Tag / Sprint and Stride

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Kind Of Sprinted And Strode Once Again

Tuesday, Allstate held their annual Sprint and Stride event, a 5K race around campus, which this year would benefit the Purple Purse project to help victims of domestic violence.  I signed up again this year, my fourth, along with some co-workers to get out in the afternoon sun and enjoy getting paid to exercise.

After last year’s fiasco, I had high hopes of actually finishing the race this year.  Once again, that wasn’t in the cards.  For the second year in a row, we arrived at the starting gate well after the big throng of people had been sent on their way.  We did make it further than last year, but when the decision came to turn right and do the full 3.1 miles or turn left and cut things short, the majority voted for left.  After making it to the finish line, we were able to cash in on the free water and bananas.  Ironically, this was the first year that I managed to make the official listings, with an abbreviated time of 56:15.30, which was somehow the worst time of the three of us.

Last year’s race was near the beginning of what would turn out to be a year of shit.  A year later, things aren’t necessarily any better.  That said, I’m sure I’ll be out there next year, hopefully with some of the same companions.

by jim

2 Sprint 2 Stride

For the fourth year in a row, I’ve registered for the Sprint & Stride 5K race held on the campus of the old workplace next month.  After not finishing last year due to the shenanigans of my walking partners, I’ll be trying to break my time from 2 years ago of 57:32 at a minimum, if not my “personal record” of 54:10, from the first BTN 5K I did back in 2012.  Standing in my way will likely be the same issues as years past, walking with friends and narrow terrain that makes it hard to pass slower walkers.  Hopefully I can figure out how to get my time to register this year, something I’ve failed to do in the past.

Either way, it should be a fun event and one that benefits a good cause.  Not to mention getting an afternoon away from my desk and, potentially, spending some time with Hayley and Val.

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Fitbit III: Week 7

Another great week, as my streak of 50,000+ steps weeks hits 7, I broke 60,000 steps for the first time since getting back from Universal in June, and my consecutive days over goal streak reached 55.  Things got off to a slow-ish start on Sunday, as I puttered around the house before going to a wake to barely surpass my goal.  Monday and Tuesday came up with similar totals, thanks in part to similar trips to Mariano’s for lunch and trips to Hayley’s hotel to attend to her injured back.  Wednesday was the beginning of the March Madness Jiff challenge at work, where I am on a team with 3 levels of management above me, so I worked in a few extra walks during work to cross the 11,000 step plateau.  Thursday was even better, as a post-work excursion to Milwaukee to watch Purdue in the NCAA tournament helped me surpass 12,000 steps and garner my highest single-day total since the Sprint & Stride in September.  I spent Friday in an all day workshop, but an after-work walk around the neighborhood helped propel me to 9000 steps.  Saturday was split between a trip in to the city to watch rugby with Hayley followed by another trip to Milwaukee for the next round of the NCAA tournament, ending in an 8000 step day.

Total steps: 60,740

Daily average: 8677.1

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The Still Growing 10,000 Step Club

Last year, as I was finishing my first year with a Fitbit, I took my last look at the top 20 step days I’ve had since I first started tracking my steps way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had only surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 81 times.  In the past year, I have managed to add an additional 35 occurrences, raising the total to 116.  With my second year using the Fitbit coming to an end last week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new look at my now top 25 step days over the past 5 1/2 years, featuring 12 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 first new entry shares much in common with my #1 day, taking place in Disney World last March.  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 now 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.  These 3 days are the sum total of my days over 20,000 steps.

4: 6/2/2016 – 18,725 steps

The second new entry comes from last June’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.

5: 6/4/2016 – 18,617 steps

The third new entry rounds up the top 5 with another entry from last June’s 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.

6: 9/6/2015 – 18,259 steps

Down three slots from last year, my now-sixth highest total comes courtesy of my trip to Toronto in September 2015.  This Sunday consisted of traversing around Toronto, with trips to Royal Ontario Museum and, at night, the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre for the Oddball Comedy Fest.

7: 9/11/2015 – 17,889 steps

My seventh best total also occurred during my trip to Toronto.  My last day in the city was spent at the Eaton Centre mall, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and a few other stops.

8: 6/8/2013 – 17,852 steps

My now-eighth highest output brings us back to Disney World in 2013, this time for a day split between Animal Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios in the afternoon.

9: 6/1/2016 – 17,243 steps

My fourth new entry again comes courtesy of last summer’s trip to Universal.  This first day of the trip started in Chicago at O’Hare and took us to the Hard Rock Hotel for check-in and a round of mini-golf at City Walk before taking a quick trip in the afternoon to Islands of Adventure to reacquaint ourselves with the original Harry Potter attractions.

10: 6/5/2016 – 16,317 steps

We round out the top 10 with my fifth new entry, which again took place last summer at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, where we tried to take in all of the non-Harry Potter attractions.

11: 9/5/2015 – 16,083 steps

We head back to Toronto for my eleventh highest day, my first full day in the city.  There was exploring along the riverfront and, of course, a trip to Rogers Centre for a Blue Jays game.

12: 9/23/2014 – 15,728 steps

This total was accomplished thanks to the 2014 Sprint & Stride 5K race that was held at work.

13: 4/11/2016 – 15,597 steps

My sixth new entry took place last April, where an exciting day of work was followed by a trip to Wrigley Field for Opening Day festivities.

14: 9/9/2012 – 14,957 steps

My now-fourteenth highest total comes thanks to a Sunday in Belfast spent walking from our hotel, down to the Titanic museum, and then back again.

15: 6/7/2013 – 14,940 steps

Another day of 2013’s vacation to Disney World, this day started with a morning trip to the hotel pool, followed by an abbreviated day at the Magic Kingdom.

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FB2: Week 40

fb2_week40A decent week, as I put up my highest total in about a month despite missing my step goal on two days.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday as I barely surpassed the 6000 step goal thanks to a trip to Wrigley Field for Game 5 of the World Series.  Monday was All Hallow’s Eve, and I managed to spend most of the afternoon in traffic, but still passed the day’s goal.  Tuesday used some after-work walking around the neighborhood to come close to 8000 steps.  Wednesday was the first down day of the week, thanks to spending the evening engrossed in Game 7 of the World Series on the television.  Thursday was a decent bounce back day due to some lunch time strolls around the parking lot.  Friday was the big day of the week, and my largest total since the Sprint & Stride back in September, surpassing 12,000 steps thanks to a trip down to Grant Park for the Cubs victory parade and rally.  Saturday was another disappointing day, failing to hit 6000 steps despite meeting Hayley in the Glen for some rugby watching and drinking.

Total steps: 50,365

Daily average: 7195

by admin

FB2: Week 33

fb2_week33A pretty good week, despite a horrible day to wrap up the festivities.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, with nearly 7500 steps, thanks to a trip to US Cellular Field to see the White Sox battle the Royals.  I kept it up on Monday, surpassing 8000 steps, before hitting the high point of the week on Tuesday thanks to the Sprint & Stride.  While I may not have finished the race, I still ended up with nearly 15,000 steps.  Wednesday through Friday were back down under 7000, with each day slowly approaching back to my daily goal of 6000 steps.  Saturday was the big disappointment, as I barely managed to cross 3000 steps.

Total steps: 52,742

Daily average: 7534.6

by admin

Kind Of Sprinted And Strode Yet Again

spandstTwo weeks ago, Allstate held their annual Sprint and Stride event, a 5K race around campus to benefit breast cancer research. After successfully completing the race the last 2 years, I signed up again this year, along with some co-workers, to get out in the afternoon sun and enjoy getting paid to exercise.

Sadly, things did not go as smoothly this year.  For a myriad of reasons, including a sore back on my part, my racing companions this year did not seem into the whole thing.  We arrived at the starting gate well after the big throng of people had been sent on their way and, around the 2 mile mark, found ourselves the last group on the course.  It was at this point we made the decision to bail on the rest of the race and head back to the finish area to cash in on the free water and bananas.

Will we do it again next year?  Who knows.  The future is a bit murky right now, so it’s hard to tell if this was the last hurrah for this group of racers.

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FB2: Week 32

fb2_week32A decent week overall, with one minor blip that stopped it from being a good week.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, thanks to a walk around the neighborhood followed by a trip to my aunt’s for her annual Labor Day weekend BBQ.  Monday was the bad day of the week, as I spent the holiday morning watching a Match Game marathon before going up north to spend the afternoon and evening in a faux Irish pub with Hayley and Val.  Tuesday was a nice bounce back day, as I tried to make up for the sins of the day before.  Wednesday was another good day, coming close to 8000 steps.  Thursday was back closer to 6000 steps, but benefitted from a trip to North Plaza to pick up the Sprint and Stride packets.  Friday fell below my goal by about 500 steps, before another bounce back on Saturday thanks to a neighborhood walk followed by a trip to US Cellular Field for a White Sox loss.

Total steps: 46,840

Daily average: 6691.4

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Sprinting And Striding Yet Again

spandstFor the third year in a row, I’ve registered for the Sprint & Stride 5K race held on the campus of the old workplace next month.  I’ll be trying to break my time from last year of 57:32 at a minimum, if not my “personal record” of 54:10, from the first BTN 5K I did back in 2012.  Standing in my way will likely be the same issues as last year, walking with friends and narrow terrain that makes it hard to pass slower walkers.  Hopefully I can figure out how to get my time to register this year, something I’ve failed to do the past 2 years.

Either way, it should be a fun event and one that benefits a good cause.  Not to mention getting an afternoon away from my desk and spending some time with Hayley and Val.

by admin

The Ever Growing 10,000 Step Club

Last winter, as the GlobalFit program was wrapping up, I took my last look at the top 20 step days I’ve had since I first started tracking my steps way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had only surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 45 times.  In the year plus since then, I have managed to nearly double that number, raising the total to 81.  With my first year using the Fitbit coming to an end last week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new look at my updated top 20 step days over the past 4 1/2 years, featuring 8 new entries.

btn10K-41: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

My best single day total came during 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: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My second 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.  These 2 days are the sum total of my days over 20,000 steps.

3: 9/6/2015 – 18,259 steps

The first new addition to the list comes courtesy of my trip to Toronto last September.  This Sunday consisted of traversing around Toronto, with trips to Royal Ontario Museum and, at night, the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre for the Oddball Comedy Fest.

4: 9/11/2015 – 17,889 steps

Another new addition thanks to my trip to Toronto.  My last day in the city was spent at the Eaton Centre mall, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and a few other stops.

5: 6/8/2013 – 17,852 steps

My now-fifth highest output brings us back to Disney World, this time for a day split between Animal Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios in the afternoon.

6: 9/5/2015 – 16,083 steps

We head back to Toronto for my sixth highest day, my first full day in the city.  There was exploring along the riverfront and, of course, a trip to Rogers Centre for a Blue Jays game.

7: 9/23/2014 – 15,728 steps

This total was accomplished thanks to the 2014 Sprint & Stride 5K race that was held at work.

8: 9/9/2012 – 14,957 steps

My eighth highest total comes thanks to a Sunday in Belfast spent walking from our hotel, down to the Titanic museum, and then back again.

9: 6/7/2013 – 14,940 steps

Another day of 2013’s vacation to Disney World, this day started with a morning trip to the hotel pool, followed by an abbreviated day at the Magic Kingdom.

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