Eleven and a half hours. The long shift. Almost three miles of walking spread across an entire night — desk to break room, break room to the park outside, back to the desk, back to the park. Repeat until the sun comes up and the day shift arrives.

The NOC doesn’t care what time it is. Networks break at 3 AM the same as 3 PM. You walk to stay awake. You walk to think through the problem. You walk because the alternative is falling asleep in a chair while an alarm goes unnoticed.

Three miles across eleven hours isn’t cardio. It’s survival with a pedometer.