Tag / Fitbit

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And I Would Walk 30,000,000 More

Nearly fifteen years ago, I started participating in a step tracking program through work that ““encourages you to track your steps and help you to focus on your fitness in a simple and accessible way.”  That program, utilizing the GlobalFit tracker, ran through February of 2015, where I finished more than three and a half years in the program with over 6.5 million steps.

That same week, I ordered the first of multiple Fitbits I would wear, continuing the project for myself in hopes of getting into better shape and improving my health.  Things were going well enough until 2020, when a global pandemic transitioned me to a home-based worker and my daily activity took a big hit.  Thanks to some recent weight loss, I’ve started ramping things back up recently and, yesterday, I surpassed an overall total of 30 million steps.  That averages out to a little over 2 million steps per year, which, considering it has been seven years since I’ve surpassed that total, isn’t too shabby.  Here’s hoping it doesn’t take another fifteen years to get to 60 million.

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Fitbit 12 – Week 14

A great week as I scored my highest total in nearly two years, since my trip to Amsterdam, and cranked my 30,000-step week streak to eleven while also running my streak of 4000+ step days to 54.  The week got off to a great start on Sunday as a neighborhood walk left me with 5400 steps.  Monday was slightly better, ending with 5600 steps.  Things kept going on Tuesday, slightly falling to 5300 steps, which, if you can believe it, turned out to be my low point for the week.  A longer post-work walk on Wednesday left me just 15 steps shy of 6900.  Thursday topped out at 5500 steps.  A long walk while charging my car at lunch led to 7300 steps on Friday.  An afternoon trip to the Rate Field on Saturday wound up the week well over goal, coming just 11 steps shy of 8000.

Total steps: 44,144

Daily average: 6306.3

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Fitbit 12 – Week 13

Things keep moving in the right directions as I kept my 30,000-step week streak alive for the tenth straight week while also running my streak of 4000+ days to 47.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, needing a mere 2 additional steps to finish with 4600.  Monday was just slightly lower, ending with 4500 steps.  A nice improvement on Tuesday pushed me up to only 7 steps shy of 4800.  A lunchtime walk helped me to 5600 steps on Wednesday.  An additional 22 steps was all that stood between me and 5200 on Thursday.  An afternoon trip to Wrigley Field on Friday put me over my daily goal and just 25 steps away from 7700.  A trip to the Chicago Public Library in Bridgeport for a presentation on Dick Allen helped end the week with 5100 steps.

Total steps: 37,576

Daily average: 5368

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Fitbit 12 – Week 12

Yet another good week as I kept my 30,000-step week streak alive for the ninth straight week while also running my streak of 4000+ days to 40.  A trip to Rate Field on Sunday to see the White Sox sweep the Blue Jays got the week off to a great start, finishing with 6600 steps.  Monday needed just 23 additional steps to reach 5000.  Things slowed just a bit on Tuesday, falling to 4700 steps.  Another small drop on Wednesday left me with 4500 steps.  Things picked up again on Thursday, ending 37 steps shy of 5300.  Another nice day on Friday ended 22 steps short of 5100.  A morning walk on Saturday ended the week a single step shy of 5800.

Total steps: 37,019

Daily average: 5288.4

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Fitbit 12 – Week 11

Another great week as I kept my 30,000-step week streak alive for the eighth straight week while also running my streak of 4000+ days to 36.  An impromptu trip to American Family Field in Milwaukee on Sunday got the week off to a good start, finishing with 6100 steps.  A return trip to Wrigley Field on Monday was the high point of the week, finishing well above my daily goal with 9200 steps.  Resuming normal activities put me back down to 4700 steps on Tuesday.  A mere 28 steps were all that stood between me and 5000 on Wednesday.  Rain, which postponed the home opener on the South Side on Thursday, limited me to 4700.  My re-scheduled first trip to Rate Field of the season on Friday ended with 6800 steps.  A nice Saturday ended the week with 4400 steps.

Total steps: 41,056

Daily average: 5865.1

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Fitbit 12 – Week 10

The start of the 2026 baseball season helped keep my 30,000-step week streak alive for the seventh straight week while also running my streak of 4000+ days to 27.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing with 5400 steps.  Monday turned out to be the low point of the week, needing 14 more steps to reach 4400.  Nicer temperatures pushed me back over 5100 steps on Tuesday.  A lunchtime trip to the local mall pushed me up to 6700 steps on Wednesday.  Thursday was Opening Day and I travelled north to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs lose badly to the Nationals, needing 24 more steps to reach 6400.  Friday kept things going, ending with 5200 steps.  A trip to the grocery store, amongst other chores on Saturday, finished the week strong, falling just 5 steps shy of 6300.

Total steps: 39,619

Daily average: 5659.9

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Fitbit 12 – Week 9

Another pretty good week, as I surpassed 30,000 steps for the sixth straight week and ran my streak of 4000+ days to 27 despite the (hopefully) last gasps of winter.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing 32 steps away from 4900.  Despite an overnight snowstorm on Monday, I managed to gain 4200 steps.  More snow came on Tuesday, but I still got over 4900 steps.  A final bit of snow before improving temperatures on Wednesday couldn’t contain me, still ending up at 4800 steps.  A walk around the block on Thursday pushed me up to 5700 steps.  Friday, the first day of spring, used a lunchtime walk to push me even higher, finishing a mere 2 steps shy of 6600.  Saturday finished the week strong, just 38 steps away from 4400.

Total steps: 35,496

Daily average: 5070.9

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Fitbit 12 – Week 8

A pretty great week, as I surpassed 30,000 steps for the fifth straight week, ran my streak of 4000+ days to 20, and notched my highest step total completely in the state of Illinois since July.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures, leading to a longer walk through the neighborhood finishing 18 steps away from 6300.  Record high temperatures on Monday facilitated a walk to Walgreens to pick up a prescription, which left me with 7700 steps, the first time I’ve reached my daily goal since January’s trip to California.  The temperature, and my step total, dropped on Tuesday, but I still managed 4800 steps.  The low point of the week came on Wednesday, but that still ended up at 4400 steps.  An impromptu trip to the United Center on Thursday to see Purdue battle Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament left me 22 steps shy of 4100.  A return trip on Friday to see Purdue defeat Nebraska was even better, finishing 26 steps away from 6200.  Saturday finished the week strong with 4750 steps on the nose.

Total steps: 40,233

Daily average: 5747.6

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Fitbit 12 – Week 7

A decent enough week, as I surpassed 30,000 steps for the fourth straight week and ran my streak of 4000+ days to 13.  Things got off to an ok start on Sunday, falling just 8 steps away from 4100.  An increase on Monday led to 4600 steps.  A slight drop on Tuesday left me with exactly 4300 steps.  Wednesday saw another slight decrease, as I needed 35 more steps to reach 4100.  A lunchtime walk around the block on Thursday left me 26 steps shy of 4900.  A morning appointment at the doctor’s office led to 5200 steps on Friday.  A rainy Saturday wrapped the week up with 4200 steps.

Total steps: 31,416

Daily average: 4488

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Fitbit 12 – Week 6

A return to seasonably appropriate weather did not stop me from reaching 30,000 steps for the third straight week.  Things got off to an ok start on Sunday, falling 29 steps away from 4000.  An increase on Monday led to 4400 steps.  A slight drop on Tuesday left me with 4100 steps.  Wednesday saw a slight increase, as I needed 14 more steps to reach 4200.  A trip to the office on Thursday left me just 6 steps shy of 4700.  Another work visit, plus a morning appointment at the doctor’s office, ended Friday a mere 5 steps short of 5400.  A cool Saturday wrapped the week up with 4400 steps.

Total steps: 31,213

Daily average: 4459