The Lone Drone

Workout motivation FAIL = Telling your wife she runs like a fat guy.

Motivation FAIL

Here’s the story … I came home from my workout the other day, on a complete workout high and proud of myself that I was able to jog non-stop for over 30 minutes, and made the unknowing mistake of sharing my exciting information.

After telling my husband about the reason for my excitement, he proceeded to tell me that the pace I jog at is slower than a fat guy in the Army. Thanks.

Apparently, to pass the Army’s physical training test you have to be able to run two miles in less than 13 minutes (along with some sit-ups and push-ups).

I tried to tell him that I’m not going for speed in my workouts and that I’m just trying to keep my heartbeat up long enough to burn off that giant bowl of strawberry ice cream I ate last night. I’m not in the Army and I don’t need to pass any tests.

Until I get up to running two miles in under 13 minutes, I guess I’ll just be like every fat guy in the Army - SLOW. But hey, that’s how I roll.

Ok, the C25K program doesn’t have to kiss it, but I was able to complete a 30 minute plus jog without getting through the entire program.

Truth is, I started getting bored with only adding a minute to the length of my run each week. So, today at the gym I just went for it.

I felt motivated, had the energy and managed to jog for about 35 minutes. I know it may not sound like a lot, but if you’ve never been a runner (or jogger in my case) it’s a whole helluva lot.

I’m proud of myself. And, of course, I had to blog about it.

EA Sports Active

Electronic Arts announced today that their EA Sports Active for the Nintendo Wii is now available to buy in North America. The rest of the world will have to wait a few days, until May 22, to get their hands on it.

Though it’s been out for a few years now, this is the first time I’ve seriously thought about buying a Wii. Yeah, there’s the Wii Fit, but it doesn’t look like half as much fun as this new virtual fitness game.

EA Sports partnered with Bob Greene (aka. Oprah’s favorite fitness expert and personal trainer) to give consumers an economical solution for exercising and living healthier. Active takes working at home to an all new, more challenging level.

Users can pick from over 25 different activities that target various parts of the body, as well as cardio workouts.  Like a virtual personal trainer, the game provides instructions, feedback on technique, and encouragement with visual and oral cues while helping you keep track of calories burned.  Preset workouts are designed by experts, and each one can be customized based on what your fitness goals are.

“Helping the challengers use such an innovative program to reach their fitness goals was a truly rewarding experience, and showed me what a powerful product EA Sports Active can be,” said Bob Greene.  “Anyone looking for an in-home fitness solution will appreciate the combination of a fun and effective workout.” (via Neoseeker)

I’ve only seen the commercials and a few online videos, and Active does look like a fun way to get fit from the comfort of your own home.

I’m still hesitant on buying a Wii, even though I would really enjoy kickboxing in my living room, but the fear of spending too much time on the couch playing Super Mario Bros. is just too strong.

So, while the weather’s warm and the sun is shining I’ll be getting my exercise outside of the house. Later in the year, when there’s three feet of snow on the ground maybe I’ll change my tune, but until then there will sadly be no Wii for me.

So, I finally got through Week 5 of Couch to 5K and I’m happily onto Week 6. It took me a little longer than expected, but with the way I’ve been progressing that shouldn’t be such a surprise.

I took a few days off because my heel started bothering me after each time I ran. I’m no doctor, but from my very unscientific research I’d probably diagnose it as achilles tendonitis. I did some reading, bought a pair of Dr. Scholl’s inserts and started weight training again.

My plan now is to alternate workouts between weights and finishing up C25K. So far, so good.

I’m actually happy that my sore heels got me to pick up weights again. For me, weights are the quickest way to get my butt back in shape and I’m able to push myself harder than I can doing cardio.

That’s the latest plan of action. Of course, as always, I’ll be back with updates (even if they’re only about me being a slacker, but let’s hope not).

Yep, I fell off the horse

About two weeks ago I fell … fell right off the horse.

No, it’s nothing like what happened to Madonna, but this fall was big enough to keep me off the treadmill for about two weeks.

I could blame it on preparing for our recent trip to Vancouver, (very nice, by the way) and recovering from our vacation to Vancouver … ok, I blame it on our vacation to Vancouver.

A few days in Canada and that’s all it took to throw me off course on my Couch to 5K journey.

So, tomorrow I’m getting back on that horse (aka. treadmill) and repeating Week 5 on the C25K program. If I can’t get through it without having to take a break while running, I’ll repeat Week 5 again. Hopefully, nothing will get in my way this time.

Even though falling hurts, you gotta get right back on that horse and keep riding, or running in this case.

Couch to 5K Week 5

I’ve made it all the way to Week 5 of the Couch to 5K running program and haven’t left a single update on how it’s going. Seriously, what a slacker.

Surprisingly, I’ve found the first workout of Week 5 to be one of the easiest and I think I may be getting a hang of this running stuff. It was only three intervals of running for five minutes with a break of three minutes in between. It may not sound like much, but to a former anti-runner it’s a great accomplishment.

I’ve switched from using Robert Ullrey’s podcasts to the First Day to 5K podcasts by Podrunner (DJ Beatsmith). Other than a quick introduction, the Podrunner podcasts are straight music. There’s no voice telling you to start or stop running, just a simple chime.

By using the podcasts without the voiceover, I think it helps me to stop counting down how much time I have left in each interval. Instead, I just run. Of course, I still try to calculate how much longer I have in each interval, but I put my Ipod face-down on the machine so I can’t see where I’m at. I also cover the clock on the treadmill with a towel to help me focus on running and less on time.

Tomorrow I start the second workout of Week 5 where I’ll be running two intervals of eight minutes with 5-minute breaks in between. I’m confident that I’ll be able to get through it, without peeking at the clock and thinking that I’m about to have a heart attack. It’s exciting that each week has seemed easier and easier, which is definitely not the mindset I came into the program with.

Hopefully, I won’t be so much of a slacker and come back with some updates that are more than five weeks apart. Until then, goodnight!

Telecommuters growing by the millions

Telecommuting is growing. Growing by the millions … and we’ve got the data to prove it.

The number of U.S. employees who telecommuted at least one day per month increased 39% over the past two years, from approximately 12.4 million in 2006 to 17.2 million in 2008.

The latest telecommuting statistics come courtesy of WorldatWork, the global human resources association that studies telework as a tool to attract, motivate, and retain employees, in its survey brief Telework Trendlines 2009.

WorldatWork also reports that the sum of all teleworkers, including employees, contractors, and business owners, has risen 17% from 28.7 million in 2006 to 33.7 million in 2008.

“Our study shows that occasional telework has risen dramatically,” said Rose Stanley, work-life practice leader at WorldatWork. “Employers seem more willing to try new ways of working. We receive calls on a daily basis from employers wanting to learn how to pilot a telework program, the do’s and don’ts of managing virtual workers, and how to use telework to reward and motivate talent.”

Read the full report.

The news may not be surprising, but it does put some hard data behind the workplace trend we have all come to know and love.

As businesses continue to look for ways to cut costs and the benefits of telecommuting continue to prove themselves to employers, it’s a trend that will only continue to grow.

I’m behind it, are you?

I posted before about how I was going to get back on a regular exercise routine, but it didn’t work out quite as planned. Actually, it didn’t work out at all.

I could come up with a dozen different excuses for why I didn’t stick with it, but I’ll spare you from that annoying list.

So, instead of mulling over why it didn’t work last time, I’m going to challenge myself. I’m challenging myself to a task that seems easy to many (including my husband and sister), but a challenge none the less.

My challenge? Stick with the Couch to 5K (C25K) program for 30 days.

I took the idea from Superwife, aka. Molly, a fellow blog writer in Alaska I’ve been following for a while and recently met at a local Tweetup. She told me about her plans for starting the C25K program at the Tweetup and posted about it over at her blog.

I’ve wanted to get my butt off the couch and into the gym for weeks. Talking to Molly was some of the best get-off-your-butt motivation I’ve come across lately.

Now, for all of you out there wondering why I need so much motivation to run a 5K, I mean it’s only a measly 3 miles, just hang on. I have a reason behind my simple goal.

I’m a big fan of Leo Babaut, author of Zen Habits and The Power of Less, who lives what he writes and explains how all of us can also create lasting positive habits in our lives. In his new book, Leo outlines how to create long-lasting habits by applying the “power of less.”

One of his rules for successfully changing a habit is to choose an easy goal, a goal that you know you will stick to every day. Tim Ferriss posted an exclusive excerpt from Leo’s new book:

“Choose an easy goal. Don’t decide to do something really hard, at least for now. Later, when you’re good at habit changes, you can choose something harder. But for now, do something you know you can do every day. In fact, choose something easier than you think you can do every day. If you think you can exercise for 30 minutes a day, choose 10 minutes — making it super easy is one of the surest ways to ensure you’ll succeed.”

Today I finished my second workout of Week 1 and I’m convinced that starting the C25K program was a great decision. I’m just slightly sore and I feel much better watching Dr. Phil and Oprah from the treadmill rather than with my butt planted on the couch.

I’ve been following the routine using these podcasts Molly pointed out in her recent post. I always seem to have a better workout when I have someone telling me what to do, somehow I feel guilty slacking off.

So, that’s the plan - C25K on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. I’m thinking this workout plan is going to be much more successful than the last. I’ll be doing my best to stick with it and will post updates along the way.

If you’ve been looking for a simple way to get your butt off the couch and into the gym, the C25K program is a great place to start. Let me know if you’ve done it before and have any suggestions or if you’re just getting started like me, I’d love to hear about your progress. And, of course, good luck wishes are always welcome.

Woah, talk about a break … right? I know I haven’t posted in a while, two months to be exact. I’ll spare you from any lame excuses and instead, jump right back in the mix.

So, it turns out that as a Millennial, Gen Y dummy I’m more likely than my parents to be feeling “excited” about the future.

Though we may be more “excited” about the future, right now we’re feeling pretty “nervous” and “stressed,” according to a survey conducted by StrategyOne for Pepsi.

Part of the ongoing “Pepsi Optimism Project” (POP), the research explored the mindset of the Millennials and found that we’re basically on the same page with our older counterparts.

When asked to select words to describe how they feel, eight in 10 (81%) Gen Yers selected “hopeful” and two-thrids (65%) chose “optimistic.”

Millennials more optimistic

While I find the results of this survey to be interesting, I don’t find them to be very surprising.

Though our current economic situation throws a little wrench into the equation, I think if this survey were conducted 50 years ago you would also find that the youngest generation would be the most optimistic and excited about the future.

We’re young, we have the most time to adapt to change and learn from our mistakes. It may stress us out at the moment, but we’re excited to see what’s coming next.

Do you agree? Were you at all surprised by the findings of this survey? How excited are you about the future?

So far, it looks like Barack Obama and his cabinet are going to be great for telecommuting.

Last week, Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s incoming chief of staff addressed an audience of business leaders promising to “seize” the current economic crisis with a major economic stimulus package, according to a recent Fast Company article.

The stimulus package will be the administration’s “first order of business” after Obama takes office. The package includes a number of green economic efforts including such undertakings as a cap-and-trade system to curb carbon emissions and green infrastructure spending on mass transit, green enervy and smart grids.

Most importantly, Emanuel pushed for universal broadband Internet access to “encourage telecommuting.”

Nice. I like this guy already.

Even with the obvious benefits of telecommuting (i.e., cost savings, energy savings, improved productivity) and it being simply awesome, why has it failed to catch on across the board?

The most recent numbers show that only 17% of Federal employees and 14% of private-sector employees work from home on a regular basis. Most of those who work from home only do so part time.

Additionally, in a recent survey of executives, 61% believed telecommuters were less likely to advance, even though three-fourths said telecommuters were just as productive than their in-office coworkers.

According to the Fast Company author:

It seems bosses just tend to form better relationships with employees who show up. Savvy employees know that in even the most enlightened companies, you can still earn brownie points by being seen pounding your keyboard late into the night. And in this economy, nobody’s going to risk being the one who asks to work in their pajamas, lest they be told to stay home for good.

One commenter added:

It’s all about the face to face relationship…that’s how it has been forever. That’s why no matter what you do, and no matter who you are it will always be easier to go to the office and put in some time. Even though it may be less effective. That’s how business goes. It’s about appeasing the status quo. The larger the company the more important face-time is, because that’s what is perceived as important.

Sadly, I agree with the article’s author and commenter. With our economy the way it is, who wants to jeapordize a good job by asking to telecommute?

I feel lucky that I still have the chance to work for my company even though I moved to the other corner of the continent. If it wasn’t for the face time I put in back at the office, there’s no way I’d still be on the payroll. Working from home also makes it incredibly harder, if not close to impossible to work out a promotion even if you factor out the economy.

What do you think? Is telecommuting doomed?