I’ve been training on the treadmill for a solid two weeks. It’s boring, tiring, and painful, and uh, I’m ready to stay on for however long you guys make me!
I’ll follow the 4 + 1 system for the duration of the workout, meaning I’ll walk for 4 minutes and run for 1. I’ll maintain a speed of at least 3.5 3.7 throughout the workout (minus warmup/cooldown) with a slight elevation (2.0+ incline).
But there’s a catch.
Your window of opportunity to add time to my workout is only from now until Saturday, 6AM Eastern — 24 hours. I’ll go through with the actual pledge on Saturday. With that being said, you have the opportunity to make me workout for much longer than ever before.
If you’re new to my workout pledges, here’s the lowdown. Basically, I allow my readers (that’s you, big boy!) to determine how long I work.out at the gym. It isn’t as simple as you telling me to workout for X minutes (it’s not that easy), you have to complete at least one of the tasks that I set forth.
These tasks are the following:
1. Post a comment = 30 seconds. If you add a comment to this post, you add 30 seconds to my treadmill workout. The comment can be as simple as “Go Tyler!” or it can be cliff notes for A Modest Proposal. Your call.
2. Follow me on twitter = 45 seconds. I like birds.
3. Subscribe to RSS feed = 1 minute. Sign up to my RSS feed to add a minute to my workout. I’m spreading across the globe, the web, RSS, twitter — next thing you know, you’ll be able to pull up 344Pounds.com on your phone!
4. Link to 344Pounds.com = 3 minutes. Post a link to 344Pounds.com. You can link from your blog, Facebook, Twitter page, Digg, Slashdot (nerd!), your Match.com profile, whatever… I’m not here to judge you.
I want this first treadmill workout to pledge to surpass 60+ minutes. If it does, I’ll repeat the same workout again on Sunday. And as always, you’ll get photos of the workout(s).
You have 24 hours.
UPDATE (6/10): Thanks for your support! I’ll be on the treadmill for 54 minutes and 25 seconds. I’ll post with pics later on today!
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
GOOD LUCK! 30 seconds here.
1 minute and 30 seconds from California!!11
Here’s my comment for 30 seconds and I’ve posted this on my facebook page! 3:30 my friend!
Go Tyler! 30 seconds here plus 3 minutes for the link on my blog http://justkev.in. You can do it!
30 SECONDS!
Ok, sweet cheeks. I already subscribe to your RSS feed, but I just added 3:30 to your suffering. Not only did I post your link on my FB page, but I told everyone to post it on theirs, too, and then come here and tell you they did so that THEY, TOO can contribute to your torture. You’re welcome. (p.s. I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you. You know I only have 4 friends)
p.s. I hate birds.
Swift goes to great lengths to support his argument, including a list of possible preparation styles for the children, and calculations showing the financial benefits of his suggestion. He uses common methods of argument throughout his essay, such as appealing to the authority of “a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London” and “the famous Psalmanazar, a native of the island Formosa” (who had already confessed to not being from Formosa in 1706). Swift couches his arguments in then-current events, exploiting common prejudice against Catholics (misnomed Papists) and suggesting that it is the absence of “so many good Protestants” (i.e., English landlords) that allows them to hope to surrender the kingdom to the Pretender. After enumerating the benefits of his proposal, Swift addresses possible objections including the depopulation of Ireland and a litany of other solutions which he dismisses as impractical.
This essay is widely held to be one of the greatest examples of sustained irony in the history of the English language. Much of its shock value derives from the fact that the first portion of the essay describes the plight of starving beggars in Ireland, so that the reader is unprepared for the surprise of Swift’s solution when he states, “A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout.”
Readers unacquainted with its reputation as a satirical work often do not immediately realize that Swift was not seriously proposing cannibalism and infanticide, nor would readers unfamiliar with the satires of Horace and Juvenal recognize that Swift’s essay follows the rules and structure of ancient Roman satires.
The satirical element of the pamphlet is often only understood after the reader notes the allusions made by Swift to the attitudes of absentee (often English) landlords, such as the following: “I grant this food may be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for Landlords, who as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best Title to the Children.” Swift extends the metaphor to further his critique of England’s mistreatment of Ireland, noting that “For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, and flesh being of too tender a consistence, to admit a long continuance in salt, although perhaps I could name a country, which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it.”
Go Tyler Go! Retweeted too mike_kw
Thanks guys. And thanks for that, Nick.
Here’s a comment and I’ll plop a link on my facebook page in a little bit. Actually, once I get my iPhone, I think I should be able to use it to subscribe to your RSS feed again :o).
Thirty seconds from me–Go for it.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/modestproposal/
Nick: HUH?
Here’s 30 seconds, I think that Nick above is a spam bot … it wasn’t me, at least. :)
Woops, I didn’t read the entire post …
Damn, I work for CliffsNotes and we don’t even have that title. Great. Well, here’s a link to the other site I work for, so, um, go there! http://www.frommers.com/destinations/caribbean/ and GO TYLER!
30 seconds for commenting and 1 minute for adding you to my RSS feed
I posted a link a few weeks ago when I started my own (much slower) program. That’s since the last time you called for links but I don’t know if it’s recent enough to count for 3 minutes. I miss my dog. (That comment will be clear from the context.)
http://runningwolves.typepad.com/running_wolves
4:15 added! :) I am following you on tweet and check out my blog for a pingback!
This weekend is going to be rough.
Run, run, as fast as you can….
You asked for it, so I feel obligated to help you out at least a little bit. add 30 seconds from me.
Keep it going!
BossyMommy: It’s the plot synopsis of A Modest Proposal, as requested by Tyler. Reference to the source is in my name. :)
Run, run, run! And then run some more!
“Take care of your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone”
You can do ittttttttt!
I already follow you on twitter and subscribe to your feed so that’s 2 minutes and 15 seconds from me here!
GO! GO Run… fast as you can… I also added you on my facebook! 3:30
Er hi!
don’t post normally but you totally inspire me to go to gym even when i’m tired and just want to go home.
Thank you!
(oh and i claim my 30 seconds :) )
good luck Tyler!
Thanks guys! ROCK ON!
Soon you’ll be running, 4+1 isn’t going to cut it for you for long. Just you wait! Have fun this weekend!
Be safe with this…
Blog was down for a while (host problems), but it’s back up!
Aren’t you a lucky man…you don’t even know me and I think you are already going to hate me ;)
-Linked you on Twitter.
-Following you on Twitter (however, you aren’t following me, so how are you going to know that I did?)
-Commenting here
-And subscribed via Google Reader
Tack on 5 minutes 15 seconds! :)
I guess I missed the window of opportunity to make you work harder because I couldn’t figure out how to post to your blog. But now that I know……BTW, bossymommy sent me. bwahahah!
Oh, I forgot to mention that I linked your blog to my facebook with PLENTY of time to make the challenge so drop and give me twenty!