Two or three times a day it will tell me how many steps I've racked up so far. Occasionally it will send me a challenge to try to motivate me to move more. And for some reason, it seems very concerned when my band hasn't synced recently. The app is a little needy.
I notice most of these messages, but I have to admit, they usually don't get more than a glance.
Today, though, it sent me one that made me stop in my tracks...
Holy. Shit!
That number... 1,5000,000!
It was world-rocking... 1.5 Million steps, in less than a year.
I'm a math major. I have a really good idea of what one million is. It's a whole hell of a lot. Seriously, it's an assload.
And I moved 1.5 Million steps... without really trying. That boggles my fucking mind.
Ok, those of you who have done the math already know that my average is only 5000 steps a day, half what is recommended. Those of you who are getting your 10K steps a day are hitting over 3 Million a year.
But that's not the point, really.
My body, which is way past its warranty period, has remained more or less upright for 1.5 Million repetitions of walking, or running, without any real wear.
In 301 days.
That is remarkable. To think that my knees, hips, all of those little muscles and bones in my feet, have survived, unscathed, from well over 1,000,000 repetitions of the walking gait. Seriously... remarkable.
I feel very fortunate.
And it sure as hell makes me think... How many steps have I taken in my life? How many do I have left?
We move way more than we think we do.
We rely on our bodies way more than we are aware.
Imagine for a second, that it's not mine, but your knees and ankles and tendons and muscles and tissues moving that many times, supporting your weight, taking the shock, maintaining balance, moving you forward.
Now imagine that with every step, there is pain. Just a little pain, but pain nonetheless.
What if you had to feel that pain over 1,000,000 times a year? That's 3000 times a day.
Can you think of any pain small enough that you could bare it over 3000 times a day, 187 times per hour, about every 3 seconds you are awake? Neither can I.
If that were me, I'm pretty sure I'd move as little as possible.
And I can promise you, I'd be a royal pain in the ass to be around if I couldn't move across the surface of the planet as I pleased.
Take good care of your body. Stretch, workout, cross-train, keep/get your weight under control. Back off when you have pain. See a sports doc if it doesn't get better.
We have millions and millions of steps ahead of us. Let's make sure we get each and every one.
Good running!
Doug
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