 18-step improvement left me pretty even on Thursday.  Friday saw a very slight drop-off, leaving me just 14 steps away from 4000.  A midday brunch threw me off track on Saturday, ending the week with just 3100 steps.

Total steps: 31,486

Daily average: 4498