Weird Things I Have Done Recently In Order To Reach 10,000 Steps...
As you may or may not know, I LOVE my FitBit flex and the app that goes with it. I can track all kinds of things daily! From my food intake, calories burned, steps, miles, active minutes, even sleep habits! It's so great! I highly recommend getting one - it's a pedometer on steroids. Srsly.
I got my FitBit for my birthday back in March and have worn it every day since. While I was working, I was ROCKING my weekly averages! I clocked in on several weeks at 100,000 steps or more! That was because I was running around from classroom to classroom getting ready for SBAC testing. On some days, I hit my daily goal of 10,000 before lunch time - that was how much I was walking around campus. I guess it also helps that our campus is pretty big (says the girl that used to complain about the hike from portable 12 to the main building... I would seriously plan my trips to and from and if I forgot something in either place? Forget it. It was like the end of the world. Anyway...).
Now that I am in the cusp of summer vacation, I am finding it really hard to get my 10,000 steps in! Especially before noon! I'm just not required to walk as much as I would on a normal work day. So here's what I've been up to this week to get my steps in:
Yesterday - Brisk morning walk around the block first thing in the morning for thirty minutes. Clocked in about 2,000 steps. Grocery shopping with Audrey in tow. Clocked in 1,000 and some change. Doctor's appointment for Audrey. [Sidenote: Got her on an antihistamine to help her not be so itchy. So far it is working - she is not itching nearly as much!] Lots of sitting. Lunch at a crepe place in the Packing House in Claremont. More sitting and eating (the worst!).
Now get this...... In the heat of the afternoon, I smother myself and Audrey with sunscreen, tuck her in to the stroller, and proceed to walk for 40 minutes all around the streets of Claremont. What the hell, Meg? It was 108 degrees on Monday!!! I kept thinking things like Claremont has plenty of trees - we'll be fine! It's not so bad! I've got my hat, my sunglasses, and sunscreen on - that will keep me cool! I'll just drink lots of water! I was wrong on all accounts. At about 20 minutes, I was DYING. But Audrey was getting drowsy in the stroller and excited to take a nap in there (surprise!). So probably slept for a whopping 20 minutes out of that whole walk. And when she woke up and sat up, immediate gush of blood from her nose. Mommy FAIL. It was just. too. hot. At that point, I had stopped at a bench at the intersection of Harrison and Indian Hill so I then hoofed it back to the parking structure near the Packing House. I stopped at Coffee Bean and bought two bottles of water.
What killed me (almost literally.... but not quite) was that all my steps didn't even count on that walk because I was pushing the damn stroller! I tried to walk one handed as much as I could but that was so tiring (and remember it was like 108 degrees out too!). So I was downhearted and exhausted. To explain, I was at about 6,500 when I started the walk. According to the Fitnesss Tracker App, my 40 minute jaunt around Claremont should have up-ed me to 10,000. But alas, I got in my car and my wrist FitBit only counted me up to 8,000 and then some. Urgh. I felt like all that hot, excruciating work for nothing.
But then it's not really about getting the most steps. For me, it's getting my goal each day which is 10,000. So I was sad that the biggest attempt to reach that goal ended up being an overall FAIL on my part. I was just so tired..... So we drove home and rested and then went to Audrey's cooking class and then had dinner and put Audrey to bed, etc. All the extra walking around the house and walking to the cooking class put me above 10,000. Boy, did I have to work hard to get there!
Today - I slept in later than I wanted to. I woke up at 7am - that was when I wanted to be leaving to drop Audrey off at preschool so I could fit in a walk and a full day at work. Blah. Plan thwarted. So I got up and got ready for the day and dropped Audrey off around 8:30. Then I decided to still take a morning walk. I did another 30 minute brisk walk around Claremont (since Audrey's preschool is up there and it's a nice place to walk around anyway) and clocked in 2,000. I went to work but decided not to stay that long. I also didn't walk as much as I thought I would since my desk area really demanded the bulk of my attention. So I didn't clock in too many more steps at work. I left around 11:15.
I went down to Chino to deposit a check. Now get this.... the bank is on one side of a mini-mall so I parked on the complete opposite side and walked all the way over to the bank. That was pretty clever and gave me another 30 minute, round trip, leisurely walk to add to my step count. I grabbed lunch at 85 Degrees Bakery Cafe. [Sidenote: I am in LOVE with this place! I think I'll bring a book or my laptop there another day and just bask in the baked good-goodness that is this store, sipping any drink I want with added boba!]
I went back home and confession: JUST SAT. I was tired. I farted around on the computer for a few hours and then... Now get this.... I did mini-sprints in my own home. It started as just quick paces to and fro and then turned in to full on running, stopping, turning, running, stopping, turning... I probably looked like a crazy woman. And this sudden burst of energy probably didn't add too much to my step count but that's okay!
I had my admin class in El Monte at 4pm. I got my 10,000 while I paced outside during our break calling Jeff and Audrey on the phone. Otherwise, just more sitting. I had to take a final. But now that's done and on to summer classes in a few weeks. Since it was the last class, the professor let us out SUPER early! The class is supposed to go until 9pm, he said he'd stop at 8:20, but we found ourselves packing up and waving good bye at 6:45!!! Yey! I have time to walk some more!
Now get this..... it's been muggy and rainy all day today. So... I went to IKEA. And I walked the showroom and the marketplace for a good hour. I picked up a new bath mat and a picture frame. When I got back to the car, my daily count was 13,000. I think I've found the perfect place to walk when it's a.) too hot or b.) too muggy and rainy. IKEA, you are the best!
So to recap, the weird things I do to get my steps in are:
1.) Go for super long walks in the heat of the day (never. again.)
2.) Park on the opposite end of my destination and then walk across the mini-mall to said destination
3.) Sprint in my house....
4.) Walk around IKEA
Before summer break, my walk routine was pretty boring! Walk in the morning, walk at work, maybe walk again in the afternoon. Summer, apparently, is the time to get creative! Or weird... whichever.
I got my FitBit for my birthday back in March and have worn it every day since. While I was working, I was ROCKING my weekly averages! I clocked in on several weeks at 100,000 steps or more! That was because I was running around from classroom to classroom getting ready for SBAC testing. On some days, I hit my daily goal of 10,000 before lunch time - that was how much I was walking around campus. I guess it also helps that our campus is pretty big (says the girl that used to complain about the hike from portable 12 to the main building... I would seriously plan my trips to and from and if I forgot something in either place? Forget it. It was like the end of the world. Anyway...).
Now that I am in the cusp of summer vacation, I am finding it really hard to get my 10,000 steps in! Especially before noon! I'm just not required to walk as much as I would on a normal work day. So here's what I've been up to this week to get my steps in:
Yesterday - Brisk morning walk around the block first thing in the morning for thirty minutes. Clocked in about 2,000 steps. Grocery shopping with Audrey in tow. Clocked in 1,000 and some change. Doctor's appointment for Audrey. [Sidenote: Got her on an antihistamine to help her not be so itchy. So far it is working - she is not itching nearly as much!] Lots of sitting. Lunch at a crepe place in the Packing House in Claremont. More sitting and eating (the worst!).
Now get this...... In the heat of the afternoon, I smother myself and Audrey with sunscreen, tuck her in to the stroller, and proceed to walk for 40 minutes all around the streets of Claremont. What the hell, Meg? It was 108 degrees on Monday!!! I kept thinking things like Claremont has plenty of trees - we'll be fine! It's not so bad! I've got my hat, my sunglasses, and sunscreen on - that will keep me cool! I'll just drink lots of water! I was wrong on all accounts. At about 20 minutes, I was DYING. But Audrey was getting drowsy in the stroller and excited to take a nap in there (surprise!). So probably slept for a whopping 20 minutes out of that whole walk. And when she woke up and sat up, immediate gush of blood from her nose. Mommy FAIL. It was just. too. hot. At that point, I had stopped at a bench at the intersection of Harrison and Indian Hill so I then hoofed it back to the parking structure near the Packing House. I stopped at Coffee Bean and bought two bottles of water.
What killed me (almost literally.... but not quite) was that all my steps didn't even count on that walk because I was pushing the damn stroller! I tried to walk one handed as much as I could but that was so tiring (and remember it was like 108 degrees out too!). So I was downhearted and exhausted. To explain, I was at about 6,500 when I started the walk. According to the Fitnesss Tracker App, my 40 minute jaunt around Claremont should have up-ed me to 10,000. But alas, I got in my car and my wrist FitBit only counted me up to 8,000 and then some. Urgh. I felt like all that hot, excruciating work for nothing.
But then it's not really about getting the most steps. For me, it's getting my goal each day which is 10,000. So I was sad that the biggest attempt to reach that goal ended up being an overall FAIL on my part. I was just so tired..... So we drove home and rested and then went to Audrey's cooking class and then had dinner and put Audrey to bed, etc. All the extra walking around the house and walking to the cooking class put me above 10,000. Boy, did I have to work hard to get there!
Today - I slept in later than I wanted to. I woke up at 7am - that was when I wanted to be leaving to drop Audrey off at preschool so I could fit in a walk and a full day at work. Blah. Plan thwarted. So I got up and got ready for the day and dropped Audrey off around 8:30. Then I decided to still take a morning walk. I did another 30 minute brisk walk around Claremont (since Audrey's preschool is up there and it's a nice place to walk around anyway) and clocked in 2,000. I went to work but decided not to stay that long. I also didn't walk as much as I thought I would since my desk area really demanded the bulk of my attention. So I didn't clock in too many more steps at work. I left around 11:15.
I went down to Chino to deposit a check. Now get this.... the bank is on one side of a mini-mall so I parked on the complete opposite side and walked all the way over to the bank. That was pretty clever and gave me another 30 minute, round trip, leisurely walk to add to my step count. I grabbed lunch at 85 Degrees Bakery Cafe. [Sidenote: I am in LOVE with this place! I think I'll bring a book or my laptop there another day and just bask in the baked good-goodness that is this store, sipping any drink I want with added boba!]
I went back home and confession: JUST SAT. I was tired. I farted around on the computer for a few hours and then... Now get this.... I did mini-sprints in my own home. It started as just quick paces to and fro and then turned in to full on running, stopping, turning, running, stopping, turning... I probably looked like a crazy woman. And this sudden burst of energy probably didn't add too much to my step count but that's okay!
I had my admin class in El Monte at 4pm. I got my 10,000 while I paced outside during our break calling Jeff and Audrey on the phone. Otherwise, just more sitting. I had to take a final. But now that's done and on to summer classes in a few weeks. Since it was the last class, the professor let us out SUPER early! The class is supposed to go until 9pm, he said he'd stop at 8:20, but we found ourselves packing up and waving good bye at 6:45!!! Yey! I have time to walk some more!
Now get this..... it's been muggy and rainy all day today. So... I went to IKEA. And I walked the showroom and the marketplace for a good hour. I picked up a new bath mat and a picture frame. When I got back to the car, my daily count was 13,000. I think I've found the perfect place to walk when it's a.) too hot or b.) too muggy and rainy. IKEA, you are the best!
So to recap, the weird things I do to get my steps in are:
1.) Go for super long walks in the heat of the day (never. again.)
2.) Park on the opposite end of my destination and then walk across the mini-mall to said destination
3.) Sprint in my house....
4.) Walk around IKEA
Before summer break, my walk routine was pretty boring! Walk in the morning, walk at work, maybe walk again in the afternoon. Summer, apparently, is the time to get creative! Or weird... whichever.