"I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 hundred more, just to"*...win a contest. I learned something recently about myself that really surprised me. I am very competitive. (I am also a great procrastinator, which may be why I jumped into this walking thing...keep reading...)
My work decided to have a little step challenge. Interested people could wear pedometers, record their steps, submit them weekly. The goal was to get to 400,000 steps in just short of 6 weeks. A cute display was posted in the hallway. It looked like a mountain and had different step markers on it. (50,000 steps, 100,000 steps, etc.)They handed out a paper athletic shoe to decorate. I didn't like the way it looked, so I colored mine on the reverse side, and added a real ribbon for a lace. I also did some quick math. The American Heart Association recommends everyone take 10,000 steps a day. So, I would need 40 days to get to the top of the mountain. No problem. The "contest" was running for exactly 40 days. I could finish this!
I knew from previously wearing a pedometer, that I walked about 8,000 steps on a work day, and about 2,500 steps on the weekends. I started by parking further out in parking lots, taking stairs instead of elevators, walking during my recess duty stints (I work at an elementary school), taking the long way to get anywhere, making two trips up the stairs or in from grocery shopping. I just started walking more whenever possible. That first week, I had accumulated 99,108 steps by 9pm Sunday! That was way over my original goal! But, there was also a problem. I was so close to 100,000 steps. So, I did what any OCD type would do, I walked the halls of my house until I was at 100,000. I proudly turned in my step count on Monday and waited to see where my paper shoe would be on the mountain.
Well, my shoe was the highest on the mountain! As I was admiring my cute shoe, facing the opposite direction of everyone else's (because I used the backside of the drawing...), a student asked me if the shoes were heading up or down the mountain. I told him "Up." He said "Looks like only one is going that way!" Made my day, and I made up my mind that I liked this challenge. Game on!
My son attends the same school that I work in. He noticed my backwards shoe on the mountain too. He liked that it was being the leader.
The next week some interesting things happened. I decided I needed to walk 100,000 steps again this week. I made the goal of 15,000 steps a day. I became very good at knowing how many steps certain walks were in my neighborhood. I found an extra hour to walk everyday. I started drinking more water. I was sleeping better. I was happier. My son and I enjoyed an hour of uninterrupted talk time every night, because he would ride his bike with me as I walked. I also had some achy muscles.
The achy muscles subsided during week three, and my shoe stayed on top of the mountain climb. I finished week three with over 300,000 steps. Then, a strong competitor went on vacation. She walked, and walked and walked. Because many of us have "Fitbits", we could keep track of each others daily totals and didn't have to wait for the weekly totals to be posted on the mountain. On Friday of week 4, I was behind by 7,000 steps. I had to make them up over the weekend.
Here's what I need to mention...I think I became obsessed with this step challenge because what I REALLY needed to do was prepare for my daughter's high school graduation. By "prepare" I mean, we were painting the exterior of our house, and re-landscaping the entire backyard. I was also trying to make a t-shirt quilt and a photo album for her. Uh-huh, I was focusing on the step challenge because the reality of my daughter graduating was just too much. Too much out of my control, too many feelings, too much to do. But walking, I could do that. So, this 7,000 step deficit, two weekends before graduation, not a great thing...but, giving up my lead after three weeks on top? No way! So, I woke up early over the weekend, got my steps in (including one day of 21,000 steps) and managed to stay on top.
I kept close tabs during week five on my competitors. And week six, last week, was the week of graduation. I was physically, and emotionally exhausted. I turned in my final totals today and I am awaiting the results. I think I climbed the highest on the mountain. I think I conquered the challenge. Even if I didn't though, I have walked 250 miles in the last 40 days. I found an hour everyday that I never before knew existed. I spent quality time with my son. I gained 5 pounds (OK, not a good thing...but, it happened), and I just plain feel better.
The official challenge is over, so I'm not working as hard to get a certain number of steps each day, but, I am trying to keep moving, trying to walk an hour each day after work. I'm hoping to continue drinking more water, maybe that will eventually lead to me eating better. Baby steps. I'll still walk 500 miles, but my baby steps will just take me a bit longer to get there.
* Excerpt from The Proclaimers song
