I Would Walk 500 Miles

                                                           
Exactly 30 days ago I was drinking a beer and watching YouTube videos.  I was enthralled by this guy named WheezyWaiter that does 30 day challenges.   No Internet for 30 days.  Intermittent fasting for 30 days.   No sugar for 30 days.  No porn for 30 days(I might have made that up.) Walking 10,000 steps for 30 days.   I thought to myself, I should do that.



Thinking is one thing - and doing is another.   My first mistake, and I blame this totally on the Ultra I was drinking, was telling the hubs I was going to walk 10,000 steps for 30 consecutive days.  He was all about it and was ready to create flow charts, maps, weather forecasts, shoe catalogs...and shit...What the hell have I done?

With Der Kommissar at the helm - I had no option but to at least start the challenge.  I figured he would get bored and that would be it.  He was pretty good about not bothering me - but I usually had all my steps in by the time he got home.  Except weekends.  And  he is always there.  Wanting to share HIS progress in my challenge.  And he runs 5 miles every day.
 

It's really not hard to walk 10,000 steps  (roughly 4 miles) - it's just finding the time to do it.  I don't work out, run on a treadmill or anything that remotely resembles exercise - but I do walk my dog - so that was a start.   Bubba was thrilled to be out and about and not being told to hurry up.   And that was great as long as the weather was nice, the sun was shining and the ground wasn't wet.  Bubba won't tolerate wet ground - so walking him was weather dependent.

Days that I worked I could easilly get in all the steps and then some.  I could always avoid elevators and park as far away as the facillity as I could.   It only got weird once - the resident of Room 5115 must have had a Ring or other monitoring device - because every time I would walk near her room, she would open the door and look at me.   I had on my employment badge and was carrying a clipboard - so I looked official - still it was weird for her to always be standing there!

If I had errands to run - I could usually get all my steps in by parking as far away from the building as I could - and then a couple of laps in the parking lot, store or where I was.     This didn't always work well, like when I bought a stainless steel trash can at Lowes and had to carry it a mile to my car in the rain, uphill.

The hard days were when I had nothing planned - or Saturdays and Sundays as a whole.  Plus, Der Kommissar was usually around wanting to talk or show me a tree frog on Animal Planet.

Fortunately, we have a treadmill.   I wasn't quite as familliar as I should have been with it - I didn't know how to turn it on - but Der Kommissar came to the rescue - and just kept asking question upon question....

Treadmills are the instrument of the devil.  BORING doesn't begin to describe it.  Plus, I am not known for my grace or my balance.   I made an internal deal that I could watch whatever I wanted while on the treadmill on my IPad - but I had to make the minimum amount of steps.  Everytime I would somehow always manage to get tangled in the earphones and pull them out, then trip over my feet as I tried to reinsert them in my ears.  I finally gave up on the earphones and just played the volume at a high level.  But I did it!

So, after 30 days, what five things did I learn?

1. Chew gum or carry a water bottle.

2. Shoes matter. 

3. The earlier you get the steps in, the more time you have to not worry about it.  There were a few days I was out walking the neighborhood at 930 pm in the cold because I didn't have my steps in.  Once I found myself in a hotel parking lot at 11:00 pm trying to get my steps in.  (It was good to have Der Kommissar with me then!)

4. Even without Der Kommissar cheering me on - after about a week - I wanted WANTED to do my steps every day.  Somedays I got only a few steps over 10,000 - other days I went several thousand steps over the goal.   I wouldn't say I was addicted to walking - I was more addicted to reaching a goal.

5. Nobody cares about your walking progress!  It's a boring topic.   No finger of blame - I find it boring, too.

I haven't decided if I will continue to walk the 10,000 daily steps.  But, I know if I stop - I won't restart.  But, then again, I won't have to worry about it every day.  I could continue but not be as rigid.   Lent is next week - maybe I'll add another thousand or make it an even 5 miles a day.   Der Kommissar is still around.

Is this challenge something you would do?  Let me know!

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