6 mile days

With the students gone, I have been doing some serious mileage. Since graduation, I have averaged 5 mile days, a bit of a jump from my 2-mile days when the students were on campus. I have crossed some serious thresholds: 1000 miles and 2 million seconds. I am knocking on the door of 3 million steps and should knock that out before I head out of town on a conference. The warmer weather has brought new challenges as I had to find cooler clothing and comfier sandals. I have been able to go without my overhead light due to the fabulous nature light that pours through my office windows and the improved air flow of an open window is refreshing. It is hard to imagine that I have been following this routine fairly religiously for nearly nine months. I am excited to see what the next three will bring and to continue to evaluate my physical, emotional, and work well-being as I head in to the last three months, which will draw me toward my one-year treadmill desk anniversary!

Life @ 1.4mph

The college that I work for ran a brief blurb in the weekly newsletter. This is the accompanying picture, which I love because you can see the movement in my legs and fingers (blurry), but my head, face, and upper body look perfectly still. Life @ 1.4mph = pure bliss and total productivity.

FAQs

Since today's onslaught of students in our office ("do you have any more of those planner thingys") brought with it a maelstorm of questions, I thought I would take a few lines to address the most frequently asked of those:

Q: A treadmill desk in your office!  Really? In your office?

A: Yep, really, in my office.

Q: Does your boss know you have this in here?

A: Yep, my boss knows, and her boss knows, and his boss knows.  So short of a trustee dropping in and voicing a loud objection - I think I am good to go.  

Q: Do you walk on that all day long?
A: I walk on it when I can. Today I did 4.44 miles and 3 hours worth of office work aboard the tread.  Tomorrow I am packed with meeting after meeting -- so will probably only get in an hour.

Q: Don't you ever just want to sit down?
A: Not really. I actually feel very energized, productive, and focused -- whatever antsy-fidgety-doodle in the margin-link clicking part of me that often emerges when I sit, seems to have to just go along for the ride when I am walking.  Today I had to sign 300+ letters and while I could probably have signed them atop the desk, it was more practical to do it at the table.

Q: How fast do you walk?
A: 1.4 mph @ a 5% incline

Q: What kind of shoes do you wear?
A: Pretty much whatever I wear to work.  Yesterday 2" high clogs, today flats.  When I work at my home treadmill desk, I wear my treadmill tennis shoes (I bought them as a getting started present to myself last September).

Q: Don't you get dizzy?
A: Not anymore.  I did after the first day, but since then I am not bothered by the movement  plus reading or typing or writing.  As a person who still gets carsick as a adult, this is a monumental feat.

Q: Doesn't your office stink?
A: I don't think so.  Of course it is winter, so the office is a bit chilly.  Come spring and summer I might have to dial down the mph and incline to make it all work.

Q: Can I use your treadmill desk?
A: Absolutely.  However, you might have to fight off C or P who have dibs on the lunch hour.  I am always gone for an hour @ 9am so if you want to give it a go -- come on over.  If you want to use a laptop, bring one along -- I am wired for all.  (aside: When B helped me bring it into the building (under duress I might add), he suggested that I put it in the break room (does my building have a one of those?) so that everyone could use it.  He's missing the point on its purpose.)

Hope this clears up any unanswered questions.  Please stop by if you can, and as GBC regularly said to folks he encountered in his day "have an effective day."

As mundane, expected, or drab as any other office furniture

It really didn't strike me until today, that not once during the 3.5 hours of academic advising on Friday did one of my advisees make mention of the fact that I had a treadmill in my office.  In their defense I was not aboard the tread when they arrived.  This coupled by perhaps the anxiety, excitement, or both of registering for their first term at our college, it is understandable that they had other things on their minds. The oddity of their lack of response versus the students who I have encountered since then has reinforced my decision to bring the tread to work in the first place.  I was greeted with big smiles, a few whatthe*%#&, and one wave (from the outside sidewalk below).  One of my bosses dropped in and told me to keep walking as though this would be commonplace -- me walking while we discussed registration, orientation, communication, or one of the other -tions.  I chose not to keep walking, but in the future, I just might.  It will be interesting, as the student interactions are increasing with their return to school,  to see the continued response (or lack of response).  Regardless, I think it is fair to say that the tread is here to stay - to brighten someone's day, make someone stop and take a second look, or just consider how they might think differently.

Watch a video of my office panoramic 

An end to the discombobulation

I will start this post by publicly admitting that B was not very excited about helping me move Treadmill Desk 3.0 to its new home in my new office at my new job. It was only after two days of talking about it, a several hours of reassurance that if my new boss thought it was a bad idea, I would move it home. I had, however, done my homework. I measured the space, I played with floor plans (see earlier posts), and I cleared it by the appropriate folks. Since our larger office must meet ADA minimum clearances, I knew I could get it from the car to the office. It cleared all thresholds without incident. After the 2nd picture, B left. I think he still isn't sure this is a great idea. So here is a commentary on the set up from left to right. I will also add my panoramic video to the column on the right.

1. Space
2. Wheeling Pro-Form in to position
3. Foam insulation to put between tread and floor (although I am lucky enough to have a storage room below me, rather than a person).
4. Treadmill mat over the top of the insulation to hold it in position and to provide further quieting.
5. Done -- this part took me a whopping 5 or so minutes (I have not counted the time to get it in the car, drive to work, get it in the building, up the elevator, etc.)
6. Another view of the treadmill desk workspace.

7. I then added a pre-cut 3' piece of shelf board.
8. It is held in place with three bungee cords.
9. Underneath view of the bungees.
10. I added a 3' long kitchen shelf (for traditional use above one's kitchen sink). It is clamped in place
11. A piece of plexiglass rests between the kitchen shelf and the front of the treadmill controls.
12. Another view of the plexi. I rest my laptop on the plexi and use a wireless keyboard and mouse on the shelf below. Ergonomically it works great.

So, as all can imagine, I am psyched to head to work tomorrow morning and jump on first thing to help get me focused for the day ahead.

Virtual workplace acclimatization

So probably the most daunting part about transitioning to my new job is carving out a space that I can feel at home in and do my best work. I am anxious to get my move on so to speak, but due to the holiday - I kind of need to wait. In the meantime I have played around with some free floor planning software, which has a 3d tool so I can design what seems like a good plan and try to acclimatize myself through the virtual medium. I am pleased to discover based on the dimensions and my configuring that I can probably set up my office in such a way as to include both the gargantuous L shaped desk (that I think is probably stuck in the office for life) and my treadmill desk without it feeling too cramped. I am thinking of ways to insulate the undercarriage of my treadmill so that the person whose office is directly below mine and the one whose office is adjacent to mine won't be completely irritated and bothered by my quirky idiosyncrasies. I hope to have three distinct work spaces -- sit down desk, tread desk, and side table for working one-on-one with students. I am hoping that my arrival will model the myriad of environments that one can seamlessly work between.

Half-way through the Holiday stretch

Yippee! Today marks the half-way point (for those of us that are keeping track) of the holiday stretch (Halloween to Valentine's Day).  I feel a renewed sense of energy and will power knowing that, like winter solstice, I have survived to the point at which it becomes easier (fewer candy and food gorge days and longer daylight hours).  I think the holiday stretch is equally challenging because we have to endure the urge to hibernate beneath huge fleecy blankets, add to our fat stores, and sleep the weeks away.   The treadmill desk has certainly done its part to keep the part of me who enjoys summer days, hiking, fruit salads, fresh vegetables awake.  I have raised enough curiosity with my new colleagues and neighbors in the administration building (see last post) that I think I will at least be able to bring the treadmill desk in on a trial basis.  My new office is quite a bit bigger  as compared to where I have been, so I am eager to get in and make it my own living-working-life balance laboratory.  As soon as I begin the set-up I will post pictures to detail my progress.

A day in the life...

I thought it would be interesting (at least to me, and hopefully to my readers) to see how this might work in real life.  So here is a series of snapshots of today's workday:

Got to work (read: stepped on to the treadmill desk) @ 7:58am

Walked for 56 minutes before heading out to a 9am appointment

Got back to the office (read: stepped back on...) @ 10:10am

Walked for 84 minutes before heading out for lunch with D
Got back to the office @ 12:50pm
Walked for 30 minutes before jumping off for an afternoon meeting
Got back to the office @ 2:05pm
Walked for 46 minutes before heading out the door to pick up kids
Got back to the office @ 4:15pm
Walked for 57 minutes and then went downstairs to think about cooking dinner.

So...on a typical day I might walk nearly 5 hours while at work, covering 6.82 miles, and burning (at least according to my tread) 1200 calories

Ta-da & the 1st dress rehearsal

Last night as I was updating my tracking spread sheet, I realized that I would cross the 1M second mark in the last minutes of my evening desk work.  So rather than finishing last night, I cut my workout 1 second short of the milestone so that the very second I stepped on to my treadmill desk today I would have accomplished something great!  I wasn't sure how I would feel, but as I pushed the speed button and listened to the beeps as the treadmill ramped up and watched the first second tick off, I felt a rush of adrenaline.  1,000,000 seconds.  Dang that is a lot of work and workout.  277.77 hours of walking.  Although I have only put in one 8+ hour day, I anticipate that with my return to work in January that the second million might come more quickly.  Since, I have an appointment this morning at 9am (the same time I will start teaching in January), I thought I would run a dress rehearsal this morning and see how my mileage might be on a average day.  I had planned to get on the tread by 7:45am (see earlier posts), but didn't get on until a little before 8am. Since I have to drive to my appointment, rather than walk across campus, I will have to jump off a bit earlier than I will when I return to campus.  My plan is to be working at the treadmill desk when I am not at an appointment, lunch, or afternoon meeting.  This should be pretty close to what an average day will look like when I return to work.  I will report the mileage in a post later this week.

The other side of the wall

What a delight to be on the other side of the wall and the feeling of satisfaction of pushing through my wall last night!  That, coupled with my weekly progress report, has reminded me that if I continue to stay on track, I will continue to move steadily toward my goals.  December 23 is shaping up to be an exciting day as I hopefully complete my revised goal of 500 miles and also cross the 1,000,000 seconds of walking mark.  Between now and then I have at least three winter holiday parties to attend and I am excited about picking out something to wear and show off the renovated me!  I have finished my sabbatical work, so the time I am putting in now on my treadmill desk will be paying it forward in to the spring semester -- syllabi planning, lecture notes, future article ideas, etc.  The thing I am most excited about upon my return is the response of my colleagues and campus friends to my new desk.  I am hoping to hit the office by 7:45am and put in a full hour prior to my 9am class.  I have noticed that the use of the treadmill desk in the morning has also reduced my coffee intake to a manageable level (read: able to drink enough water to balance the caffeine intake).   I am excited to take these new habits back to work and to inspire others to adopt similar commitments to a self-renovation project.

Advertisers beware

For whatever reason my blog has recently attracted the attention of advertisers who are hoping to make a quick buck with free web space.  I am of the mindset that my blog isn't the place for treadmill advertisements.  In fact, I would recommend the opposite for folks that are curious about whether a treadmill desk is right for them.  I would suggest if you are investigating this as a possible activity for your home or professional office that you look for a cheap treadmill either on Craigslist or in your local paper or better yet borrow one from a friend.  The combined cost for the TWO treadmills I have is LESS THAN $200.  The apparati to transform them in to desks came from scraps in my garage.  You do not need to spend in excess of $2000 (advertiser #1) or $479 plus shipping from the UK (advertiser #2) to make this work for you.  If you are an advertiser - beware - I will either delete your comment or suggest workarounds for my readers.

Medication Macala

So after 58 continuous days of exercise, I finally found myself taking a break from the treadmill desk after a long day of moving my mother-in-law into her new apartment yesterday.  I was once again reminded of the importance of preventative health as I sat at the table in her new apartment sorting through a myriad of medications.  The ginormous daily pill boxes my brother-in-law purchased provided the perfect sorting tool and a walk back into elementary school memories as I dropped pill after pill in to the little compartments -- it was a bit like playing macala -- but rather than brightly colored legumes to use as my game pieces I found myself playing with oddly shaped, brightly colored, and helpfully labeled tablets and capsules.  Medication macala.  It took my more than an hour to sort the 20 some medications across the morning and evening med boxes (checking and double checking) and provided a great opportunity to remind myself about the importance of keeping up my treadmill desk and 39 push-up routine on a DAILY basis for the rest of my life. Although I did not feel anxious about missing yesterday (as I might have weeks earlier or with previous routines), I was happy to find time today to jump back on the tread.

Treadmill Desk 3.0

So here is my Treadmill Desk 3.0 - the model I will take to work and with which I will make all my co-workers jealous. It was easier than 1.0 or 2.0 (see earlier posts 9/29 & 10/13) due to the parallel-to-the-ground handlebars. I was able to easily bungee the white shelf board in place. I used an old over-the-sink shelf (clamped in place) and a piece of plexiglass to create a second floating shelf for my laptop. It is a smaller and much quieter unit than the 595le, so will fit better in to my expected use of it at work. In the interim (between now and when I return to work), I will use the ProForm 420.  Hopefully my excitement about my new tread won't overshadow the great progress I continue to make - losing 10.5 lbs. and 8.5".  I have updated my progress report in the right column and will add additional pictures tomorrow.

Wowsie! Early Birthday Present

So since about the first full week, I have begun worrying or wondering or wrangling with the idea of how to recreate my treadmill desk at work once I return from my sabbatical on Jan. 20.  I had thought about getting a Tread Desk; but with the economy as it is, I didn't think that this would be a good use of our family resources.  It also seemed quite unlikely that my employer would be willing to splurge for one for similar reasons.  I began to check Craigslist in hopes of finding a used tread that I could jury rig for use at work. While the kids were out and about with a friend today, B and I ran a few errands - including a trip to Sears.  And even though we weren't thinking about making any big purchases -- the huge sale, plus the 10% off Sears' cardholders (6-9pm Sunday night), plus 5% for the floor model, which was already on clearance had us driving home with a ProForm 420 in the back of our truck for under $175.  "Happy birthday," B said.  I thanked him and rode home with a smile ear to ear - overjoyed that one outstanding task could be crossed off my prepare-to-return-from-sabbatical list.  The set up was quite easy.  I will post pictures tomorrow of my newest setup.  If you are in the market for a treadmill, I would strongly encourage you to cruise by your local Sears store tomorrow and see if they have any ProForms on clearance.  I previously had the 595le, which will be my home office desk.  The 420 is tons quieter and will go back to work with me in January.  Yeah!
(post note: I think the sale at Sears continues today)

The happy, sleepy, medium

A few days back (it might have even been last weekend), I read an article about the effect of too little or too much sleep in regards to one's weight.  I think it might have been in one of the shiny, weekend newspaper inserts.  Anyway, when I updated my MedHelp trackers this morning, after accumulating a whopping 9 hours of sleep last night, I was curious whether the findings from the research were being replicated in my own life.  While the correlation isn't perfect, I did notice that there was usually a slight weight gain following days when I slept more than 8 or less than 7.  I have posted screen shots of the two trackers, in such a way that the sleep column lines up with the correct morning.  It was interesting to see that the stretch while I was in California (six dots in a row) and slept 9-10 hours per night did correlate with a bit of a weight gain (~ 2lbs).  And while there are many other variables, I really did try to behave myself in California (low stress, good exercise, healthy eating, etc.)  On days when I slept less than 7 hours, I also saw a increase.  The low and steady weight loss correlates with a good stretch of sleeping 7-8 hours.  The sleep tracker lists my average sleep as 7.6 hours.  I have slept as many as 10 hours (while in California) and as few as 6 hours.  What does this have to do with my treadmill desk project?  I'm not really sure other than that since beginning on this journey I have had much more consistent sleep than I did prior.

Ergonomics Revisited

So after a week of trying out my new ergonomically friendly set-up, I am pleased to report that the negative tilt keyboard has been a great addition.  I left the mouse on the other section.  Initially I thought that I might need to move it as well, due to pain throughout my middle deltoid.  As it turns out, the pain was related to the flu shot I had received earlier in the week and has since resolved.  I have a piece of plexiglass that fits over the cutout; so, when I return to work in January, I will be able to put the plexi down to then create a space for grading papers, etc.

More on ergonomics

I'm back to the drawing board, literally, in that I am once again working out the bugs as I work toward perfect 'puter gadget positioning for someone of my height - 64".  While I have been able to find many sites about the best ergonomical positions for sitting posture, diagrams illustrating good standing desk posture are a bit more illusive.  I did find an excellent website at Cornell University that guides you through proper positioning.  I figure the only difference is what is happening below my waist.  So I am experimenting with a floating negative tilt keyboard tray.  I have attached it to the bottom of my lower desk section with four little ropes that I can adjust until I find the perfect height.  I still have my mouse on the main desk, but will play around with whether it needs adjusting as well.  Right now the keyboard is not actually visible, as it sits below the desk, but I think with a cutout and a plexiglass overlay (yep - I actually have spare plexiglass laying about from a craft project from a few years back) it will all work seamlessly.  This new design also allows me to postion my mouse just about anywhere - including dead center of the keyboard.  I read on the Cornell site that the closer to your midline the better and the more akin to normal hand carrying angle the better, so I have wedged the mouse pad so that my hand rest on the mouse just as it would without the mouse.  I am going to try this new design for a few days and then I will report how it is going.

Treadmill Desk Set-Up 2.0

Alright here is an updated picture of my adjusted set up. I also want to reiterate that no money was spend for this set up. I had all this stuff lying around my house - scrap wood, unused wireless keyboard, shelf board, bungee cord, light, 2 sets of clamps. It is hard to tell from this picture but the keyboard is supported with a little ledge, which holds it in place at an incline and the little platform for the mouse creates a parallel-to-the-floor surface for easier mousing and less stress on my hand and wrist.

Ergonomics

After posting my treadmill desk pictures on the Office Walkers site, I noticed several posts indicating that it would be best to have a monitor that is separate from your computer (particularly if you are using a laptop) so that your screen is at the appropriate ergonomic eye level.  So adjusted my shelf boards a bit so that my laptop is on a shelf clamped to the top of my treadmill.  I hooked up a spare wireless keyboard that I had lying around and it rests on the lower shelf.  So far, so good -- no neck pain, eye strain, or anything else.  I still need to create a better place for my mouse to rest.  The keyboard is on a bit of an incline, which works great -- but I think I need a more level surface for my mouse.