Whew! I’m tired. I feel like I just walked 3,000,000 steps. Wait! I did walk 3,454,192 steps. My inner teacher is telling me that I must write a report on my experience so here goes…
THINGS I LEARNED OR RE-LEARNED:
Walking not only helps you physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
The best time to walk or do any kind of exercise is first thing in the morning. It’s too easy for the day to get away from you, and never get around to it. Also, if you exercise first thing, and don’t do anything else all day, you still will have accomplished something.
Walking with a friend is a lot easier and more fun than walking alone.
When you feel like quitting, take a day off, and then get back to work.
Being accountable through this blog was what enabled me to live up to the commitment. Without the accountability, I would not have finished.
Life would be boring if every day were the same. I seldom walked exactly 11,000 steps a day. Some days I walked much more and some days less. That’s life. Don’t fight it.
THE NUMBER OF TIMES I WANTED TO QUIT:
Two. I seriously thought about quitting in April and again in June. I think I let all the rain get me down. I was expecting to walk outside in those months, and I just did not want to get back on the treadmill.
THE BEST THING I DID:
Not counting steps on Sunday. Everybody should take a day off from keeping score.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:
Not losing weight. I weigh exactly the same as I did Jan. 1, 2011. I thought that the walking alone would help me lose. At least it kept me from gaining, but I’m going to have to diet in order to lose. That is, after I finish eating up all of the Christmas cookies.
WHAT HELPED PUT ME OVER THE TOP:
Going to Florida and especially Disneyworld. You have to walk there whether you want to or not.
WHAT I’M NOT GOING TO MISS:
Walking circles in my living room at the end of the day to get all my steps in.
WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY:
I’d buy an expensive pedometer. I went through at least 8 cheap pedometers throughout the year. Either they fell off my waist and I lost them or they stopped working accurately.
WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?
I am NOT going to walk 12,000 steps a day in 2012, but I am going to keep on walking. I think I’ll aim for a more reasonable 10,000 steps a day. I’m not going to record my steps in the blog again. That would be too repetitive. But I am going to keep on blogging. I think I’m going to change the name of the blog to Stepping Around Rochester – Grandchild in Tow. I’ll be watching Evan on Mondays, so we’ll see where the new year takes us. Thanks for coming along on this journey. I’ll be posting again next week.