Stairs Update

It’s been a week (almost) and here’s what I’ve discovered:

• Habits die hard. I’ve found myself walking towards the elevator and escalators out of habit instead of the stairs. Especially if I’m reading and walking - not paying attention completely.
• Elevators are more part of my world than I realized.
• Going to a project meeting with colleagues there was no way around taking the elevator up to the 32nd floor. No way I could say, “I’ll see you in 20 minutes after I’ve climbed all the stairs.” Assuming I could even pull this feat off. Thankfully I was exempt since didn’t have access to the stairs anyways.
• Walking with a colleague, it’s hard to split away mid-conversation when they head into the elevator. I gently suggest the stairs, but there are several folks with the cold that the stairs make them wheeze.
• Walking the stairs means I forget more stuff - don’t know why. Twice I’ve found I've gotten to the top of 8 flights and forgot something at my desk.  Usually the internal cursing begins at this point.
• Walking down stairs on heels, regardless of whether you are tired or not, is precocious. I learned to just pop the shoes off and pad down barefoot the 6 flights when I’m at work. Usually it’s an empty stairwell, so no issue. Going up is not an issue on the heels.
• This isn’t an original idea and I think I probably got the idea from colleagues. Found two other colleagues who have also banned elevators in their lives. One actually goes to the next level and walks everywhere. She did end up saying “I’ll see you in 20 minutes” and walked to the meeting instead of taking the taxi with us. Surprisingly we left almost at the same time and I think we got there a minute or two before her. City driving!
• I’m eyeing a new gadget - the Fit Bit ultra. It tracks stuff like steps, miles, stairs, and even sleep. And you can see if you’re meeting your targets or not, all down with pretty charts when you upload the data. I like the idea of working towards a positive target (x many steps) than a negative target (no elevators). I like to think it’ll push me to stay with it.
• I was working the Fit Bit into the budget for next month - October. It’s not cheap - $100. 
• I went to the dentist today. The Fit Bit is getting worked into the budget for November. Dental work is expensive.

So in summary, I think I’ve clocked about 600 stairs a day (30 stories). Sometimes I want to wuss out and take the elevator, but I’ve stuck with it. I don’t think my body had changed at all.. I’m hoping at the end of the second week it starts to be easier.