Once I was committed, I was determined to go through with it what ever the results. I kept a daily log in my day planner recording both the distance and the number of steps taken each and every day. I wore that pedometer everywhere.
Problem was that everywhere didn’t take me very far that first month. I only recorded 27,122 steps in January of 2005. The next month was better but not by much with 53,857 steps taken, and by March I had dropped back down to 50,231. Of course I could blame this all the lousy winter weather that limited the amount of walking space available not to mention how early it gets dark. I would surely do better when spring and summer came around.
By the end of June I totaled all my steps for the year so far and had a whopping total of 312,811 steps. This was half way through the year so I should have been up to 600,000 by now. I had been sick in June and only managed 9,537 steps but this was no excuse. If I really meant to accomplish this goal, and it was for no one else but me, then I was going to have to change my ways and dedicate more of an effort to doing what I set out to do.
In July I reversed my trend and scored a 155,677 step month. This was followed up with a 170,242 month in August. This was one of those ah-ha moments. I could do this if I wanted it enough, and after all wasn’t this what it was all about.
I pressed on with a renewed sense of the possible and at the end of the year the tally stood at 1,215,583. I had managed my first accomplished goal. It felt good but it also seemed to be less than what was possible. After all hadn’t I just covered over 900,000 steps in the last 6 months alone? Why if I could do that pace for 6 months, why not the whole year. 2006 would be the year to go for 1,800,000 steps.
That was an ambitious goal I know. Those last 6 months did take some effort and this would extend that effort for a full 12 months right on the back of the 6 months I had just completed. Could it be done? There was only one way to find out. Go for it.
And I did initially but this was a struggle. Some months were well below the goal. For a 1.8 million step year you need to average 150,000 steps a month. At the end of 6 months I had yet to have a 150,000 step month. It was not looking good. I decided to revise my plan to 1.5 million steps for the year. It was my plan and my goal and I could do what I wanted. This was not a complete submission. At the end of 6 months I only had 585,388 steps meaning I still had a long way to go for 1,500,000.
Again I had to step up to the plate. I had to recommit myself to attaining my goal. I had to decide if this was something that I still wanted. I decided that it was and with renewed energy I went for it.
The next 6 months saw me increase my average and even hit a new personal record of 201,772 steps in one month. The funny thing about averages is that the longer you are working on one the higher the number has to be to change the overall average. Even though I had some big numbers, they didn’t change the overall average as much as I had hoped, but they did contribute to the bottom line. And that is what I was after.
By the end of the year I had made 1,545,278. It wasn’t what I had started out for but it was what I was going after at the end. I had accomplished my goal but the questions lingered. What was I capable of? Did I have one more year of this in me? And if so, what would be the new goal? Could I pull off a truly big goal?
go to part 3. or go back to part 1.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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