94,969 Steps in 5 Days – An Amazing FitBit Challenge

So much sweat had poured out of my body that my clothes were drenched. The wet cloth dragging across my skin was agonizing. Between the chaffing and the fatigue, I didn’t know if I could go on. I wanted to quit but the thought brought on a swell of pride. I dug deep and kept telling myself “Beat or Bitch, which is it going to be?”

That is how my night came to a close on Friday. While the party-people were out having a great time at the start of a long weekend, I was in my basement doing battle with a treadmill. You see, earlier in the week I posted about a FitBit Work Week Hustle Challenge that I was in with a few friends. That challenge was coming down to the wire and I didn’t want to lose.

The front runners in the challenge were myself, Jerry, and Carlos. All three of us were well over our daily goal throughout the week and managed to stay close to one another in the step count. I would wake up early in the morning, hit the gym, and came home with the lead. In the afternoon Carlos would go for a run and take the lead. In the evening Jerry would sneak in a late walk and take the top position. The three of us were jockeying for position every day.

When Friday rolled around, everyone brought their A-Game. I made a trip to the gym and spent 45 minutes on the treadmill adding about 10,000 steps to my daily tally. As I was on the treadmill I received a FitBit notification that Jerry was on the move. He must have been working out at the same time that I was.

As evening approached, Jerry and I were a few hundred steps apart but Carlos took a commanding lead. If I wanted a shot at winning the challenge I would need to tack on about 10,000 more steps. With a few hours to go in the challenge, I hopped onto the treadmill.

My goal was to run for 45 minutes and add 8,000 – 9,000 steps to my tally. This would separate me from Jerry and give me a shot at jumping over Carlos. Everyone must have had the same idea. As I ran along on the treadmill I started getting constant updates on how Jerry and Carlos were in a fight for first place.

I knew that what I originally had in mind wasn’t going to be enough but I kept going. When I hit the magic 45 minute mark, I just kept going. I told myself there was plenty of gas left in my tank to make it to 60 minutes. When 60 minutes came, I kept running. I still have a little fight left in me, just a couple more minutes.

When 65 minutes arrived I was ready to begin my cool-down. That is when I saw the distance meter read out something like 4.3 miles. I haven’t ran five miles since I was in high school, how awesome would it be if I could pull off that accomplishment?

I pulled my hand away from the control panel and poured everything I had into hitting the five mile mark. My clothes were soaked, skin at key points of my body began to burn, and I was breathing heavy. Every minute that ticked by I would give myself a pep talk. As CT Fletcher likes to say Beast or Bitch, which is it going to be?

I hit the five mile mark at seventy five minutes. It wasn’t fast, by any means, but it was my biggest fitness accomplishment to date. My skin felt raw, my legs felt like jello, but I did it. All I had to do was get out of my own way and resolve to make it happen.

Thanks to Carlos, Jerry, Tony, and Elisabelle I’ve had my biggest week ever on FitBit. I’m damn proud of myself with 94,969 steps in a five day period. I hope to make these challenges a regular occurrence as this one was tremendously motivational.

If you have a FitBit and would like to join us
drop me a line and we’ll try to get you involved