10K Steps a Day

Every year, our swim club holds a community step challenge. Participants are divided into teams and count our steps for the week. On Mondays, we total up our steps in the hopes of placing first for the week and thus assert the proper bragging rights.

Recently my team, known as the Later Gators, drifted from second to third place, and so I decided to step up my game (so to speak). Until this past week, I was averaging about 25K-30K steps a week while everyone on my team surpassed me with their superhuman 80K, 90K, and 100K step totals. It was getting to the point where I was embarrassed to submit my total for the week. This week, I decided, would be different – and it was! I hit an all-time high on my weekly step count – 90,670 steps! 🙂

How did I do it? I honestly have no idea, but it helped to wake up earlier and make sure I did a nice walk every morning. Once I had an initial three or four thousand steps before noon, finishing the day with over 10K was much easier.

On Sunday, Scott and I walked through our neighborhood and ventured onto the 2.5-mile loop across the road at Twining Park. This park used to be a golf course, but now it is being renovated to include a huge dog park, a paved walking path, and an off-road bike trail. Eventually, the township plans to install pickleball courts and a pavilion. It was fun to walk through and see all of the progress being made.

I woke up Monday and realized my cleaning people were coming that day. I worked up quite a sweat from the number of times I walked up and down the stairs to put things away. My step count skyrocketed. From there, I did a bunch of errands and parked my car far away from the front entrance to facilitate more walking. Over the next two days, I made sure I got up off my butt and walked. My Fit-Bit is set with an hourly reminder to let me know it was time to move. Depending on the weather, I took a stroll around the block or drove to the air-conditioned mall for walking and window shopping. YAY! Multitasking!

Also, I have been drinking a ton of water lately, so no doubt that the extra trips to the bathroom helped too!

Thursday and Friday were big walking days because I was out spending time with friends, and lots of steps were accumulated. For my big finish, I helped Jenna move into her new apartment yesterday. There was no elevator, and her place was on the third floor. This was the perfect way to end my already fantastic week of walking. Not only did I get in a ton of steps, but I added some weight training because I carried a lot of boxes. This kid has A LOT of clothes!

I feel good about this accomplishment. And at least this week, I’ll be able to submit my step count and show my face at the pool again.

XO,

Elisa