Welcome back, fitness warriors! I, Cap'n Jason, am here to help inspire you, answer your questions and lead our team to our first, glorious victory. :) 

My first bit of advice may push you out of your comfort zone, but I believe that it's an essential jumping off point if you wish to make the most of the next four weeks. 

Get a good baseline. Nothing feeds progress like progress; when you can objectively see that you are doing well, it becomes easier to continue doing those things you are doing right. I am encouraging all team members to start tomorrow morning (or this evening) with the following three steps:

1) Measure your waistline. Advice on how to do this accurately can be found here. Don't worry; this number will be smaller by the end of the month if you are willing to put in the work. :)

2) Weigh yourself and record not only the number, but the conditions as well (recently fed, fresh from the shower or clothed, time of day. etc.) When you weigh yourself again at the end of the SCOE Fitness Challenge, you will attempt to match the conditions as closely as possible to gain a true measure of progress.

3) Photograph yourself. This is the hardest for me, personally, but I am told by those who have had success in their fitness endeavors that this was the single most important step they took in making a change in their health and fitness habits. At the end of each week, photograph yourself again. Keep these photos in a safe place - they are not for public consumption, obviously, but rather as one of the clearest ways to demonstrate your progress to yourself.

Here are some important upcoming dates for the Fitness Challenge:

Week of February 5th-9th

"Life is Good" - be a secret supporter of one of your teammates! Send a note of encouragement and an optional small gift (maximum $3.00). Cap'n Jason will assign you someone to secretly support this Monday, and we will all exchange our expressions of support this Friday. One-time additional 4 points for each person who participates.

10,000 step challenge - use a pedometer to log 10,000 steps in a single day and earn one extra point.

Monday, February 5th

Casual sports dress day

Bike to work (based on my distance from work, I'll see you all in a week!)

Walk-Around: Participating staff and students will do a walk-around at the baseball complex (behind the charter school) beginning at 1 PM. We will walk / jog one mile total; bring comfy shoes! :)

CVT health screenings (CSEA employees only). 12-4P at H Street, Knights Ferry Room. 5 points, make appointments here.

Friday, February 9th

First weekly data sheets due! We have hard copies in my classroom, or download the Excel file here. Please make sure I have the forms in hand by 2:30 PM.

Thursday, February 15th

SCOE Blood Drive

10:00A-3:30P (make appointment at 238-1707 or cbunow@stancoe.org)

Sunday, February 25th

Dragoon Gulch 5k walk/run, Sonora

Details can be found here.

If anyone is interested in making the drive up, we will host a light lunch at my home after the run/walk, which happens to be on a hill just above Dragoon Gulch. :) Family and friends are welcome but please RSVP as soon as possible.

There are many, many more opportunities than listed here - a list of all officially sanctioned events can be found here. Also, do not hesitate to suggest alternative on-site activities that I can then try to get approved through Judy at SCOE.

I'll make all other documents provided to me as team captain available to you at this link.

If you'd like to order a Fitness Challenge t-shirt, follow this link. Please note that they may not arrive for three weeks, so get your order in ASAP. Our excellent RunDHH team t-shirts are unavailable at this time due to copyright concerns but we are working on solutions. :)

I think that's the basics for now - good luck everyone; let's hit the ground running!

-Cap'n Jason