Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Day 4: Tread Lightly

Four down, 96 to go.

I love things like freecycle, you never know what you'll find on there. Yesterday I struck pay dirt when I saw "treadmill." It turns out that an academic couple is moving across country and had a Proform 995 that was free to whomever would haul it away. Bless my brother and his station wagon for picking it up for me and delivering it to the house where, along with my three boys, they brought it into the living room for me.

After downloading the owners manual and learning how to use the various programs, tonight I took it for a 30 minute test walk. While I've never been a big treadmill fan, the idea of not being able to use the weather as an excuse any more is a good thing. My next move is to probably find a professional who can come in and do a tune up on the machine to make sure I have it for a long while longer... at least until I put it on freecycle myself.

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Day 3: The Glider

Several years ago, I picked up a Tony Gazelle glider on sale to keep in the back of the living room so I could hop on when I was watching TV. I don't love the thing, but it was there for when I needed a push.

Today I've been cleaning, organizing and next thing I know it's time to throw dinner in the oven and I made a commitment to intentionally move for 30 minutes a day for 100 days. Good thing the glider was there to save me today. I popped for 30 minutes while watching the season premier of my guilty pleasure show. The 30 minutes flew past as a result

The better news is that I will have a new to me treadmill tomorrow. The glider will head to the basement and I will no longer have an excuse not to run due to weather conditions. In then end, day three is in the book and the glider is heading to the basement.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Day 2: The Intentional Errands

Today I had a few errands to run so I figured this is where I can sneak in a few minutes here and there. The first thing was doing some laps around Target. I needed to pick up a set of shelves that were on sale and figured this was an opportunity. I did two laps around the store, picked up the shelves, walked up and down every aisle two more times before finishing with one last lap.

Then I needed to run an errand in the village near the house. So I strapped on my Nike+ and walked down to pick up what I needed and then took the long way around home turning a short walk to and from the store into a one mile walk.

By the end of the day I not only logged over 30 minutes but more importantly, I logged a second day.

Two down, 98 to go.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

I'll take that challenge John Bingham


John Bingham (aka "The Penguin") issued a 100 day challenge. The idea is to move for 30 minutes a day - intentionally. It doesn't matter if it's playing Wii, walking the dog, going for a run or more, the idea is to get off the couch for 30 minutes a day for 100 days.

Not a bad idea. So I made my husband take a walk with me. We walked the 2 miles around the local reservoir for 35 minutes. Because it's so mild out right now, the reservoir was crowded with walkers and runners. Singles, couples and groups made their way around the periphery as the sun began to set. There were people discussing things in Russian, Hebrew and English. People sprinted past while others shuffled by. Some were wearing headphones, some weren't. Either way, it was a pleasant walk with my husband.

I discovered this a couple of hours after I signed up for the Doyle's 5 mile race, which will be on April 22 this year. So 100 days of motion building to a 5 mile race on day 112. I can do that.

So John Bingham, I accept your challenge! Moving 30 minutes a day from now until Easter, I can handle that.