2weeker

Death be not!

2008-06-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the overall silence going on here. We've decided now is the time to give 2weeker a huge upgrade (2weeker 2.0!) and it's taking a little longer than expected. Basically the blog format isn't working out so we're going to try a totally new system.

So that's the good news. The bad news is a lot of us (aka Michael and myself) will be out of touch the next week or so, so the new 2weeker, or new 2week for that matter, probably won't launch until next weekend. The next 2week should begin on the 23rd.

Stay tuned!

Weary In Defeat

2008-06-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

Well, this 2weeker kicked our butt. I personally never reached 10,000 in one pedometer reading, although I may have gotten up there yesterday while moving and during the epic Ikea trip of doom. But, like many others have mentioned, this is a difficult thing to do without taking an hour out of your day to do walking.

So, despite our complaining about the nothing-but-water 2week, turns out that it seems far easier to take away than to add. So for the next 2week, we'll ponder what part of our lives we can take away that will add to our livelihood.

Still

2008-06-02T19:54:00.001-07:00

Ended up jogging to poker on Thursday after all...

It feels good to be running again...Thanks, tweeker!

Last Day

2008-06-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I don't have much to say in regards to my walking this past week. I've been logging anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 and have yet to hit that glorious 10,000 mark. Today is the last day to do so. I wonder if I'll be able to break it?

New Graphs/Music Thursday!

2008-05-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

A few more run/jogging graphs for your viewing pleasure:

The downhill run to the grocery store. My average pace here was about 9min/mile. It's usually about 10:30 or 11/mile, so...yeah, that's pretty fast for me!

The run home from work. Almost all uphill, with a big uphill push near the end...

Finally, a few of my favorite jogging tracks:

Dogs Die in Hot Cars - Godhopping
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Sons of Cain
The Thermals - Pillar of Salt
Kings of Leon - King of the Rodeo

Day 10: Well Over 10000 steps

2008-05-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today I had a glacier climbing practice outing. It was awesome and I'm pretty certain I completed well over 10000 steps, most of them were going up.

Here is one way of getting down:

WOAH.

2008-05-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today's helpful tip: when linking to this website, be very careful not to link to the site as we colloquially refer to it.

FYI, www.tweeker.com is very VERY NSFW.

Confession Wednesday

2008-05-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

Confession the First:
I still don't have a pedometer. I couldn't find one quickly or easily, despite admirable effort on my part. I even sold my personal information WEEKS ago to the Woman!Challenge or some such national health initiative, which recommended by fellow Tweeker as a way to get a free pedometer. Apparently, they are no longer giving out pedometers, but they ARE sending me emails all the frigging time.

Confession the Second:
It's hard to motivate yourself to walk 10,000 steps if you can't quantify it. Perhaps that's just the lie I have to tell myself so I can continue to think of myself as a valiant tweeker. Perhaps I need to think that if I knew when I was approaching 10,000 steps, I would walk more often.

Confession the Third:
I think the real problem is I just don't like making time for a new life change. I NEVER thought I'd say this, but maybe the no-coffee tweeker was actually the easiest one. I didn't have to add extra time to my day, I just had to change a behavior. Walking 10,000 steps is not only a behavior change, but it's a time-suck. It takes over an hour to walk 10,000 steps, and IF YOU DON'T HAVE A FREAKING PEDOMETER you have no idea how many steps you walk on average during the course of your day...and are sort of forced to just do them all in one chunk, right?

I really thought I was going to kick ass at this tweeker and embarrass everyone. Did I mention I ran a ten mile race in April?

Truth is, it had been about three weeks since my last run. My natural tendency is to be totally inactive, so it's dangerously easy for me to find excuses not to go for a run/jog...which quickly add up to a switch from running 3+ times a week to doing nothing at all.

I finally got my butt in gear on Sunday and forced myself out on a run. I find that it's easiest for me to get motivated if I'm going somewhere productive - literally running an errand, if you will - so I ran to a friend's place for poker (about 2.5 miles). Tuesday I ran to the grocery store - just 1.25 miles, totally downhill, so I really booked it. Today, I ran home from work (almost 3 miles uphill). I'm debating whether to run to poker again tomorrow from work, which would be about five miles.

It feels good to be active again. In true Molissa fashion, I've begun looking at new gadgets to invest in. I've learned that when I spend money on something, I become more committed to succeeding at it.* Currently, I'm drooling over the Garmin Forerunner 405. It comes in GREEN! It's small and beeeaauuutiful! If there are any runners out there who have input on the Garmin line, now's the time to air your opinions...

I guess it's time to buckle down and start winning at poker again...mama needs a new running gadget!!

Finally, graph for those who like flash animation:

(Sunday's run/jog to poker. The last half was uphill, and it kicked my butt.)

* This might be at the root of my poker compulsions, actually.

Foot Loose

2008-05-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

So I hate the treadmill. Really. Despise it. Mostly because I can never seem to go running or even walking on the treadmill without horrible shin splints paining my legs after a few moments. Generally, I stick to the elliptical.

However, I recently read an article online scolding people for wearing shoes. Just about ANY shoes. It cites some papers which have apparently shown the benefits of walking/running barefoot, and how it has LESS impact on the knees than when one walks or runs with shoes.

I didn't research much but figured I'd give it a shot on the treadmill. Honestly, I can barely walk quarter of a mile before before my legs usually start to ache. Barefoot, I walked 2.5 miles, running for 0.5 of them. I took the next day off and... it was weird. my muscles ached like they normally would from a work out, but I was free from cramps and such that usually plague me when I run on a treadmill.

Though I still wouldn't recommend everyone to do it all the time, I would give it a shot if you suffer from the same issues (treadmill or otherwise) that I do. I'd definitely still like to research it more, though, before I like... kill my knees/ankles or something.

Day 7 & 8: Baby Steps

2008-05-26T19:25:00.001-07:00

Sunday was spent hanging around the house again, but doing a super spring cleaning. I kept my pedometer with me most of the day and ended up with 4,366 steps (1.79 miles).

Today wasn't much better. I logged 4,747 (Lucky numbers?).

I find it interesting that nobody is striving for 10,000 steps in one day (Except maybe Mike), and we're all generally just posting our total steps (Or guesses based on demonic pedometers). I wonder how many of us will have reached 10,000 in one day before this 2week ends?

Day 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: Reset City

2008-05-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

I was going to label this post piece of crap central, but reset city works just as well.

I've really tried to keep up with this 2weeker but I purchased the worlds crappiest pedometer. The company's site has it listed under "Legacy Products". That's a vote of confidence right? Anyway after continued investigation, if the user breathes on the product, moves with the product, or attempts to use the product in the way it was intended it will turn off and zero out.

I'll post some pictures after I completely disassemble it in my futile attempt to bring back the dead...

Days 5 & 6: Suckers

2008-05-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

Poor Mike. There's a reason I recommended my pedometer. Anything on Amazon with a 4 1/2 star rating after 1500 reviews has got to be good. It's neat cause it tracks steps, aerobic steps (Speed walking I guess?), miles, calories, and all that data for the last 7 days. Heck, it even has a clock. I've had it for about a year now and usually keep it with me. Having some hard numbers to look at is always nice. But I think the best thing about this pedometer is you actually have to set it up correctly by entering in your weight and your stride length (I originally thought it was asking for height, and was getting really annoyed/confused when it would only go up to 3 feet...)

But regardless, I didn't do too much walking the last couple days.

Friday: 6616 (322 over my prediction)
Saturday: 1230 (I only made brief stops at Giant and Subway and didn't wear it around the house... Otherwise I piddled around the house and enjoyed the first day of a much deserved 3 day weekend by playing On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Call of Duty 4, River City Ransom, and working on 2weeker 2.0)

I expect to be much more productive as I am doing a super spring cleaning of the house. I'll keep my pedometer with me throughout the day and see much I walk just around the house, which should be interesting.

Oh Billy...

2008-05-25T01:41:00.001-07:00

I have a new arch-nemesis, and it is the reset button on my pedometer. Today I totaled 7989 steps as we did a ton of walking in downtown Berkeley. Then, adjusting my pack, I dropped it and it reset. Okay. I tallied another 1900 or so before I adjusted my belt and, of course, it reset. Another 600 steps to the bathroom, then a reset. Then to Ikea; 3700 there, a reset, then another 2400. Now it reads 8. Needless to say, my feet and knees ache, but most of all, my heart aches at the thought of all the things I'm about to do to this poor pedometer.

Stride

2008-05-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

I'm shocked that none of us has eclipsed 10k yet. On Wednesday I managed 8984 steps, but yesterday I discovered that biking is not picked up by the pedometer (note enough jiggle). I'll try putting it on my foot next time, but the result was a 3690 step day.

Besides the shock that we haven't hit 10,000 yet, I think I'm surprised at how much variation there is. We'll see how I do this weekend, since lots of shopping (Memorial day outlets anyone?) and softball are on the menu.

Days B through E: Recap

2008-05-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

Monday: 8939
Tuesday: 6681
Wednesday: Forgot my pedometer... But it's ok! It was a horribly icky and rainy day and I forgot my umbrella. I estimate 3500-4000 steps
Thursday: 8968 (Have to go far out of my way to deposit my paycheck in Georgetown, then I walk to Dupont Circle)

Nothing really of interest to discuss. Although the target="_blank">new walking shoes I bought a couple weeks ago (Before I know of this 2week... Ha!) that I bought with a gift card I got on Christmas have been awesome. Absolutely no pain or rubbing or anything. So that's good...

I wish I had a pedometer during my travels in England and Italy, I put up some crazy numbers I'm sure. When I first moved into my new house I took a mega walk to explore the area. I ended up a little lost and logged something like 15,000 steps, which was kind of neat.

Today I predict a step count of 6294.

Day 2 and 3: 2520 Steps or 12520 Steps...

2008-05-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

Day 2:
I purchased a pedometer at 6:30 pm. I walked a total of 800 steps the rest of the day. My pedometer looks like an old-school pager. People look at me funny because now it looks like I'm 'on-call'. It feels great to feel important!

Day 3:
My pedometer reset in the middle of the day. I checked and I was at some 6000 steps then when I looked at it again a couple of hours later it registered 250 steps. Obviously, I walked 4000 more steps getting in my car and driving to the dentist. See, driving directly translates to walking faster.

Mike is definitely right about 'calibration'. I've seen World Series predictions more accurate than my pedometer at the moment. Eventually I'll apply it to the proper part of my body for the most accurate count possible. Until then I say that I walked 12520 steps today and there's nothing you people can do to prove me wrong!

So.. lazy....

2008-05-21T15:45:00.001-07:00

I haven't had a chance to get a pedometer yet! But thanks to borderline OCD, I think I've been keeping decent track of how many steps I take. The lab I work in is U-shaped; it takes 32 steps to walk from one side of the U to the other; I make at least 25-30 of these trips daily. The supply store from work is about 325 steps away and I walk to/from there once a day. The animal lab/my parking lot is about 500 steps (totally lost count/stopped caring) from my lab. All in all, I'd guess I do about 2500 to 3000 steps daily. Which is so. Incredibly. Sad.

I've been off the working out bandwagon lately, though. Blame it on finals and post-finals lethargy. The thought of taking up a project/tweeker makes my brain go fuzzy, but it's cool. I slacked off with my 3000 steps the first two days, but I'll make up for it tonight!

We're lucky enough to have a treadmill AND ellipital at home (so no, I have no excuse whatsoever for being fat). I think I'll just walk on the treadmill for the first half of tonight's Spurs/Hornets game. I haven't worked out in forever, but if I'm up for it, I may hop on the elliptical for the second half (unlikely, but I had cake today and no work tomorrow, so I might as well, right?). For the elliptical, I'll consider each cycle 2 steps.

Aaand I'll post the results of my work out tonight or (more likely) tomorrow!
f

ps - I <3 weezer. Just had to get that out there.

I'm a lazy bum

2008-05-21T14:26:00.001-07:00

I was off work yesterday, in a combination of "need-to-work-at-home," "need-to-start-packing," and "feel-like-crap." In that miraculous day of at-home-ness, I racked up only 3425 steps, which is just plain sad (although impressive considering I rarely left my apartment). Today, in which I was up early and moving about, I'm already up to 3853, and I haven't walked home yet.

My main impression is wonder at how many steps we actually take. It seems like we just walk and get from one place to another, but you can walk literally hundreds of steps in just a few minutes at a pretty casual pace. No wonder our brains are so big! I can't imagine not having a cerebellum and trying to manage that much calculation. I think Justin's right though; this is good for measuring general activity, but the pedometer can't differentiate between a crawl and sprinting with weights on.

Still, 3425 steps is pitiful, and it definitely guilt tripped me into being more active today.

true story

2008-05-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

True story: I haven't bought a pedometer yet because I've been busy organizing a conference called "Fit-City: Promoting Physical Activity through Design." It was today, and it was great. We at the NYC's Center for Architecture (where I work) partner with the Department of Health every year to produce this conference and publications about the intersection of architecture/urban planning and health.

There are so many factors of the built environment that impact the number of steps you take; what floor your office is on, how big it is from one end to another, the layout of subway/public transit, neighborhood design, etc etc etc. Needless to say, I could write forever on this topic; Fit-City is a major initiative at work for me, and I've spent a lot of time talking and thinking about it. Hopefully some more of our ideas can come out in this tweeker, if you all will indulge me as the urban planner among us.

Until my next post, why not follow the lead of my coworkers (who love to tease me) and yell "FIT CITY!" every time you spot someone climbing the stairs instead of riding the escalator or elevator. Every step counts!!

FYI

2008-05-19T22:00:00.001-07:00

I want to walk 10,000 steps all over my building manager's face.

MAN that guy SUCKS!

How I feel right now

Perhaps if I'd walked my whole 10,000 steps today I wouldn't be so frustrated when he accuses me and my roommate of hammering random crap at 11pm on a Sunday?

Day 1: Who Needs A Pedometer...

2008-05-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

... when you only walk about 2000 steps? Yeah, seriously I think I only walked about 2000 steps.

First things first, I need a pedometer. Finding one (even the magical $4 Walgreens one Mr. MCChen talked about) was difficult for me today and I am not buying a $50 REI heart-rate monitor/pedometer/personal fitness system. Instead, I'll spend $50 on full zip rain pants. In all honesty, I will find one but this blog post is more about my considerable lack of walking.

My job requires me to be at my desk on my computer about 80% of the time. The other parts of the day are filled with walking to meetings, walking to the kitchen, walking to the car and occasionally walking to lunch. If I really worked hard I think I could limit my steps to under 1000 each day, but this 2weeker isn't about laziness.

This 2weeker isn't about getting fit for me. I do enough hiking, cycling, running and general working out to stay healthy. What I'm looking for is that excuse to get out and do some exploring. I realize so much of my current life is limited to a number of known areas and I don't venture out much. Look for some interesting pictures this 2weeker.

Day 1: Unsustainable

2008-05-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

A handy map of my travels today. Multimedia! Woo!

Whoever came up with walking 10,000 steps a day as a healthy "goal" for mankind in general is a failure. Today's traveled took me from my house to a bus stop, bus to metro, metro to Dupont Circle, another bus stop, bus to work, work, work to CVS in Georgetown, Georgetown to Dupont Circle, metro'd back home to Rockville, walked to the grocery, grocery shopped, and finally back home.

All of this took place over about 2 hours. At the end of the day my pedometer was just over 9,000 (4.7ish miles). 4,000 of which were "aerobic" steps (aka, fast walking); my pedometer has random functions like that. Of course I don't wear my pedometer at home and in the mornings, so I'm sure I hit 10,000 somehow. Also, does standing on a train and shuffling your feet occasionally count as steps? They should. Yeah, I definitely hit 10,000. Regardless, I was surprised that after I checked my pedometer after I got home from the grocery I hadn't logged more steps.

I don't understand how most people today can afford the commitment to walk 10,000 steps a day, if only for the time required to take said amount of steps. I typically average about 5-7,000 steps a day, and this is from someone who typically walks everywhere (Weee no driver's license).

So that's my initial thought on this thing, that 10,000 is an impressive sounding number, but not "realistic"? Or something.

Calibration

2008-05-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I think this pedometer is made for your ego. It's a cheap $4 model from Walgreens, and it works, but it overestimates by up to 25% depending on where you put it (Christina and I did some scientific tests... typical of us). For instance, placing it on one side of the hip results in 25% overshoot, while putting the pedometer on the middle of the belt results in only 10-15% overshoot. Putting it on the collar of one's shirt results in near-perfect sensing. I think the reason is related to the way these pedometers are built; a little bead bounces up and down when you walk, and every time it hits some sensor plate it ticks off one. The problem is that placing the pedometer in an area that moves a lot (like your hip) results in the bead double-bouncing once in a while.

So if that technical crap wasn't boring enough for you, here's my count from 9ish this morning til now: 4988. It's less than I expected, but not bad considering I took the shuttle to work. While I haven't been using this 2week to self-destruct ala Molissa, I realize now that it's a really, really good idea. When I break 10k, I'll break out the kettle chips. Tomorrow my goal is to test how this thing reacts to bicycling, and maybe aim to break 6k.

Five hundred steps forward, x steps back.

2008-05-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Walked 500 steps this afternoon...to buy a bag of chips and a pickle from Potbelly's.

Will later walk a few thousand steps...to a poker game in Adams Morgan.

Am I the only one whose walking will facilitate destructive behavior?

Change of Heart

2008-05-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,

Major changes are coming for 2weeker. Next week's 2week will be the following:

Walk 10,000 steps every day for two weeks.

I think this will be a little more quantitative and easier to report as we all strive to reach that magical number. We'll begin next Monday, which should give everyone time to get one of those inexpensive step-counters.

Meanwhile, the site will be getting a major change in format, but I'll leave that to Justin. Ready to get into shape, one step at a time?