Anything Goes August Step Challenge and Scavenger Hunt

[Baltoscott]

Jaunty July is coming to an end and it is time to start a new step challenge.  @Jotex suggested calling this one Anything Goes August as in the great Cole Porter song. 

Anything Goes?  Like July it’s hot in the Northern hemisphere, but this month we also begin to lament the end of summer and rush to cram in vacations and finish summer projects we should have started in June.  With all that it is easy to forget to take care of yourself so now is your chance to write down your step and a few other goals for the month.  Then you can report in every few days to keep yourself honest.  And in the spirit of Anything Goes, maybe add a few taps to your basic step goals.

General monthly instructions are below, but this month I’m adding a picture scavenger hunt:  

Take your phone or other camera on your walks look for, snap, and post three pics or more of the following: 1 - some sort of Danger or Warning sign or image like “falling rocks” or “slippery when wet,” the odder the better; 2 - a posted map of something like a downtown walking map, or a park trail map; and 3 a movie or theatre marquee.  Just post here as you find them and add a line or internet link about what you are posting.   (Thanks @Ennay for the pic)     

inspiration :                                                    

   
How It Works:

The primary purpose of these monthly challenges is to keep track of your daily step goals for the month; though many of us track other things as well, like body weight exercises, sleep, trips to the gym, logging food, etc. This is not a competition to see who can do the most of whatever, instead it is a challenge to measure your consistency. So whether you do 1k, 5k, 10k or even 40k steps a day, this is measuring how many days out of the monthly total you can hit your goal.

Some might have a constant goal of 10k steps every single day and others might have a variable goal throughout the week, (and some might even plan days off!) for example.
Monday -> Friday = 10k steps a day
Sat & Sun = “6k steps a day,” or “not tracking”

Regardless of how you structure your daily goals, the only thing that matters for the monthly challenge is whether or not you reach what you set out to do.

Suggested Posting Format.       
1) Post either your constant or variable step goal.
2) Keep track of the # of daily goals achieved out of the monthly minimum and or monthly total

Although you certainly don’t have to post daily, you’ll likely stay closer to what you set out to do by updating the thread several times/week

Injury Notice
If you injure yourself during the month and need to scale back due to the injury, then all you have to do is adjust your goal for that period. If you normally do 10k steps a day but pull a hamstring and decide to do minimal walking (2k steps a day), then all you have to do is change your goal.

[NellyG]

@SunsetRunner and @CatLover74  Yes we are right across the bottom of Australia. All southerners!

14 August

10,000 steps a day for 20 days                   12/20         

Swim 2x per week                                         1/2         4/9                 

Dance 6 hours a week                                  3/4         13/26    

One Interval walk or bike ride per week     -/1         2/4

Post 3 Scavenger Hunt Pictures                 3/3

[lavabelle]

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Oh gosh, my honest answer would have to be “I don’t run!” 😉 As a ‘walker’, 20,000 steps for me is about 12 miles.  I am not fast, but I am building endurance to go further and walk longer. To think, when I started about 11 months ago when I bought my fitbit I could barely walk for 20 minutes, and now I can go 2 hours or so — if I set my mind to do that. Maybe it’s my inner coach’s voice that says “Today’s the day - go for it!” Truthfully, ALL of you are my motivating coaches. 

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@Jotex That is awesome progress!! Good job! It takes a really long time to become a runner, even longer to really enjoy it. Running pretty much sucks until your body adapts, but once it does...running is by far my favorite exercise!!!

[Jotex]

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@lavabelle wrote:

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Oh gosh, my honest answer would have to be “I don’t run!” 😉 As a ‘walker’, 20,000 steps for me is about 12 miles.  I am not fast, but I am building endurance to go further and walk longer. To think, when I started about 11 months ago when I bought my fitbit I could barely walk for 20 minutes, and now I can go 2 hours or so — if I set my mind to do that. Maybe it’s my inner coach’s voice that says “Today’s the day - go for it!” Truthfully, ALL of you are my motivating coaches. 

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@Jotex That is awesome progress!! Good job! It takes a really long time to become a runner, even longer to really enjoy it. Running pretty much sucks until your body adapts, but once it does...running is by far my favorite exercise!!!

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Thanks a lot @lavabelle! I want to gradually increase my speed, so who knows. Running may be in my future! I see I made a tiny error in my post, and wrote miles instead of kilometers. 20,000 steps is roughly 8,000 miles (so far today). 

Anything Goes — August 14

15 x 10,000 steps —4/15 days

10 x 15,000 steps — 3/10 days 

2 x 20,000 steps — 4/2 days

15 x Strength training — 2/15 days 

3 Scavenger Hunt Photos — 3/3

It seems Instapots are presently not available in Europe. Will keep checking back til I get one!

[lavabelle]

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Thanks a lot @lavabelle! I want to gradually increase my speed, so who knows. Running may be in my future! I see I made a tiny error in my post, and wrote miles instead of kilometers. 20,000 steps is roughly 8,000 miles (so far today). 

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Do you mean 8 miles? 🙂 20 000 steps is also about 8 miles, or 12 km for me. 

[WendyB]

And now here is a turtle taking advantage of the Turtle crossing sign. Almost didn't see him

 Going from the lake to the Marsh area

[Jotex]

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@lavabelle wrote:

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Thanks a lot @lavabelle! I want to gradually increase my speed, so who knows. Running may be in my future! I see I made a tiny error in my post, and wrote miles instead of kilometers. 20,000 steps is roughly 8,000 miles (so far today). 

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Do you mean 8 miles? 🙂 20 000 steps is also about 8 miles, or 12 km for me. 

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Yes @lavabelle. I was just about to edit that but you were first, and you're absolutely right. Apologies. I was a bit tired and hungry. Should always WAIT to post until I've caught my breath and had a bite to eat. Thanks!

[GershonSurge]

 

@Jotex,

I was trying to picture how long your legs are until you corrected the error.

@lavabelle,

Dr. Ken Cooper, the inventor of the word Aerobics, said you have to run a little every day for six months to get the running habit.  In my case, I became addicted the first time I ran more than 20 minutes without stopping.

My best motivator is some chore I want to put off. 

[Baltoscott]

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@WendyB wrote:

And now here is a turtle taking advantage of the Turtle crossing sign. Almost didn't see him

 ....

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And now we know why there is a sign @WendyB 

[lavabelle]

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@lavabelle,

Dr. Ken Cooper, the inventor of the word Aerobics, said you have to run a little every day for six months to get the running habit.  In my case, I became addicted the first time I ran more than 20 minutes without stopping.

My best motivator is some chore I want to put off. 

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yes, definitely being able to run a moderate amount of time without wanting to die is a great way to get "addicted" 🙂 For me, the best is being able to run and my heart rate is stable between 120-130 bpm...that tells me my body has adapted and I truly enjoy it!! If I can sustain that for 45-60 minutes...I'm in running heaven!! 🙂

I never thought of procrastinating to get running...lol... good one 🙂

[Baltoscott]

August 14

Use Instapot 4 times	3/4
15K steps/day	13/31
1 pushup/day	13/31
13 weight-lifting days	7/13
post 3 scavenger hunt pics	3/3
Sleep 6+ hours 12 days or more during the month	7/12
Weight loss of 2-4 lbs	0.9

[Jotex]

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@GershonSurge wrote:

@Jotex,

I was trying to picture how long your legs are until you corrected the error.

.... My best motivator is some chore I want to put off. 

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You made me smile @GershonSurge. 😂😂😂  Yeah, some errors are just so goofy 🙃 they’re howlers! 

I hear ya on the procastination thing. But I might just as easily fall into social networking and put off walking. 

[WendyB]

Aug 14

Steps: Goal right now is 9000 12/31
Boxing 31 days: 14/31
Bike 2 times 31 days: 14/31 Did this 3 times today for some reason. Wanted to watch a show
Weights 14 days: 6/31
Lose 3 Pounds 2.5/3
250 Steps per hour 13/31
Post Scavenger hunt photos 3/3

[CatLover74]

August 15

10,000 steps a day for at least 20 days of the month  -  12/20.

1 walk per week along the foreshore of my local beach (should be fun in an Australian winter)  -  3/4.

At least 7 hours sleep on at least 15 days of the month  -  13/15.

10 wall pushups a day on at least 15 days of the month  -  15/15.

Post 3 scavenger hunt pictures  -  3/3.

Just about half way through the month, and I'm on track for my goals.  Missed my sleep goal by half an hour last night, and my headache's letting me know I didn't get what I needed.  I'll need to step it up if I want to meet my step goal too (need to do 10,000 on at least 8 of the remaining 16 days of the month).

[SunsetRunner]

Day Fifteen of August.

1. Steps=5000 - 14/31 - missed a day last week. 

2. 2 km walks - 6/8 

3. 3 scavenger pictures: 2/3.

Raining all day today so I decided to stay indoors and just managed to make the target steps.

[GershonSurge]

 

I happen to have a runner's soul. Physically, I can't do what I could do even five years ago, but running is in the mind, not the body. Perhaps, I should call myself a turtle runner. I run for 20 seconds and then rest from running by walking for 20 seconds. I rest from walking by running for 20 seconds. Over and over until I'm done. I  also have a walking soul, so everyone is happy until we are done. Since we were resting the whole time, there is a sense of disappointment, and we can't wait to go out again.

I run almost every day not because it's smart but because I have to. Sometimes, injury or illness forces a long break, but that is part of running, too.

Everyone here has a different soul, and it's fun to watch everyone honor that soul. As @Jotex said, you are all motivating coaches.

[NellyG]

15 August

10,000 steps a day for 20 days                   13/20         

Swim 2x per week                                         1/2         4/9                 

Dance 6 hours a week                                  3/4         13/26    

One Interval walk or bike ride per week     -/1         2/4

Post 3 Scavenger Hunt Pictures                 3/3

[Jotex]

Anything Goes — August 15

15 x 10,000 steps —5/15 days

10 x 15,000 steps — 3/10 days 

2 x 20,000 steps — 4/2 days

15 x Strength training — 2/15 days 

3 Scavenger Hunt Photos — 3/3

[Baltoscott]

August 15

Use Instapot 4 times	3/4
15K steps/day	14/31
1 pushup/day	14/31
13 weight-lifting days	8/13
post 3 scavenger hunt pics	3/3
Sleep 6+ hours 12 days or more during the month	7/12
Weight loss of 2-4 lbs	0.9

I wasn't excited about going to the gym this morning, but after getting started, I almost enjoyed it.  And now that it's done, I am pretty happy I did it.

[WendyB]

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@Baltoscott wrote:

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@WendyB wrote:

And now here is a turtle taking advantage of the Turtle crossing sign. Almost didn't see him

 ....

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And now we know why there is a sign @WendyB 

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Yep you got that right @Baltoscott

[WendyB]

Aug 15

Steps: Goal right now is 9000 13/31
Boxing 31 days: 15/31
Bike 2 times 31 days: 15/31
Weights 14 days: 7/31
Lose 3 Pounds 2.5/3
250 Steps per hour 14/31
Post Scavenger hunt photos 3/3