Flying with 10,000 steps

I only wanted a Fitbit to confirm what I already knew, I am a pretty active person. Sounds crazy, right? It sort of is. But many of my also pretty active friends were comparing steps and cheering at 5in the morning when they had more steps than most people get all day. And that is because we met at 4am to run. I was content just knowing that I had put in the miles until they kept trying to outdo each other's steps. Then one of them would look at me and ask my step count and laugh because I, because I had no clue. I did not have a fitness tracker or even a pedometer. So I asked for one for Christmas. My contingency plan to was buy my own if Santa did not come through for me. He did and on January 1st I clocked in over 60, 000 steps during my marathon. My friends no longer taunted me. I was in the step club and I was the leader (at least for that week).

I have been pretty proud of my step count. Again, the goal was to track what I was already doing not to increase it. Okay, I will admit there have been a few times when I got a message that someone was 152 steps ahead of me and I felt compelled to walk around my house to catch up or pass that person. When oh so close to 10,000 steps I have again walked around my house, back and forth to my car, taken a lap around the parking lot or something else. But generally I am fine with my steps.

I was fine until last week. A friend of mine has gotten 10,000 steps every day since Christmas. Every freaking day. She was shocked that I did not since I was usually had more steps than her overall. I was shocked as well. Not that I was ahead, but that she was diligent in her steps. My step count was high on my run days and not so high on my off days. Yes, that is normal. Yes, that is how it should be. But I was intrigued.

I had just finished an easy three mile run and had to go back to pick up extra steps. She motivated me in a way I had not been before. I was caught up in getting my miles in that I did not relish the simple pleasure of just walking to get the steps consistently. I forgot that sometimes life provides the means to be active without fanfare. Okay, I may not strive to get 10,000 daily. But I will pride in the small victories that come with walking towards a goal without a medal.