10,000 Steps



Before these two left with their parents on summer vacation, I tried taking
one or both of them walking with me whenever I could. 

 

Not too long after my personal heart-to-heart, my friend Brooke emailed me one day and asked if I’d be interested in a simple challenge… get 10,000 steps in every single day, no off days. 

I love me a good challenge and when it comes to challenging each other, I really am lucky to have Brooke in my life.  Before I moved away from Utah, we were waking up at insane hours of the morning, three days a week, and giving our best to the Couch-to-5K running program.  Unfortunately I did move eleven hundred miles away not too long after we started so our cute little contract became void.  I had all hopes of continuing, but I struggled finding my groove without my running partner.  Even though I am in a different state, Brooke is still one of my biggest supporters and I would like to think I am one of hers.  We are at two different points in our lives, but we have similar backgrounds and frustrations in regards to our bodies.  It’s nice to have someone who understands and is trying to make similar changes.  Having a workout buddy – no matter the distance – is extremely beneficial and I really am lucky we found each other two years ago and continue to support each other.

I could talk all day about how much I love and admire Brooke, but since my husband gets to hear that all the time, I’ll go back to the challenge.

Ten thousand steps.  The challenge started on June 1^st.  If we don’t reach 10,000 steps we have to put $5 in the pot along with two freebies.  We’re in our sixth week and neither of us have any money in the pot.  We have a Google doc that documents how many steps we take daily and since we both have a thing for numbers we also keep a running total of the steps we’ve taken since June 1^st.  In full disclosure, Brooke has like 20,000 more steps overall than I do – she’s a rock star. 

The first few days of the challenge I really struggled.  That first night, my sweet husband and I walked all over Target just trying to get enough steps.  We got home and my steps total was barely 7,000 so at ten o’ clock that night we headed to WalMart and walked aimlessly around the store before we went outside and walked up and down the aisles of the parking lot until I was sure I had my steps.  That first week was not easy.  My sweet husband supported me every step of the way and ended up getting a FitBit so he could keep track of his steps too.   For those that don’t know me, I am NOT a night owl and staying up late to get my steps was not a good thing so I started making sure to get as many steps as I could before I left work.   At work, I started mentally routing how I’d walk to and from my office and increase my steps.  I would make sure I took 15 minute breaks in the morning and the afternoon that would get me moving.   Before this challenge, I’d use my lunch to shut the door to my office and either take a nap or catch up on my favorite shows.  Since this challenge started, I started utilizing the skywalk that connects all the buildings on the hospital campus by changing into sneakers for 30 minutes.  Obviously the faster I walk means the more steps I can take. I challenge myself every day to get at least 4,000 steps during that break and by the time I get back to my desk I am ready to conquer the rest of the afternoon.  Whatever steps I don’t get before I leave work, I’ll take a walk after dinner, which has helped me discover more places to love about my new hometown.

Getting my 10,000 steps daily has become almost second nature.  It doesn’t really take too much more effort, but these relatively small moments of exercise have already made an impact.   My legs are definitely getting leaner and stronger every week. We still have eight more weeks of this 10,000 steps challenge, but this simple challenge has already made me ready to move on to better challenges… like going back to training with the Couch-to-5K  running program, which both Brooke and I started again last night and we will continue to support each other eleven hundred miles apart.