Here’s a quick update on my walking desk and how things are going after the first couple of weeks.

I’ve allowed myself to follow a natural pattern and have settled into a groove where — looking at an 8-hour day — I’m walking for three hours, standing for two and sitting for two hours, plus a lunch break where I get up and move around a little more. I generally start my day sitting for an hour while I get my morning affairs in order and drink my coffee, then start walking. As an aside, I’m drinking less coffee, and feeling like I need it less to get going in the morning.

My average speed is up to about 2.5 mph when I’m working, but I find whenever I zone out a little I can crank up to 3-3.5 for a while to get the juices flowing again. I’ve been ending my day with a 15-30 minute jog at about 4 mph. Nothing crazy, but a lot more than I could handle two weeks ago.

I bought some Merrell Barefoot Run Trail Gloves, which I’m finding perfect for the treadmill and hope will also be useful for jogging the trails near my house. I want to take this fitness kick outdoors while the Minnesota summer lasts. I also bought myself some running shorts and tank tops (I started out walking in jeans because that’s all I ever really wear). Now that I’ve found I can stick with this, I’m finding it easier to justify buying sporty stuff that I would have laughed at before.

The pounds aren’t flying off, but I’m OK with slow, steady progress. My endurance is growing more rapidly than my waist is shrinking, and I sense that my goals of mountain biking and rock climbing again are achievable. That makes me feel better about myself and I’m finding myself being slightly less of a jerk to everyone around me (I tend to be negative and sarcastic).

Without a doubt this decision has been a good one, and I’m still feeling like it’s something that I can stick with for the long haul. The idea of going back to sitting at a desk all day is completely unappealing, which I think is a great thing.

I’ve been too busy to actually clean my cables up to a point where I’m comfortable sharing pictures of the setup, but I hope to get a little gallery up soon.