pedometer

So, today was an interesting day. For the first time since my first of two difficult-to-heal injuries – I ran. And it was truly a pathetic thing. A humbling spot, and one I never imagined I’d find myself in again. After all, I’ve run several 5Ks, a few 8Ks, one 10K and a very memorable and torturous half marathon. I’ve been a runner for quite a while. I wasn’t always a runner, though – when I first began my weight loss journey, I couldn’t even walk around the block without stopping to catch my breath. (And cry – but we can just pretend that we never spoke about that, OK? Keep it just between the two of us.) I started walking a block at a time, added a small distance every couple of days, and one day, found I was covering more than seven miles. I could either walk further or start running, so I started running. And until I injured myself, I ran just about every day.

I’m sure you have all heard about the 10,000 steps per day thing, right? Well, I am a firm believer in it. The purpose of this goal is to get the sedentary, or couch potatoes, up on their feet more often. The average person’s stride is between two-and-a-half to three feet long, which calculates out to around 2,000 steps to walk a mile; while 10,000 steps is nearly five miles.

Again, this is a goal to motivate those who need a little extra kick in the butt to get moving. Set a goal for walking 10,000 steps and once you beat that for a week straight, up your goal to 11,000 steps per day.