10,000 steps

I signed up for a challenge at work. All I had to do was coerce four friends into forming a team. We all got free pedometers. For several months, we record how many steps we take each day, in an effort to make us all healthy and presumably better workers for a long, long time. I just wanted the pedometer! Most of my friends agreed to sign right up. One of our team members was initially skeptical, because she did a lot of biking. But when I pointed out that the website lets you convert biking kilometers into steps, she somewhat reluctantly agreed.

So I have been walking 10,000 steps -ish every day for over a month.

My normal walk to and from work gives me 8000 steps without any extra effort. It's those last 2000 steps that are problematic. And weekends.

Last weekend, we were having some weather. Gale-force winds and occasional hail.

"Tim, I don't have 10,000 steps yet. Do you want to walk to the Botanic gardens with me? It will be nice to see it in the spring."

"Uh, ok I guess."

Jonathan wouldn't come. We left him cozily parked on the couch as we headed out into the wind.

Around us, we spotted downed tree limbs. The wind whipped dust into our eyes and blew us backward. But we pushed on, until we reached the very gates of the Botanic gardens.

They were closed due to inclement weather.

"What do you think, should we walk 5km around the tan track instead?"

"What?"

"I said, should we walk the tan?"

"WHAT?"

"WALK the TAN???"

"OK."

Only the tan track, which runs around the Botanic gardens, is an unsealed track, meaning there was a lot of dirt and rocks flying around in the wind.

"MAYBE LET'S GO HOME?"

"WHAT?"

"GO HOME!"

"OK."

So we ducked our heads and walked back down the hill, the wind blowing us backward only part of the way, and made it home, where Jonathan looked up from the cozy couch and rolled his eyes.

Later that night:

"Tim, I don't have 10,000 steps yet. Do you want to go for another walk?"