Happy Walk Around Things Day!

By Tobi on Pexels

Now this name is a mouthful. Walk Around Things Day is a multi-functional day. Figuratively, this day is to remind us we’re sometimes allowed to walk around problems and situations. If there’s a problem or challenge today, give yourself the leeway to walk around it. Not every issue is an emergency, and sometimes you need to let yourself put things to the side, if only for a day.

Another way to celebrate today is to literally walk around things, instead of taking the straight path. You can go out of your way to walk a circle around the park, or that weird statue in front of the bank. In the end, Walk Around Things Day is about seeing and doing things a bit differently, and breaking whatever cycle or routine you’re in.

Thinking about walking has me checking my health app on my phone. It automatically tracks my steps, and charts the amount of steps I take over a period of time. Let’s see, today I’ve taken… 21 steps. Not good, but let’s see how that stacks up to the past month.

Wow… you can see exactly when social distancing began. The little spikes afterwards are from grocery shopping days. Obviously I want to do my part and not go outdoors, but I wonder how difficult it would be to get my 10 000 steps in this small apartment? There’s only one way to find out: better start walking around things!

So I begin my 10 000 step quest. I start by walking around the coffee table while watching TV. Once noon hits, I march over to the kitchen and make myself some food, walking in place the whole time like a kid leading a parade. Before eating, I check my app, just to see.

148 steps
Yay!

148 steps! That’s progress! Okay, I have to stop checking my phone every two seconds. I’ll keep walking around things and check back in at 3:00 pm. I walk my way around the apartment, walk in place while making food, and I even get a few steps in while cleaning the bathroom. Before I know it, it’s time to check my steps.

Not bad!

2000 steps! That’s actually a lot more than I thought. I must confess, I didn’t walk the entire time. Using my computer and marching simultaneously proved to be more than I could manage. But I know a one hour walk will get me to at least 8000 steps on a normal day, so I don’t feel discouraged at all. I just have to keep at it!

Halfway there!

By 4:30 pm, I have 5000 steps, and my calves sure can feel it. I had a good burst at 3:00 pm, but then I forgot for a little while at 4:00 pm. At this point, my boyfriend is home and reminds me we have to watch Wrestlemania at 7:00 pm. So now, my soft deadline is 6:30 pm, hard deadline 7:00 pm. Let’s do this!

Okay, 7:00 pm rolls around, Wrestlemania is starting, and I check my steps one last time:

7000… Not quite the 10 000 I wanted, but my calves legitimately hurt, and I feel like I gave a good effort. I’m going to call it a day. I found it really difficult to march while doing things, it’s not like walking from one place to another. Having to think about it is hard. But I’m glad I tried!

Happy Walk Around Things Day!