Take the steps...

Saturday, December 18, 2010

I started the morning the right way. I was planning on taking my father-in-law to the hospital and visit with my mother-in-law and knew that the day would be crazy so I climbed out of bed and headed for the trainer. I managed 60 minutes while enjoying another episode of ‘Lost’ before he came.

We drove down and I dropped in front of the hospital. I won’t pay to park and went to E. 105th, where I’ve found that I can park on the street for free and walk to the hospital in under 2 minutes. Garage and $10 a day? Not happening. I walked to the bank of elevators. Her room was on the 8th floor and I was about to push the button for the ride up when I considered how many extra calories I could burn by walking. I hit the stop watch and started climbing. Two minutes later, I was on the 8th floor and my pulse was about 120. Okay…it’s a little thing, but it’s equivalent to the calories of at least one piece of something I’m likely to…but shouldn’t…eat before the day was over.

We returned in the early afternoon and I had some time before the party that evening, so I decided it was a good opportunity for Dakota and I to get in a little more exercise. We headed for the park and did an off-trail hike down to the marsh. The snow wasn’t very deep, but I did manage to sweat a little. I managed to almost bump into a pileated woodpecker and by the time I swung my camera into position, he was fifty yards away and thirty feet up the tree he’d selected.

The food at the party was good…and heavy…and I went at it with the uncontrolled zeal of a starving man…which I’m not. Calories in…calories out. The battle rages for control of my waistline…

Bike duration: 60 minutes. Hike duration: 60 minutes
Training Heart Rate: 130 biking. 70 hiking.
Calories burned during workout: 900 biking. 350 hiking.