Why Use a Fitbit (or something like it)?

Anytime the topic of exercise comes up, it seems to inevitably veer off into a discussion of weight, leading to an even more contentious discussion of body image. It's pointless and counterproductive so I'm just not going to go there. I have no interest in telling anyone what they should look like or how much they should weigh. What I will do is encourage anyone interested in feeling better to make some form of exercise...and walking is the easiest...part of their life on a regular basis.

I started using the fitbit pedometer because my company held a fitness challenge through most of the Summer. And as I've said elsewhere, I was pleasantly surprised at how something as simple as adding walking to my exercise routine could strongly supplement an existing aerobic fitness habit that I've stuck to for over 10 years now. Walking is GREAT - I regularly engage in other exercise but walking is how I started that fitness habit and walking added to it again. This was a great and pleasant surprise.

That's the plus side to walking. There's something else to consider on the other hand: the risks of living too sedentary a life.

Here's a question for people who are shrugging at the notion of regular exercise: have you considered smoking cigarettes lately? The answer is probably "no"...if you don't smoke cigarettes already, chances are you are partly avoiding it because you know it increases your risk for a pointless, unpleasant, early death.

It's DUMB.

Here's something you may not know: diseases related to inactivity are poised to take over as #1 preventable cause of death. The bar chart below (based on CDC data) shows annual deaths from inactivity in a firm second place to smoking. Yes, pretty soon people may be dying faster from lack of exercise than from smoking cigarettes. And this chart is based on 2004 data...9 years have passed since this data was collected. I doubt that the outlook has gotten rosier.

That's it, all I have to say. I don't want to discourage people by getting tedious about the topic of maintaining physical activity to improve health. But before I close, let me reiterate:

•  I have zero interest in talking about weight or shape or being snarky gym rat guy. Your shape is NOT my business
• I would encourage anyone who is not physically active or who needs a change to try walking as a low stress, high benefit activity

Some people would probably include a disclaimer at this point about checking with your doctor before starting an exercise program. That seems kind of unfair because the people who sit around without exercising don't have to check with a doctor first. Duh!

The End of the Fitbit Challenge 9/21

My company's fitbit challenge ended on Saturday, Sept 21. As I've said elsewhere, I was pleasantly surprised at how much adding a vigorous walking program could add to the existing 3-4 YMCA workouts a week. Throughout the challenge, I definitely noted an increase in energy and strength.

Aiming end the challenge with a bang, I started the day with a 9 mile walk around the town of Snohomish, out the Centennial trail and back.

Sights around town.

The haunted Oxford Saloon, which I STILL haven't visited.

The VERY South end of the Centennial Trail.

Walking on out... or maybe back, I'm not sure.

Later in the day, I walked a couple more laps around Tye Lake

Total steps taken during the challenge, from 7/22 to 9/21, were over 1.1 million over a distance of 500 miles.

Sunday morning drizzle by Tye Lake

The work fitbit challenge ends on Saturday, September 22, so I was out walking a bit this weekend to start powering through the last bit. Started out yesterday walking a few laps around Tye Lake before using the elliptical machine at the YMCA. It was a little drizzly but also quiet and nice.

These abandoned toys made me think of Toy Story 2. In the background, there's a guy either using a metal detector or checking for landmines.

Did I mention the drizzle?

Walking in Issaquah

This week, I took my Tiger 800 in for her 6000 mile service. She's been a great motorcycle and I look forward to taking her on many more journeys...

The fitbit challenge is going on for a couple more weeks, so I wandered around Issaquah and took more pictures. This is an old tour bus outside the XXX root beer joint, near the motorcycle dealership.

My previous employer has moved but the building still carries its "brand".

There's a cool walking path near there and I thought it would be fun to walk it one more time. Still gorgeous, though the path is now paved instead of being cinders. I walked a LOT of miles here, on stressful days!

Cat Adoption Fail?

Recently, we adopted a couple elderly cats and I was thinking it would work out well. But I've developed some concerns. They may have been misrepresented to us.

1. They are allegedly "hunting cats, adept a hunting upland game and waterfowl". Yet Paisley runs away every time I try to get her to take a point. And when I tried to get Cyrus to jump into the water to practice fetching a duck, he just glared at me. Pressing the issue resulted in a trip to the ER.

2. They are also allegedly "quiet and well behaved". Yet we're starting to notice small amounts of cash and household valuable missing, along with a sudden abundance of cat toys. There is a strange group of cats constantly hanging around our house now. What looks like a cat bong has me thinking that the cats are taking advantage of Washington state's liberalized marijuana laws.

I don't know what to do.

Recent Pictures

Here are a couple pictures taken this weekend.

Near the start of the Centennial Trail.

 A neighborhood park.

In which I find I've been Living A Lie and have a harrowing encounter with a mollusc

Sunday started well...I decided to get an early start on my Fitbit Challenge walking by taking an 8 mile walk first thing and being mostly done with obligations for the day by about 10 am. With that in mind, I headed out the door and out to the trail.

The Centennial Trail was, as always, a deeply ugly place. This is a favorite spot that we used to visit even before we moved to Snohomish. Given that I now walk and bike by it several times a week, it has deep associations for me.

More ugly landscapes.

This is the point where my simplistic tale of a Sunday morning walk becomes a tale of wretchedness, a cautionary tale. Dubuque Road has been the turnaround point for long walks and short bicycle rides for the better part of a decade now. I used to walk it with Goldie, our yellow lab, when she was younger and up for long walks. The thing is, I had it pegged at about 4 miles from my starting point.
 
As I reached the Dubuque Road today, I blithely checked my trust pedometer to see what it was showing for distance walked. I expected it to say about 4 miles. To my shock and dismay, the the Fitbit flashed a message of subtle horror to me: "3.22" it said, with an understated high tech smirk.

I have been working in the corporate world for about 30 years now. I am used to maintaining a poker face or a sarcastic developer smirk. I did not rage and howl. But inside, I was reeling. For years now, my walking and biking distances have been overestimated by about a mile and a half, when you consider the two way trip. I have been Living A Lie....

I did walk on, as far as the point in the path parallel to Centennial Middle School. That took me to the 3.5 mile mark, setting up a nice 7 mile walk. It was a mile less than I had planned this walk to be but it would have to do.

Walking home, sadder but wiser, I decided to bury my shame in a coffee binge. The Iced Americano provided for me at SnoTown Espresso was tasty and the barista friendly. One thing I love to do when out running errands is to get a sense of the story behind the people I interact with and I had a few minutes of fun interaction with the barista, who it turns out works as a dental hygienist during the week. She has been working this Espresso stand for a while and was covering today for a co-worker's vacation.

She did look at me oddly when I asked which job was more fun, so I moved along before she could become too alarmed and decide to summon the authorities.

As I walked along, I happened to notice a fairly large and dangerous looking slug oozing across the walkway, It was clearly waiting for me to be distracted so that it could turn and attack me all unprepared. Fortunately, I have been warned about the duplicitous and deadly nature of these innocuous seeming molluscs...

There's a lot of yellow in this picture...