I’ve always been pretty active, but like many Americans I spend far too much time sitting in front of the computer, whether being productive or wasting time. More and more research is saying that even if you workout for an hour everyday, that doesn’t counteract the negative effects of being sedentary most of the rest of the day. “Sitting is the new smoking,” is one phrase going around to sum up this idea.
This past cross country season I decided I needed to do more. I don’t have a FitBit or anything, but my iPhone tracks my steps while it’s in my pocket. The first step was simple – let’s just try to hit that 10,000 steps a day milestone that most people are familiar with and many doctors recommend. Most days it’s really not that hard. 4-5 days a week, I was probably hitting it anyway without trying. The trick is being aware of it on your off days or days that the weather is bad.
After about a week I started thinking about how quickly that total step number goes up over the course of a week or a month. I instantly had a new goal – if I could do 100 days in a row of at least 10,000 steps, that’s one million steps. The plan wasn’t to worry about tracking the overall number of steps, just to make sure I hit at least 10,000 each day, guaranteeing a million and change after 100 days.
Day one was September 25. Through the first 50 days everything was rolling pretty smoothly. It was a nuisance at times if rain, etc. forced me to get the steps in the evening on a treadmill, but all it took was being mindful of it. On day 51 I got a new phone, making sure to record how many steps I had on my old phone for that day before my tracking switched to the new one.
That evening I rolled my ankle.
I was playing basketball and stepped on the back of another guy’s foot while running. Looking back, it was probably a low-grade sprain and not just a “roll.” I limped home that night, but luckily I already had my steps in for the day. I knew the next morning would make or break how the second 50 days would go. Plan B was to still try to get one million steps in 100 days, but get rid of the 10K a day minimum requirement.
Day 52 actually went okay. I was definitely sore in the morning, but with a brace on I could basically walk without a limp if I took it easy. But over the next few days I started getting nervous again. I was probably overdoing it by still stubbornly prioritizing my streak of 10,000 steps a day. The mornings were the worst. One morning I literally had to crawl to the bathroom because I couldn’t put any weight on it. By day 58, I wondered if I had actually broke something or tore a tendon. It would improve throughout the day and being barefoot was usually fine, but it really hurt to wear shoes.
Thanksgiving was day 59. I spent 6+ hours in a car but hit my total walking gingerly back and forth on the sidewalk outside my brother’s house in Kansas City and barefoot inside much to the bemusement of my family.
I think my mistake was giving up on the brace too soon and I regressed. So I put it back on by day 65 I was feeling pretty good again. I tried to run a bit on day 66. It was still too sore for that, but I was least trending in the right direction and confident about the final third of this little quest.
On day 68 I suffered the most significant injury I’ve ever had.
Now, I’ve been pretty fortunate on the injury front in my life. I’ve never broken a bone. I’ve had to get stitches a few times, but nothing major. The most recent time was in 7th grade when I sliced my hand on a nearby pane of glass because I talk with my hands. Of course, that’s not the most recent anymore. I got stitches on December 1, 2018. The short version is that I fell on a steel loading dock. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal at first. I was definitely banged up and could feel bruises and scrapes all over my legs as I sat on the ground, but assumed it was nothing major.
Then I pulled up my pant leg to find a quarter-sized chunk missing from my shin. I almost passed out, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, at the ER I asked the doctor stitching me up if I needed to get an x-ray or anything to make sure the bone itself was okay. He didn’t think I needed an x-ray because, you know, he was looking right at my exposed tibia and said it looked fine. Life is fun.
I asked the doctor what the plan was if there was no skin left to stitch. He said it was all still there, it had just been drawn back like a curtain by the steel edge of the loading dock. Finally, I asked him if I could still get my steps in over the next couple days (I was already at 16K before I got hurt that day). He said I probably COULD, but he didn’t recommend it.
So, with Plan B again in mind, I waited to see what the morning would bring. It ended up being similar to the ankle – the mornings were brutal, but with shoes on and walking carefully, I could manage. I had to take VERY short strides, but it really didn’t hurt to walk. I’ve realized I’m really pretty stubborn.
There were definitely more aches and pains as I’d get overconfident and overdo it and wonder if my tibia was, in fact, broken, just maybe higher up than the doctor saw – I had multiple wounds from the fall, only one of which had needed immediate medical attention.
I got the stitches out on day 80, finally feeling over the hump and ready for a smooth last few weeks. The only new obstacle was complacency – there were a couple times when, in my overconfidence, I nearly forgot to check my steps and get in that necessary evening walk to put me at 10K for the day.
Today was day 100. More than a million steps since September 25. It’s a number most of us don’t deal with in our daily lives. But we all get in a million heartbeats every couple of weeks. Many of us have traveled more than a million miles sitting cars during our lives.
Ultimately, the lesson here is one we’re all familiar with, even if we let ourselves forget all too often – the power of consistency. Little pieces added up over time can make an enormous difference. Rivers can form canyons. Every vote counts. You can hit those 2019 fitness or personal project goals. At the very least, let’s all keep our focus on eventually heading in the right direction.
Just watch your step(s).