As you may or may not know (or care), I keep my schedule full. Currently, I work 30-40 hours a week downtown, spend a lot of time at the gym doing martial arts crap, and try to cram as many auditions and shows into my life as possible. (Then there's the drinking and hanging out with friends that I try to fit in there too.)
Theatre was slow this past year, and for the past two years my rehearsals have worked out so that I was able to squish my marital arts schedule around them. Before I was let go from my last long-term job, I had a gym that I could go to during the workday also. This has changed.
I'm in rehearsals that conflict with just about every class and normal workout day that I partake in. Not only that, it only opens up slightly once the show is open. Marial arts will be there when I'm done and I'll be able to take enough classes so that I don't fall behind, also, a break may allow me to heal some injuries. My main concern is now "getting fat." But where can I fit excercise in when my downstairs neighbors threaten going to the association if I run on the treadmill any time other than 4:45-6pm on the weekdays, I get home at 5 from work and have to be at rehearsal at 6:30 (with an hour commute from my house to rehearsal)?
I'll tell you how.
Today, with my much searched for and newly delievered running backpack, I will run home from work rather than taking the train. It is a beautiful day, it is supposed to be a high of 75 and sunny and so far it seems like it will keep it's promise. This could be the most awesome day ever.
The run will be a little over six miles, so if I keep at a 10 minute mile or less my commute should be about the same as if I had taken the train.
The running backpack could change my life. I will keep you updated. Whether you want me to or not.
reggie [email] said at 10:01 AM 08-30-2007: Meredith, you do know that there are only 24 hours in a day right? I mean, how do you cram all that stuff into a normal week?
You're a mutant aren't you? Admit it!
Your power is the uncanny ability to make the rest of us feel like lazy slobs because of the one million activities you participate in.
reggie [email] said at 1:33 AM 08-31-2007: Are you kidding? They're handing those out like candy on Halloween, just hang out around the Fox backlots. You can trip and land right smack dab in the middle of a pilot if you're not careful.
josh [email] said at 11:51 AM 08-30-2007: your neighbors complain about you being on the treadmill?! sounds like they are wusses, wtf. how loud can it be?
meredith [email] said at 1:47 PM 08-30-2007: They said that it's unbearable. At first I was doing it in the morning when I woke up, so I said 'okay, if that's too early for you guys, i'll do it during the day, when is too late?' they said 10pm, so I started running when I got home from work and once I ran in the evening around 8pm. As soon as I was done they came up and said that they did not want me to run anymore AT ALL and that they would go to the association if it kept up. After a lot of back and forth and letter writing, I finally carved out 4:45 - 6pm for the weekdays. It's a real drag. They also came up on the 4th of July cause I had three people with me on my back deck watching the fire works and said we were too loud. This was before 10pm.
josh [email] said at 3:04 PM 08-30-2007: you need to find out from your association what the quiet hours are. they probably don't have a leg to stand on from 9am to 9pm. most places you can be as loud as you want until those hours.
josh [email] said at 4:10 PM 08-30-2007: if you can legally be loud during those hours then tell your neighbors you asked the association and they said you could use the treadmill then, and recommend they get earplugs
meredith [email] said at 11:52 PM 08-30-2007: I'm going to try and be nice during the summer, but during the winter things are going to have to change.
meredith [email] said at 12:09 AM 08-31-2007: Heh. Thanks, Ed. I know I'll never be 'FAT' that's whyfore the quotes. But, I want to keep at fighting weight. And I like the subtle six pack. I'd like to keep that going.
marcia [email] said at 2:49 PM 08-30-2007: I would love to hear updates about this. Will and I have talked about the fact that we could both run to work--about 5 miles for me, 7 for him--with a running backpack. I'm very curious to hear your experiences, perhaps because you're a runner and would have more insight as to how the pack feels, affects the run, etc. I commute to work everyday on my bike, but lately I feel like I'm not getting a workout anymore. I like to get my exercise out while ding things I need to do already (like get to work) so I don't have to spend the weekend exercising when I'd rather be drawing/cooking/designing/watching movies/hanging out with friends, etc.
kara [email] said at 4:32 PM 08-30-2007: this will be great
pretty much the only way I can incorporate excercise (generally in the form of walking) is to put it in some practical context.
I'd love to see the backpack you got.
I'll be taking a much longer walk home from work starting soon.
don't forget sunscreen
marcia [email] said at 6:34 PM 09-01-2007: I am very interested in this. As is Will. Do you have a link for this? I don't mean to be a copycat, but I trust product endorsements from people who have, you know, actually used them.
meredith [email] said at 7:13 PM 09-01-2007: I recommend the bag! It is a little difficult to get if you don't live in the city where they're retailed, but I called the store in Peoria, and they shipped it to Chicago in a day.
meredith [email] said at 12:16 AM 08-31-2007: That would be awesome! I try to read on the treadmill when I'm home. (The neighbors say walking is okay.)
Those shoes are sold near my work. I might check them out.
ed [email] said at 8:48 AM 08-31-2007: Dude, those shoes look pretty awesome. I started wanting a pair, as I have about worn my current pair (yes, I have ONE pair of shoes - deal with it, people) out.
Then, since they don't mention prices on the site you linked, I froogled them.
ed [email] said at 8:56 AM 09-01-2007: Oh, man... I would only wear those if they paid me. I don't care how wonderful they may be. And I'm not (obviously) all that concerned about other peoples' opinions of me when I walk around in public. But... dayummmmmnnn! Them's some fugly shoes. I'd rather wear Crocs. On my hands and feet.
meredith [email] said at 11:51 PM 08-30-2007: Also, does anyone how to get the stupid 'Brightness/Contrast' box from showing up on my damn monitor? I keep hitting exit and it doesn't work. I've tried everything. It's highly annoying.
meredith [email] said at 12:07 AM 08-31-2007: UPDATE!
The run went pretty well. I don't know exactly what time I started, but I'm guessing around 4:10 or so, since I left my desk at 3:57 and had to change and arrange my stuff and get downstairs. I got to my door at 5:18. As best as I can estimate from the map I ran about 6.5 miles. My friend and I are going to drive it tomorrow to see how far it actually was. It was really awesome. The bag worked great. I had room for my work pants and work shirt (I wore my running shoes in, packed my heels in the bag in the morning and left them in my drawer, I can bring them back on a day I don't run) there is a special pocket up top for my ipod, train pass and keycard. There are hooks inside for my keys and two dividers for the long inside part. It's designed so that the weight does not shift to the bottom of the bag.
The part that goes against your back has these awesome padded areas so there's no bumping or rubbing. At first the straps around my tummy and above my chest were weird. Partially because I looked like a dork and partially because I'm not used to them, but they helped a LOT. The bag stayed in place. I only have a small rub under my right arm, which is because of my scoliosis, that shoulder tilts forward and that arm is lower and closer to my body. But it is VERY minimal.
Recommendations if you try to do this:
1. Have someone drive you your route before. I think I would have made better time had I known more where I was going, although I did just fine and it's not like I got lost. It's just a recommendation.
2. Do NOT drink a 16oz Jamba Juice 20 minutes before. No matter how much 'energy' they put in it. I felt burpy through the first half of the run.
3. Create a good playlist specifically for this on your iPod if you plan to carry one. I just picked one and a lot of the songs were kind of slow and I didn't feel like stopping and unstrapping myself to pull it out and change it. I noticed how I picked up the pace on the good songs and I think it would be good to design a playlist for this.
4. Don't look at yourself in the mirror before you go. Yes, the straps are dorky, but they really help. And who cares if people think you look dumb. You may look dumb NOW, but you're also a sweaty mess. When you go out on the weekends you'll be SMOKIN'! Cause you RUN home from work!
5. Don't do this before a four hour fight rehearsal where you're going to get thrown on the ground a lot.
But really, it was great, and right when I started to get really tired, I was in my neighborhood, so I was like almost done. I think this is something I'm going to try and do two to three times a week.
reggie [email] said at 8:21 AM 08-31-2007: Don't forget #6:
Sit back drinkin' beer and let Meredith do all this hard work while we all get fat and lethargic like average 'Mericans and then Bionic Meredith can save our lives when the Super Villain tries to take over the world.
anthony [email] said at 2:06 AM 09-01-2007: I am thoroughly impressed and jealous. I plan to start commuting to work by bike, but more than anything right now, I wish I could run 6 miles. I hope you keep this up although I know Chicago winters are rough.
myriam [email] said at 6:56 PM 08-31-2007: was the pack hot at all, on your back? that kind of thing can be a problem for me.
so did you stick to the lsd-lincoln route? i'm intrigued by this. i used to run halfway home in boston (~2 miles) and then pick up the T for the final uphill mile. (I don't have anywhere near your bionic stamina.) It was nice excercise, particularly in spring and fall. not sure i could do it in summer or winter... do you still use an inhaler?
meredith [email] said at 9:21 PM 08-31-2007: I went LSD to the pedestrian bridge and cut through Lincoln Park and picked up Lincoln right at it's start. Lincoln is actually a pretty nice street to run on. Lots of cute shops. It was determined that I started running at 4:08 and got to my door at 5:18, the run is about 6.5 miles.
The pack was not hot at all actually! In fact that's something I never even thought of because of how much I did not notice it. I will run again on Tuesday and see if it is hotter.
I still have the inhaler and did think about it, but I think it was mainly getting used to the strap around my tummy when I breathe.
