Tag / Work

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.

by admin

Civic Duty

Last week, I was scheduled to do my part in our democratic society by showing up for jury duty.  Where I live, jury duty is a week long commitment, though you may not be required to attend each day.  You do need to check in twice a day, to see if you are needed in the morning and again in the afternoon.  For someone with a 50+ mile commute to work, it didn’t make sense to go in even if I wasn’t needed in the morning, on the off chance I would be needed in the afternoon, which happened to me last time I had jury duty in 2003.

The whole experience was a bit of a bust, though it did enable me to keep up with my busy plans for the week.  I went in Monday morning, one panel was called, which I didn’t make, and then they let us go by 11:30, which gave me enough time to go home and change before heading out to Wrigley Field for exciting crosstown action.

And… that was it.  Every night, I either called or checked the website and was told I wasn’t needed.  Every afternoon, I would do the same before lunch and got the same response.  A week of working from home, with the occasional baseball game sprinkled in.   I had prepared for the week by stocking up on books, but only made it through one.  All in all, a complete waste of time.  We’ll see if it takes another 14 years to get called again.

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 25

Another good week, as I was above goal for all 7 days and finished above 50,000 steps for the 5th consecutive week.  Things got off to a slow-ish start on Sunday, where I was still recovering from the trip to Disney World but still managed to finish a whole 6 steps above goal.  Monday was a big improvement, as I finished above 8500 thanks to some work day trots around the building.  Tuesday was back down near goal again, with an impressive 36 step cushion.  Wednesday was the high point of the week, clocking in at nearly 9000 steps thanks to an after work trip to Guaranteed Rate Field to see the White Sox debut of Yoan Moncada.  Thursday used a trip out to dinner after work to surpass 7500 steps.  Friday was back down closer to goal, but still managed to surpass it by over 100 steps.  Saturday was another big day, thanks to a trip to Ravinia to see Garbage and Blondie.

Total steps: 53,181

Daily average: 7597.3

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 24

A tremendous week, as I posted my best total since late March/early April.  The week got off to a great start on Sunday with a 10,000 step day, thanks to a morning walk to Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast.  Monday used an impromptu day-long meeting in North plaza to surpass 8000 steps.  Tuesday nearly made it to 7000 steps, in part due to a walk over to Willow for day 2 of the impromptu meeting.  Wednesday was my second 10,000 step day of the week, surpassing 11,000 steps thanks to an after work walk.  Thursday was back down to 7000 steps, in part due to a post-work trip to the City Winery to see Matthew Sweet.  My best day of the week (and year) came on Friday, as I flew down to Florida with Angelina for a day at Disney World.  The 20,208 steps I logged are currently the 4th highest total I’ve accumulated in the 7 years I’ve been tracking.  Saturday only managed just over 5000 steps as I recovered from the previous day lounging around the house before heading out to Guaranteed Rate Field to watch the White Sox lose to the Mariners.

Total steps: 68,650

Daily average: 9807.1

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 23

A good week, as I posted my highest total in a month.  Things got off to another slow start as, despite a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field, I failed to reach my daily goal on Sunday for the 5th straight week.  Monday was a good bounce back, coming in just under 9000 steps thanks to a long walk on the day off.  Tuesday was Independence Day, which, again, used a long neighborhood walk to surpass 8300 steps.  Wednesday was back to work, where I managed to surpass 9000 steps.  Another off day on Thursday, thanks to a make-up date at Wrigley Field from a May rainout, ended with 7500 steps.  Friday was the big day of the week, combining an exciting work day with an afternoon walk for a 10,000 step day.  Saturday combined a trip to the grocery store, a haircut, and going in to the city for Roscoe Village Burger Fest and an evening showing of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Total steps: 57,433

Daily average: 8204.7

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 22

Another decent week, my second straight back over 50,000 steps.  The week got off to what is starting to be a typical slow start, as I just managed to get past 5000 steps on Sunday despite going to Guaranteed Rate Field to watch the White Sox.  Monday was the big day of the week, as I walked over to Willow for my biometric screening and then did some additional walking during the day to make up for my poor numbers.  Tuesday was another big day, surpassing 9200 steps, thanks to another trip to the South side after work to see the Yankees battle the Pale Hose.  Wednesday just barely managed to surpass 6500 steps, due to a post-work trip to CarMax to see what, if anything, the Prius was worth.  Thursday had a trip to North plaza and an extra trip back and forth to the car to make up its total of 8800 steps.  Friday was just shy of 7400 steps, thanks to work, a trip to Tesla to pick up my new car, and then a wake.  Saturday eked past my step goal by 27 steps, aided in part by a third trip to the ballyard.

Total steps: 54,375

Daily average: 7767.9

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 21

An up and down week, with 2 below goal days wiped out thanks to one tremendous day.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, where, for the third week in a row, I failed to reach my daily goal to start the week off.  Monday and Tuesday did little to make up the difference, as both days just eked by the 6500 step total.  Wednesday turned things around, as a day of work followed up by a 2 hour walk to Starbucks and back gave me my 6th highest total ever, with 18,290 steps.  Thursday continued the good times with just over 8000 steps, thanks to a post-work trip to the Glen for dinner with Val.  Friday was the second below-goal day of the week.  Saturday just surpassed the 6500 step goal thanks to a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field to see Mark Buehrle’s jersey retirement.

Total steps: 55,761

Daily average: 7965.9

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 19

A slow start turned into a tremendous week, as I broke 60,000 steps for the first time since the end of March/beginning of April.  Things started poorly with a 3500 step day on Sunday, ending my streak of days above goal at 24.  Monday bounced back, as a concerted effort to make up for Sunday got me over 9200 steps.  Tuesday saw me working a bit late, which led to a long commute and coming in at just over my 6500 step goal.  Wednesday I was able to combine some work activity with an after-work walk to surpass 11,000 steps.  Thursday was even better, thanks to a post-work trip to Wrigley Field that ended up with over 11,300 steps.  Friday needed some last minute pacing before falling asleep to get over goal for the day.  Saturday was the big day of the week, thanks to a morning walk on a new route and Angelina’s graduation party.  When all was said and done, I ended up with over 16,200 steps, my highest total since Universal last June.

Total steps: 64,503

Daily average: 9214.7

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 18

A third straight week over 50,000 steps, and my streak of days over goal reached 24.  The week got off to a decent enough start on Sunday and Monday, with both days using trips to Guaranteed Rate field to push me over my daily goal.  Tuesday was the big day of the week, my first day over 10,000 since the end of April thanks to an after-work trip back to Guaranteed Rate field for Chris Sale’s return to Chicago.  Wednesday and Thursday were nothing special, both just barely managing to pass my daily goal of 6500 steps.  Friday used a pre-lunch walk followed by an after-work followup to post the second best day of the week at just over 9000 steps.  Saturday was spent going back and forth between the garage and the basement as the new plug was installed in preparation for my new car.

Total steps: 55,180

Daily average: 7882.9

by admin

Fitbit III: Week 17

Another week back over 50,000 steps and another week with all 7 days above goal, running my total to 17.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, thanks to trips to 2 grocery stores.  The work week started with 3 days of training, which had me working from home, which is normally a problem.  Good weather on Monday let me take an after work walk which led to the highest day of the week.  Tuesday and Wednesday both suffered from rain, so they did not get as high.  Thursday was back in the office, and I somehow managed to surpass 8000 steps.  Friday was the kickoff to the long weekend, and I managed to just surpass my daily goal.  Saturday had a double header at Guaranteed Rate Field, where I was able to cross the 7000 step plateau while taking in the split between the White Sox and the Tigers.

Total steps: 51,919

Daily average: 7417