In the last couple weeks I have shot from five sets of stairs (my orig goal) to six, seven, and today EIGHT. I wanted to share my tech. Of course, it took me several passes to figure out how.
I bought a Bluetooth headband to replace my earbuds. First my first two months I just walked in silence, thoughts racing in my head. Then for a couple weeks I used physical earbuds, bouncing around and yanking out. This soft band w/embedded speakers cost twenty bucks and there are dozens of them on the market. It took a while to get over the feeling of being a total nerd. It can also be used to sleep; it is pillow soft, no bumps.
I had Bluetooth speakers in my motorcycle helmet for both summer trips. Very convenient to put the helmet on and instantly get the GPS or music without fuss. Same here. My step tracker and music player software work together and take turns talking to me. I first did only distance and silence, dumb. Then tried a podcast and book on tape, distracting. I also tried some Modern workout playlists, boom boom boom. Again bad fit; no cultural meaning for me in “uptown funk”
I eventually built playlists of music from my era; Pat Benatar, Neil Diamond, The Beatles. I spent time to Google beats per minute. It was easier to download an android utility, tap my phone then sort them into my own lists. r180, r160, r140, …r080.
Today this work paid off … spectacularly. I can’t wait for the day I can use this running!
When walking stairs, you start slow … then slow down! Today I started with r180 playlist, every other beat (90). I quickly slid to 140 (70). Today was the first time I walked each stair set methodically, from bottom to top, with energy to spare. Until now I would run the first dozens steps, slog the middle, then drag myself on the last few steps drained. With today’s insight, I’m thinking of trying John Phillip Sousa.
As today progressed, each set was slower; from R120 (60) down to R100 (50), then I simply slowed down to every fourth beat. So R160 again (40) and ended at R120 (30)! It went slow, but steady … and ended strong.
So now I’m soaked in sweat, and these workouts are taking longer and longer (1:20 total today). But I have established a new max. And now I have a headband to spray down & dry in the sun (washable, but not too often). I only hope when Starbucks & McDonald’s reopen that I will choose to use the park instead.
Your Daily Duncan 