The World is a Vampire

Yesterday was an eye-opener. I knew I was sedentary, but I had no idea just how bad an average day can be. I'm in front of the computer a lot. It's my job. I write. I read. That's what I do. All day, everyday. So, try to incorporate 10,000 steps into a day spent writing and reading and you'll soon see that it's not that easy. It requires effort.

Honestly, I just thought I could make more trips to the bathroom and kitchen, pace while talking on the phone, plan more frequent work breaks and use them to take a few laps around my living room. Normally I go out almost every day anyway, to the grocery store, the office, or what have you. Some days I walk downtown, like I did on Wednesday, but more often than not somebody stops in and I go with them in the car.

Yesterday, I went to SuperValu with Sherry for instance. We parked some distance from the door and we went over nearly every aisle because they are renovating and nothing is where it used to be anymore. Stacy and I always seem to put a lot of miles on when we travel together and go grocery shopping or to the mall. So I kinda thought I could just keep on doing what I've been doing, just increase my awareness of steps and consciously take longer routes, do more pacing, make more trips, etc. and I'd reach the 10,000 steps goal easy.

Not so! I quickly realized this when I checked my steps for the day just before supper after having gone out shopping with Sher. I had done laps around the living room on several occasions. I had made frequent trips in the unloading groceries thing. I had paced while talking on the phone. I had went down the hall to other end of the apartment to look out the window several times. It felt like I had spent a lot of my day on my feet. I mean in comparison to any other normal day. And at 4:35pm I only had 2,876 steps. Damn! That's a long way from 10,000!

So I knew right then that if I was going to hit the target I had to ramp it up a bit. It wasn't very nice outside last evening and truthfully I didn't really feel like going out much anyway, but really I just wanted to prove to myself that I could get the steps without leaving the apartment. That it could indeed be done. It's possible. Because you know, there are days when you can't go out because of the weather. Snow days and extreme temperatures and all that. So it was really important for me to prove to myself that I could still get 'er done, without going to French Fort Cove.

My floor squeaks. It's an older building you know. I can hear the guy upstairs moving around, so I'm certain the couple below me can hear me moving around. What are they gonna think if I'm running around for an hour up here? Should I even care? Luckily, the folks went out and when I noticed their car gone from the parking lot I cranked up the iTunes and got to stepping. My kitchen is in the middle of my apartment with a doorway on either side. The kids love to run round and round when they're here, doing the loop through the kitchen, dining room, living room, hall, and into the kitchen again. So I followed their example and started walking laps through my apartment, taking the occasional meander down to the bedroom to see if my neighbors had returned. And I walked!

End result of my first day on the pedometer:

10,100 steps total
5,097 aerobic steps or 50 minutes of aerobic walking
415 calories burned and 25.7 grams of fat
3.66 miles walked

Not too damn shabby! Especially for not leaving the house. It's doable, this thing. It's just more work than I expected, but totally doable. The numbers are a great motivator. The fact that the numbers reset to zero at midnight seems to be a big motivator too. There is a deadline. I have 24 hours to get the steps and that is all, no cheating, no fudging, get it in before midnight or it doesn't count.

I wanted to write about last night's crazy assed dreams but I've run out of time. Maybe later. Wish me luck stepping!

Mood: hyper
Drinking: water
Listening To:Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings(1)
Hair: definitely getting a wash today