Tag: Streak

2000

The pandemic feels like a lifetime ago, and yet I can tell you exactly how long it has been: 2,000 days. I know this not because of science, or history, or the passage of time, but because on March 1, 2020, I started a streak.

A walking streak.

Every single day since then—through shutdowns and reopenings, through new jobs, new routines, travel, stress, exhaustion, weather that felt like it was designed to break me—I have walked at least 10,000 steps.

Two thousand days.

I didn’t set out to do this. At the beginning, it was something to do during the pandemic. It also protected my sanity. Walking was the chance to get out of the house and leave everything else behind. Ten thousand steps a day had long been the baseline, ever since I started wearing a fitness tracker. Twenty-two thousand steps was the dream. (For reference, that’s about ten miles a day, or the equivalent of pacing nervously during a seven-hour baseball game.)

The first year was easy. I averaged nearly 22,000 steps per day. The second was manageable, still averaging nearly 20,000 steps per day. But the last three were harder. I changed careers. Time shrank. The joy of the walk, once as natural as breathing, sometimes felt like another appointment on an already crowded calendar.

Quick aside here: if you’ve never experienced the low-grade panic of watching your fitness tracker show 9,976 steps at 11:57 p.m., you haven’t lived. That’s when you find yourself walking in pajama pants around the kitchen island like a lunatic, praying the neighbors can’t see through the window.

What kept me going? Partly, the dog. (She doesn’t negotiate. She knows when it’s walk time, and if I try to skip, she looks at me like I just canceled Christmas.) Partly, the number itself. The bigger the streak grew, the harder it was to let it go. You don’t walk 1,732 consecutive days just to stop there.

And now we’re at 2,000.

I should say this: I am impressed with myself. I don’t usually say things like that, but persistence deserves a little horn-tooting. If I can string together 2,000 days of anything—walking, writing, flossing—maybe I’m not as undisciplined as I sometimes think.

Of course, streaks end. Technology fails. Bodies get sick. Life interrupts. At some point, a day will come when the step counter doesn’t make it to 10,000, and I’ll have to deal with it.

But not yet.

The next goal is December 30, 2025—Day 2,131. If you’re a baseball fan, you know why. (That’s the number Cal Ripken Jr. reached when he passed Lou Gehrig in consecutive games played. If you’re not a fan, know this: it’s persistence at a mythical scale.) After that, the big one: 2,633 days, when Ripken’s streak itself comes into view on or about February 6, 2027.

Will I make it to 2,633? I don’t know. The streak doesn’t give me the same joy it once did, and some days it feels like one more box to check. But every morning, the dog is there, stretching in anticipation, eyes pathetically pleading. And every morning, I lace up my shoes.

Day 20 Gratitude Challenge

The picture at the top of this post was taken on March 1, 2020. On that day, the Augustana Vikings suffered a heartbreaking loss in the conference tournament. It also marked the beginning of my incredible streak. Since then, I have logged at least 10,000 steps for 1,725 consecutive days, which is equivalent to 4 years, 8 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days.

Maintaining this streak hasn’t always been easy, and in recent months, I’ve questioned whether it’s worth continuing. Despite facing illness and challenging weather, my commitment has never wavered. Most days, I complete about half of my steps either by walking outside with my dog or indoors on a treadmill.

Throughout this journey, I’ve lost a significant amount of weight, improved my medical lab results, and enhanced my overall health. Achieving a streak like this requires both luck and willpower. I am proud of my accomplishment and will continue this streak for as long as I can.

Good health is often taken for granted until it’s lost. While your health may not be perfect, if you can read this, you have your sight, which is a valuable gift. There is much in life that is beyond our control, yet every day we make countless choices about how we care for our bodies. Today, treat your body well by drinking more water, eating nutritious foods, taking deep breaths, and incorporating physical activity into your routine. Additionally, consider tonight as an opportunity to give yourself the gift of more sleep. Create calming bedtime routines to help relax your mind.

The Streak

Since 2017, I have been using walking as my primary form of exercise and fitness. During that summer, I bought a Fitbit and started my fitness journey. That also marked the beginning of my obsession with steps. Over the next three years, I have walked so much that I had to replace my shoes multiple times. While walking, I listen to audiobooks and podcasts, which make the experience more enjoyable. Overall, I felt much better and healthier after incorporating walking into my daily routine.

I am determined to achieve at least 10,000 steps every day (approximately five miles). Before 2020, I used to accomplish this goal on most days. I am proud to have set multiple personal records, including 41,000+ steps in a day, 215,000+ steps in a week, and 715,000+ steps in a month. However, one record still eludes me – 365 consecutive days with 10,000 steps or more. Despite this, I am motivated to keep pushing myself and working towards this achievement.

Let me take you back to the beginning of 2020, a time when the world was full of hope and anticipation for a great year ahead. As for me, January kicked off with a trip to London, where I spent most of the month teaching a course on Brexit with a great colleague and a group of primarily enthusiastic students. Later that month, I flew back just in time for my oldest son’s wedding – a beautiful celebration with family and friends.

It seemed like everything was going smoothly when February rolled around, and the start of another semester loomed ahead. Despite the busy schedule, my wife and I had a San Diego trip planned for early March, and we were both eagerly looking forward to it. Little did we know that this trip would be one of the last normal things we would do for a while.

I totally failed my goal of walking 10,000 steps on February 29, 2020. I have no clue why it didn’t happen. That day, I went to an Augie basketball game and watched them lose by two points in the conference tournament, which was really sad. Maybe I was so bummed about the loss that I didn’t feel like walking at all.

Can you believe it’s been four years since I last missed my step goal? That’s right, February 29, 2020, was the last time I fell short, and since then, I’ve been crushing my daily target of 10,000 steps or more for 1,460 consecutive days. It’s been an incredible journey, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have made it this far.

Although my memory is somewhat blurry, I recall that I had planned to begin a new streak on March 1, 2020. I was quite enthusiastic about it because our upcoming trip would have given me a good head start on my goal. Unfortunately, what I didn’t expect was the outbreak of a global pandemic that would bring about the shutdown of society.

From the very beginning of the pandemic, I committed myself to walking at least 10,000 steps every single day until the pandemic came to an end. I thought it would last for only six months, but as it turns out, it was a significant part of our lives for almost a year. But you know what? This has been one of the most exciting challenges I have ever taken up. Who would have thought the habits I started during that unprecedented time would become a permanent part of my life? It’s exciting to think about the positive impact this challenge has had on my life.

Every day, I kick off my mornings with a brisk walk lasting 30 to 45 minutes. Time permitting, I take another walk after work as well. Whether it’s outside enjoying the fresh air or indoors on a treadmill, I ensure that exercise is an integral part of my daily routine. I am committed to this routine, and breaking the streak is not even a remote possibility at the moment.

What streak are you starting today?

*The picture attached to this post was taken during a March 2020 walk along a San Diego beach.

1234 and beyond

On February 29, 2020, the first death related to the coronavirus in the United States was reported. At the time nearly 3,000 people worldwide had died. Less than 100 confirmed cases existed in the United States. Little did any of us know how our lives would change over the next few weeks, months, and years.

This post isn’t about the pandemic. This post is about something else that happened on February 29, 2020. It was the last day that I took fewer than 10,000 steps. I don’t recall why I took a break from my standard step regimen that day but I did. Perhaps I was tired.

I recall that I resolved to start a new streak on March 1, 2020. My original goals were to 1) beat my old streak (which escapes me but I think was about 180 days), 2) keep the streak alive for at least 365 days, and 3) keep the streak alive for the duration of the anticipated pandemic – however long.

So here we are over three years later and the streak continues. To be precise, one thousand two hundred thirty-four days have one and gone since the last leap day. 1, 234 is a number that is orderly, progressive, and linear. A number that stands for so much.

I have faced many obstacles during the streak, including work, illness, weather, travel, and motivation. I have learned much about myself and achieved more than I could imagine. Mostly, I have learned to believe in myself and work steadily each day. I am proud of the streak.

Earlier in the streak, I averaged over 20,000 steps a day. My current trend is averaging 12,000-13,000 steps per day. So the pace is slowing but the drive to keep it going is not. Someday, the streak will end. Yesterday was not the day it ended. I have no plans to end it today either.