#zwalk

[chrisabraham]

Progress, not perfection...

[chrisabraham]

Better late than never for a #zworking #zwalk on #zwift!

[zwalking]

Spending a lovely day “on the track” going around and around in circles, being passed and bypassed by all the runners and sprinters as I zwalk walk. I use the track because it’s flat and my treadmill desk doesn’t have any up or down angle control so I just want to lie to Strava as little as I can.

[zwalking]

Why not join Zwift and become a committed Zwalker

Sometimes walking a lot of the day sucks. Recently, I have added Zwift to the mix of my daily distractions that don't distract. Collecting steps on Fitbit isn't fulfilling enough so I would prefer all my work to end up on Strava (who wouldn't). 

So, first, I bought a Stryd, an expensive magical device that is equally as accurate as GPS when you're outside but also perfectly accurate when I am on the treadmill as well. It doesn't even communicate with my treadmill desk in any way but if I change the speed from 2.0 mph to 2.5 mph, the Stryd follows along almost immediately. 

When you add a Wahoo Tickr+, which also has cadence and an accelerometer, it gets scary accurate. So, at first, I would track my treadmill desk walks using the Stryd app; then, on YouTube, I discovered that Zwift, invented as a virtual reality for competitive indoor cyclists, had added running. 

Well, I thought, why not join Zwift and become a committed Zwalker. It works. Zwift doesn't like it at all (hurry up, it advises) but it just tracks everything along. And, since Zwift connects to every single other fitness and sport app, when I am done, it uploads my workout, including wattage, pace, effort, speed, and heart rate, to Strava. And it shares the virtual map as well. It's incredible. 

And, since I can keep the screen contained in a window that I can forget in the background,. I can "compete" on Zwift all morning long, at a walking pace, and then all afternoon, forgetting it as I write, deal with emails, take calls and attend conference calls and Zooms. And it doesn't matter if I am walking at only 1.6 miles per hour, I am the epitome of the tortoise in a field of jackrabbits. But, even so, I continue to unlock rewards. 

More slowly, yes, but I am slowly-but-surely getting new shirts and shorts and socks and shades, very slowly, accumulating XPs. So, it's simple game theory: if I have the choice, at any particular time, to use my treadmill desk as a standing desk or to use it to walk, no matter how slowly, adding Zwift is enough of an incentive to walk, even if it's at a crawl, even if my character is basically shuffling along like its got a load in its pants or needs to pee.