by Caroline Fyffe
Hi Seekers! I’m very happy and excited to be here. Thank you for having me.
Have you heard of the new fad taking the country by storm? It’s a household name that everyone is talking about. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but I can’t help my enthusiasm flowing over. I saw this great idea on a nightly news report and Googled it to satisfy my curiosity. I’m speaking about a treadmill desk, a combination treadmill with a desktop that will house your laptop, or desktop computer, as it does in my case.
At first I was skeptical. Can a person really work while walking on a treadmill? We all know as women we are hardwired for multitasking. Our ability to walk and talk on our cells as we rummage down a stack of shoe boxes looking for the correct size, check an avocado for ripeness, or even pass three cars on a two lane highway (not in California anymore) without killing ourselves and everyone else on the road, while carrying on a conversation—this is not advisable—proves my point. But, could one actually do something else, like type and create, and write a story?
I decided to find out. First I had to bring my treadmill in from the garage and station it in my office. My husband and son moved my desk to the side; a rather sad site being it had been there for over thirteen years. Then taking a piece of wood from the barn, Michael measured and cut, painted and attached. It took all of one day. He reconnected my computer and I was off. It was fun.
Getting used to it I learned a routine that I’ve kept up and love. In the morning when I first get on I go fast, 3.6 mph on a 3.5 slant for 30 minutes. That gets my heart rate up and fulfills the requirement for my daily cardiovascular work out. While I do this, I don’t write but I do read e-mail and blogs. We all know how much time we can spend reading e-mails and blogs! After the 30 minutes, I slow down to about 1.8 to 2.4 mph and respond to blogs and answer e-mail, which is not hard at all at this speed—really quite easy. At this point I’ve almost walked two miles and burned two hundred calories! Easy as pie and it’s still early. From here it’s all down hill, so to speak. When I’m done with those, and each day is different, I slow down even more to .09 and open up my WIP. After I write two pages (they can be stinky—something is better than nothing –we all know that line) I allow myself 15 minutes on line. And so goes my day….
To see a picture of my treadmill desk go to my website (it's under Potpourri). I’ve also started a club of sorts where we can all walk together, chart our progress on a Google map and just plain have fun. Do you get enough exercise every single day? Does combining working while walking sound intriguing? Only one way to find out….***Please note! Don’t ever get off and on without pausing your machine. It’s easy to get disorientated and stumble and I don’t want anyone getting hurt. I have my phone with me so I don’t have to get off but other situations do arise and it’s tempting, because of the slow speed, to just jump off and on. Even though it seems harmless, it’s not—I assure you. I haven’t fallen but come close.
I’m also thrilled to announce that my debut, a historical western that I’ve dubbed a Lonesome Dove/Little House on the Prairie story, Where the Wind Blows, is finally here as of two days ago!!!! I’m thrilled. In celebration I’m giving away two-signed copies to two people who leave a comment for me.
Also, if you want to enter my Under The Western Sky Contest that’s going on from August 1st. to December 20th, all you need to do is watch my book trailer on my website. You might be the winner of a nights stay in an old bunkhouse!! Check the details at www.carolinefyffe.com
So, tell me, what do you like to do to get your daily workout in? If it’s not walking, or even if it is, I’d like to know. And, I’d love to hear what you think of the treadmill desk.
More about Caroline:
As an equine photographer, Caroline Fyffe has worked throughout the United States and in Germany. Long days in the middle of a horse show arena have given her plenty of opportunity to dream up stories filled with love, heartbreak, joy, sorrow, triumph, and twisting-turning plots. Her feisty heroines and bold, hot-blooded heroes will charm you as they fall for each other in the darnedest ways. Her love for horses and the old West inspired her debut book, Where The Wind Blows, which won Romance Writer's of America's prestigious Golden Heart Award under the title Chasing Jessie, and was released just this week. Her second manuscript was a Golden Heart Finalist in 2007. She is the mother of two wonderful boys and has been married for 27 years. She lives in California.
