100 Days and Still Counting

 Mission accomplished. 100 days of walking 10,000 or more steps daily. I may have not have kept up on my posting as much as I hoped for, but I kept up on my steps which is what is most important. I have been working on a number of projects throughout the entire 100 days, but no matter how busy I was, no matter how tired I was, my commitment to reaching my goal meant a lot to me. 

 100 days may not seem like much but trust me it is a challenge. I thought walking in heavy rain was tough, till we were hit with a heatwave. It was definitely much more difficult walking in 100°F than in a downpour. To deal with the heat, I chose to walk in the evenings whenever possible. I walked at 9-10pm some days and it would still be extremely hot especially for Norway. 

 For me the most difficult part of the challenge was dealing with my thoughts. Just about everyday my mind would try to talk me out of getting out there, not to mention all the different things that pop up demanding your attention. I used to be notorious for talking myself out of doing what I should do, while easily talking myself into doing what I definitely shouldn’t be doing. So yes this challenge was every bit mental as it was physical. 

 I feel very accomplished and proud of my achievements. As a reward for my accomplishment I decided to keep walking. I failed my first attempt at walking a million steps within 100 days due to injury. I got back into it as quickly as I could, and made it this time around. According to my app, I started my first walk back in January 4, 2021. That’s 209 days ago. Having achieved my second attempt ahead of time my step count to date from January is 2,090,855. It balances out to just over 10,000 steps per day even after the weeks I took off to heal up after my accident. So the new goal is to reach 3,000,000 steps within the next 91 days. I am also still cycling 5-6 times per week. Yesterday was a milestone as I hit the gym for the first time in a long while. 

 Though my shoulder and ribs felt totally fine, I just didn’t want to risk it by trying to do anything in the gym to soon. But I was in my garage cleaning up yesterday afternoon and I just felt so good after having achieved my goals that I gave it a go. It felt amazing to be back in there. So as I set out to reach that 3,000,000 mark, I will slowly, carefully hit the gym once again. 

 Call me crazy, call me a fanatic, call me a health nut, call me whatever you want. I have come to appreciate life so much that I can only give thanks by taking care of myself the best ways I possibly can. In the recent months within my culture we have lost a handful of icons in their 40’s and 50’s. Many will not face the facts. These untimely deaths could have been avoided with healthier lifestyle choices. That is the cold reality of it. It’s not about being fearless in the face of death. It’s about being fearless in the face of life. It’s much more tiring listening to my much younger friends complain about their health issues than it is to get out there and walk for 5-6 miles. Life is a gift and we too often take it for granted. Taking care of our bodies, our minds and our spirits is how we can show appreciation for this gift. Thank you for reading.