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Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Back in my walking shoes

Two weeks ago, I resumed walking. I was doing about 15 K steps a day which I find easy and I didn't want to push it. I was also in a 95 K steps challenge from Garmin (Vivofit). I knew we would be spending 2 days in the car and even though I knew I would not win, I was teasing the other participants. What can I say, I never miss an opportunity to pick on perfect strangers!

On the last day of the challenge, I let everyone know I was conceding the victory (I finished 6th place) and I told them I felt sorry for them as I would be number one the next week.
The following week, I was in a 55 K steps challenge. Garmin knows how many steps you walk so they decided that my number of steps were not enough to stay in the major league... they sent me back to the minors!
Participating in challenges gives me extra motivation. I knew I would win the 55 K steps challenge as the other participant mostly walks 8-9 K steps a day. I thought it would not be good for them to be behind me the whole time. Of course at the end of the week, I easily won the challenge (even with another 2 days on the road).
This week I thought I would be back in the major league, but no, I'm still in the 55 K challenge. I wish I could choose the challenge and not be assigned one! But there is nothing I can do about it, I'll just have to graciously accept my first place next Sunday :)
I'm not sponsored by any company and I don’t promote any product, but if you are thinking about buying a gadget like vivofit or fitbit, I strongly encourage you to do so.
It is worth every penny so far. A few weeks ago, my wife, who also has a vivofit, undressed to go to bed, put on her invisible Pyjama, and proceeded to set her vivofit to sleep mode. She noticed she needed an extra 700 or so steps to reach her goal. She got dressed and went in the living room to step in place to reach her target.
I can't tell you how many times we get up and walk just to reach a specific number of steps. On our vivofit, there is an indicator that shows when we have been inactive for over an hour, a reminder to get up and walk. And we do.
We both have crossed over the 1 million steps. Without our vivofit, I would be surprised if we would have walked a fifth of that amount. It's a fantastic tool, if one were to break, we would replace it right away, it's that good!

3 comments:

  1. It sounds like the perfect motivator. It actually challenges you! I'll have to give it some thought.

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  2. My partner wears a fitbit. And since it tells her how much she sleeps, she LOVES telling me about her sleep patterns, too.

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  3. Congrats on crossing a million steps! Wow, you guys rock.

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