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.

[WendyB]

---

@GershonSurge wrote:

My training team got together this morning and decided I should dramatically increase my daily miles. The day starts at 3:45 am with a 90-100 minute slow run. This will be followed by a 60-minute recovery run about an hour later. The recovery run is a little faster.

They want me to do at least 10 miles a day with no rest days. I think they are crazy.

@GershonSurge this sound very strenous. No rest days does not sound right to me either.

Please take care snd listen to your body. I would hate to see you hurt due to this schedule

[Baltoscott]

August 11

Use Instapot 4 times	2/4
15K steps/day	10/31
1 pushup/day	10/31
13 weight-lifting days	6/13
post 3 scavenger hunt pics	3/3
Sleep 6+ hours 12 days or more during the month	5/12
Weight loss of 2-4 lbs	0.6

With all the talk of theaters, we went downtown to see a movie yesterday.  We have the moviepass services, but with its financial difficulties, it is only working at one place in town right now, so we were down in the tourist area.  We had a good time, and went out to eat after.  The only problem is that I didn't finish up my steps for the day.  So missed that one.  

On the plus side, I got some danger signs on the workout equipment at the gym yesterday morning.  

OuchI noticed this one because I had the bar catch below the red line 🙂 ... I wasn't doing squats, thoughMore Ouch

[WendyB]

@Baltoscott is that like a smashing your hand symbol? I can see it on some machines you posted but not others.

Course it takes all types so im sure it happened

[Baltoscott]

@WendyB — yeah.  Smashing hand.  I guess some weight-lifting types aren’t too bright.  

[NellyG]

@GershonSurge Your training team sure is tough on you!

A quokka is a small marsupial native to Western Australia. It is about the size of a small domestic cat. You dont see them a lot as they are mainly nocturnal. They hop rather than walk. They are cute little things.

[WendyB]

I want one @NellyG. Can you catch it and send it? Just kidding. Sure is cute

[Homefrontgirl]

August goals:

8,000 steps per day 11/31

[NellyG]

@WendyB Yes they are cute. I dont think they do well in the mail though, so perhaps not! We had one (well actually a bandicoot - but very similar) living in our garden for a while. He has moved on now but I liked having him there.

[SunsetRunner]

Day Twelve of August.

1. Steps=5000 - 11/31. 

2. 2 km walks - 5/8 

Went for a walk around Lake Guy, which is at Bogong Village on the way up to Falls Creek snow resort. It wasn't sunny after all, but the rain was merely a very light drizzle.

3. 3 scavenger pictures: 2/3. 

Here are some photos from today's walk.

Lake Guy from the dam. Bogong Village to the right. You might just see the faint rainbow.A creek at a junction with another creek, flowing into Lake Guy.Some of the trees from the walk.I've seen platypus here, though not today.Another sign - yabbies are freshwater crayfish.

[CatLover74]

August 12

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

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  -  11/15.

10 wall pushups a day on at least 15 days of the month  -  12/15.

Post 3 scavenger hunt pictures  -  3/3.

Only made my sleep goal by 4 minutes today, but I got there in the end.

[GershonSurge]

@WendyB

Thank you for expressing your concern. That took some courage. 

Perhaps, I should tell you about my coaching team. Most of them are parts of my mind.

Jeff Galloway (real life) is my running coach. I use the run-walk method of running. When I was doing 25,000 steps a day back in February, he was always telling me I can't run too slowly. By alternating 20 seconds of running with 20 seconds of walking, I'm essentially doing two different activities, so I never feel fatigued. If I do, I cut the day short.

My Coach is that person we talk to when we talk to ourselves. We mostly communicate through my journal, but we often talk at other times during the day. He intercedes between my conscious mind and my subconscious mind. Lately, he has been telling me about other levels of my subconscious mind.

Autopilot takes over when my conscious mind completely dissociates from running. This happens most often when my Coach and I discuss something while we run.

My nutritionist is a combination of experts who recommend a whole food plant-based diet. My real life oncologist supports this way of eating and is quite strict. He is also in favor of the type of exercise I do. He gave me permission to drop to 152 lbs., which I've done. 

I just met my Supernal Coach (not a religious connotation), who is more deeply hidden in my mind. He will be monitoring voice cues from Fitbit today to make sure I don't go too fast. My job will be to completely dissociate and not pass judgment on the decisions he makes.

My Efficiency Expert has worked with activities I do while not running, and he devises ways to complete them in less time and with less effort. This frees up energy for running.

My prime directive to all my coaches is "No pain, more gain." We always back off at the slightest indication of pain in a critical area. We also know when we can progress gently through pain to help an area get stronger or to heal.

I follow the Maffetone method of running and keep my heart rate in the Maximum Aerobic Function range. That's 180 minus my age to 10 beats below. By putting a governor on my heart rate, I force other systems to improve. I'm not allowed to look at my watch while running. Autopilot takes care of it.

The most difficult thing will be maintaining my weight. 

Time to go run. I may post more later.

[NellyG]

August 12

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

Swim 2x per week                                         2/2         3/9                 

Dance 6 hours a week                                  5/4         10/26    

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

Post 3 Scavenger Hunt Pictures                 3/3

From my bike ride today on the cycle path

[lavabelle]

@GershonSurge your description of your coaches really gave me a chuckle 🙂 Glad to hear you are a cautious runner...cautious runners end up lasting longer and get less or no injuries 🙂 The aim is to be a lifelong runner, great job!

[lavabelle]

August 11 Update

15 000 Steps a day 11/31

1000 calorie deficit per day - 20 days minimum 9/31

Scavenger hunt pictures 2/3

I posted some of this in the weight in section, but wanted to share here also...I have another full week of work then a 3 weeks vacation.

I really like my work week routine, I have found something that works well for me. I get up at 5am and do a 90-120 min walk/run Monday - Friday, then after work I like to do another 90-120 min walk. I have found that my afternoon walks have not been getting done, as it is so hot here, although when I do end up going out into a cool forest, it's not so bad and I really enjoy the afternoon walks.

On the weekends I do almost the same thing, except I get up between 5-7 depending on how much sleep my body needs...I don't set an alarm. I take my time with my coffee and then go out for my first walk (90-120). Sometimes I like to go for what I call long walks...3-4 hours. My longest has been about 6 hours, I basically just go until I can't go anymore, I really enjoy challenging myself this way, and I found out I really enjoy long distances walking. I have been mostly walking. I am leaving running until I have stopped restricting calories, although I still run, because I enjoy it so much, but only usually for 20-30 mins, I did a 50 min run last week, which left me feeling great, but mostly I walk.

I have also started hiking, we have so many nice places around here, but my body is taking a while to adjust to the elevation gains, a lot longer than I had expected. I plan on doing mostly hiking during my 3 week staycation. It's interesting how we change over the years, I was always a very fast runner, never really enjoyed long distances, had to work really hard at going long, and really did not enjoy it. But now I find myself really enjoying longer distances and getting so much satisfaction in training 🙂 I used to hate training...I just want to race and win, nope not anymore, I am enjoying the journey of training my body to be the best version of itself so much this time around 🙂 I also have no desire to "race" anyone...don't know if I ever will again...I might have transitioned into a long distance endurance athlete, and competing against my personal best gives me so much satisfaction, than I don't really care about being better than someone else...it has removed a lot of stress of of me...I used to be very competitive, didn't realize how stressful that was...until now. 🙂

Thank for reading this very long rambling...:)

[GershonSurge]

@lavabelle

I think we have one of the same coaches in our heads. I ran my last race in 1984 -- the San Francisco Marathon. I don't remember a bit of it except just before the start someone was passing out donuts and I ate three of them. I also recall that I broke my 10k PR twice in a row after the first five miles. Suddenly, I was at the finish line in 3:21:02. Afterward, I played a couple of sets of tennis with a friend. 

I never ran another race again. I moved to Plattsburgh, NY, which is 10 miles south of the Canadian border. I still ran, but not for time. I ran the three-wheeler trails in the woods. I didn't want to ruin running with racing. 

I naturally start slowly and accelerate my stride rate throughout the run. These are my two runs for today.

Now, I have some good news about calorie deficits. Right now, mine is about 1,500. I'll have to eat the rest of the day to catch up.

I eat a whole food plant-based diet. This means:

1. No animal products of any kind.

2. No oils like olive oil, etc.

3. No processed foods.

4. Starches in their natural state for calories, greens, vegetables and fruits for vitamins and minerals..

It's about 77% carbs, 8% fat and 13% protein. (I know it doesn't add up exactly).

Here's the thing. Since your body contains excess fats, you don't need to eat much fat. The fat you have will cover any deficit. Therefore, you will never feel hungry or lose performance like when you have a calorie deficit in a diet that contains fat. When I was losing weight, I routinely maintained a 1300-1800 calorie deficit. Most people don't know there is no process in the human body to convert carbs to fat unless they don't eat any animal products and are approaching starvation mode. Then some bacteria in the intestines convert non-soluble carbs to fat. In my opinion, since the bacteria is plant-based, there may be some photosynthesis going on.

Time to start cooking.

[WendyB]

Aug 12

Steps: Goal right now is 9000 10/31
Boxing 31 days: 12/31
Bike 2 times 31 days: 121/31
Weights 14 days: 5/31
Lose 3 Pounds 2.5/3
250 Steps per hour 10/31
Post Scavenger hunt photos 3/3

Picture from walk today

[Jotex]

Anything Goes — August 12

15 x 10,000 steps —3/15 days

10 x 15,000 steps — 3/10 days 

2 x 20,000 steps — 3/2 days

15 x Strength training — 2/15 days 

3 Scavenger Hunt Photos — 3/3

Went for a real walk this afternoon in our town and got my other Scavenger pics! Whoa! 😁

Map showing zones for trains (people buy special passes by # of zones — 1, 2 or 3 zones. It’s 3 zones from Belp to Bern.

Name of Theater: cinema around the corner

All movie theaters in Switzerland will only charge CHF 5.- for a film (@⅓ price!)

As close to a marquee as we het

Map showing hospital and senior residence area

[WendyB]

Great Pics @Jotex

[Baltoscott]

August 12

Use Instapot 4 times	3/4
15K steps/day	11/31
1 pushup/day	11/31
13 weight-lifting days	6/13
post 3 scavenger hunt pics	3/3
Sleep 6+ hours 12 days or more during the month	6/12
Weight loss of 2-4 lbs	0.9

Goals are ticking up ...  I updated my weight loss; another 0.3 lbs this week, taking up to 0.9 lbs for the month.  Slow and steady, but I'm going to try and increase it just a bit for next week.  Got another sleep goal day in, and I used the instapot to make black beans and chickpeas yesterday.  One week I'll try soaking them first to see if I like the texture any better, but it is pretty cool to go from dry to cooked beans in less than an hour.  

[SunsetRunner]

Day Thirteen of August.

1. Steps=5000 - 12/31. 

2. 2 km walks - 5/8 

3. 3 scavenger pictures: 2/3.