Tag / Work

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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 15

A slight bounce back, as I managed to get back over my weekly goal, though I still fell below 50,000 steps for the second consecutive week.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, as I just managed to sneak past 6500 steps as midnight struck thanks to an extra inning tilt at Wrigley Field between the Cubs and the Yankees.  Monday was another sneaker, due to me working from home, but an afternoon walk combined with the early morning steps coming home from the game helped push me over.  Tuesday I was back in the office, and numerous smoke breaks and a trip to North with Val put me well over the top.  Wednesday was another day at home, but rain kept me in the house, leading to a down day, despite a trip to out at night for Angelina’s scholarship night.  Thursday was back to work again, where I was able to rebound thanks to a post-work trip to the mall to spend a copious amount of money on a new car.  Friday again managed to just squeak by my daily step goal, thanks to time spent on the bed watching TV after work.  Saturday combined some chores around the house with a Sox game to give me my highest total of the week.

Total steps: 48,915

Daily average: 6987.9

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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

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Fitbit III: Week 12

My streak of 50,000+ step weeks hits 12 and closes on in last summer’s record of 14 straight weeks.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday thanks to Easter activities, which left me just under 2500 steps.  A big bounce back once the work week got under way, as I put together a streak of 3 10,000 step days.  Monday benefited from a midday escape to bowl with my friends from the lab.  Tuesday had a lunch meeting in North plaza, which helped boost my total.  Wednesday was more time spent with my lab friends, including a game (or 2) of ping pong.  Thursday surpassed 9000 steps, thanks to more time up in the lab and then an after work farewell to Hayley.  Friday managed to just surpass 6500 steps, thanks to more time spent in the lab with Val.  Saturday finished with a little more thanks to the White Sox/Indians tilt at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Total steps: 56,743

Daily average: 8106.1

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Fitbit III: Week 11

The good times continue, as my streak of 50,000 step weeks hits 11 and a new streak of days over goal makes it to 7.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, thanks to a trip down to Guaranteed Rate Field followed by a trek out to Medieval Times to celebrate Hayley’s birthday.  Monday was the big day of the week, as I went down to Wrigley Field for the raising of the Cubs World Series banner at their home opener.  Tuesday barely managed to get past my daily step goal, thanks in part to the late night the day before and the need for sleep.  I worked from home on Wednesday, which ordinarily would have been a down day, but another Cubs game pushed me well across my goal.  Thursday was another close one, again due to the need for sleep.  Friday used a trip over to North Plaza for coffee to get over the hump.  Saturday was my second highest day of the week, thanks to yet another Cub game followed by some grocery shopping.

Total steps: 56,049

Daily average: 8007

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Fitbit III: Week 10

Another good week, though not as good as the last few weeks thanks to the end of the Jiff step challenge and my streak of consecutive days over goal came to an end at a record breaking 75 days.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday thanks to some neighborhood treks which got me over 7000 steps.  Monday was the scheduled start of the baseball season, but rain meant I spent a lot of time pacing the 300 level of Guaranteed Rate Field, putting me over 9500 steps.  Tuesday was back to work in the morning and then an afternoon trip back to Guaranteed Rate Field for the make-up Opening Day.  Wednesday parlayed a trip to North Plaza in to nearly 8000 steps.  Thursday just barely managed to meet the daily goal, finishing a mere 45 steps above 6500.  Friday was a nice bounce back day thanks to a lunch time spent shooting baskets and a release which kept me up all night.  Saturday was the downer of the week, as my streak of being above goal came to an end, despite being awake until 6 AM and then going back to the south side for more baseball.

Total steps: 53,467

Daily average: 7638.1

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March Madness Steps Challenge

As I may have mentioned a time or two, we had a steps challenge at work that wrapped up on Tuesday.  The goal: to take 780,000 steps in 21 days.  My team managed to surpass this in 13 days, finishing 203rd out of 2567 teams.

As a team, we finished with 1,193,351 steps.  I finished fourth on my team, with 206,044 steps, averaging over 9811 steps per day.  I scored 11 days over 10,000 steps during the challenge, which is more than I notched during all of 2011 and 2013.

Now that the challenge is over, I’m looking forward to taking a bit of a break to rest up.  My left knee has been bothering me for a while and I may have worn a path in the carpet upstairs.  Eventually, the next challenge will come down the pike.  I look forward to it.

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Fitbit III: Week 9

Yet another tremendous week, as I averaged over 10,000 steps for the second consecutive week and my consecutive days over goal streak reached 69 days.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, my first of 5 10,000 step days in the week.  The work week got off to a fast start with another 10,000 step day on Monday and then nearly 13,000 steps on Tuesday.  Wednesday, my team finished the Jiff challenge at work, so I was able to relax a bit, falling way back to just over 6500 steps.  Thursday was more of the same, before a big bounce back on Friday, where I again came near 13,000 steps thanks to a long walk around the hood after work.  Saturday used yet another neighborhood walk to again surpass the 10,000 step plateau, ensuring my highest weekly step total since June.

Total steps: 70,448

Daily average: 10,064

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Fitbit III: Week 8

A tremendous week, as I broke 70,000 steps for the first time since I went to Universal last June and for the first time ever in the state of Illinois.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, as trips to a few different grocery stores contributed to just surpassing 8500 steps, my lowest total of the week.  Monday was my first 10,000 step day of the week, thanks to extra walking at work for the Jiff steps challenge.  Tuesday was the highlight of the week, clocking in over 13,000 steps thanks to extra work walking and then a neighborhood stroll once I got home.  Wednesday and Thursday fell back down under 10,000 steps, but were still strong entries.  Friday set record high temperatures, which enabled me to get outside for a walk at work plus a coffee run to get back over 10,000 steps.  Saturday again featured multiple trips to the store plus some in-home pacing to surpass 10,000 steps for the fourth time and guarantee an average of over 10,000 steps for the week.

Total steps: 70,147

Daily average: 10,021

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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