A Challenge within a Challenge ... March 9th, 2012

Wow, March is off to the races and what an amazing race it is turning into.  In case you are not sure as to what race I am talking about it is the race to 1 Billion Steps that the 1 Year 1000 Challenge Community has undertaken.  Before I get more into the 1 Billion Steps, and the "challenge within the challenge" that is the purpose of this post, lets do a few quick house cleaning notes.

Please remember to post all weekly totals to the 1000 Challenge page please include a picture with your total.  I ask this for several reasons: it helps me keep track of the numbers, it helps me record everything in case there was ever a dispute, and it makes our community album look so cool with all of us and our achievements in there... it is also important as we achieve we celebrate along the way, together. :)

For those of us who want to post more frequently and include daily pictures, comments, and be all out cheerleaders, please continue to post these directly to the 1 Billion Steps event page.  I love going on here and seeing all of your day to day progress.  You all are doing AMAZING things, I am beyond proud and inspired by each and every one of you. :)

Lastly, I mentioned this in the last Ustream chat and I wanted to re-enforce it one more time here.  Please, please, please refrain from posting any sort of political, charitable, or similar posts on the 1000 Challenge Page.  I want to maintain the integrity of the page as a place for all of us to go to learn, grow, and inspire one another in our pursuits to achieve our fullest potential in life.  In order to do this I want to respect everyone's religious, political, social, spiritual and all other beliefs.   Thank you for understanding and being respectful of this.

Ok, on to the 1 Billion Challenge.

I mean it when I say, WOW!!  What we all have done so far is beyond AMAZING!  In the first 3-4 days we racked up nearly 3 MILLION, that is right, MILLION steps as a group!! 

What is even more Amazing is the numbers you all are posting this week appear to be higher than ones you were posting last week!!!!  My personal favorite is reading about how much fun you all are having doing this.  In addition to reading about all of you who finding new and creative ways to get those extra steps in.

EXERCISE IS FUN!!! :)

I must admit I have been having lots of fun with this challenge and have been pushing myself to get those extra steps in that I normally would not.  I have been walking more, parking further away, driving less, and feeling better... what an amazing experience this has been and to be a part of it with all of you - makes it all the better! :)

Seeing all these big numbers come in got me to thinking what could i possibly do?  What would be a great single day goal for me to shoot for?  Could I possibly walk, 30,000 steps in a day, 40,000?  70,000??

I ran a marathon once so between that and the extra walking I did that day I figure I probably did in total about 30 miles which would be about 60,000 steps.  That was when I was in fantastic running/walking/hiking shape.

Well I sure do like a challenge and I thought what better time to really challenge myself than to do it at a time when every single step counts.

My Dad's birthday is on Sunday, March 25th, he would have been 62 years old.  I thought it would be really cool if I set an extremely large goal and attempted it on my Dad's birthday as a kind of walk to honor him.  Then I thought it would be even cooler to invite all of you, the members of the 1 Year 1000 Challenge Community from all over the world to participate in this event with me.

So here is what I propose, Sunday, March 25th, 2012, my Dad's Birthday, if you have some extra time that day, set an enormously large goal of steps to walk that day.  Make it a goal to have the 25th be your largest single day step total of the entire challenge.   What do you all think?  Do you want to join me and take on a challenge within a challenge.

I will be walking to honor and remember my Dad that day, you as well could pick someone or something as your reason why you are walking and share it with all of us?  You could walk for a family pet that passed away, a best friend who suddenly died, for a cancer patient who is unable to walk at present time.  Whatever or whoever it is, pick a cause or someone beyond yourself, set a goal that will be a challenge for you to reach, lace up your walking shoes and join me on Sunday March 25th.  And if you just want to walk for the simple joy of walking, do that too. 

I have several friends that will be walking with me on and off throughout the day here in Santa Barbara.  See if you can get some friends and family to join you.

My goal, is 100,000 steps in a single day.  I want to see if I can walk 50 miles, 100,000 steps in a single day.  I want to do this as a challenge for myself.  I want to do it as a way to honor my Dad. AND, I want to do it as a way to honor each and everyone of you who are challenging yourself to achieve the best life has to offer.

So what do you say?  Anyone want to take this challenge on with me?

Carpe Diem,

Jesse