Last month, I fell short of my monthly walking goal for the first time since I stopped working 30 months ago. My goal is 12,000 steps a day and I’ve reached at least that many steps whether sunny, rainy, cold, or snowy until I averaged just 11,755 in October.
Related: Fitness Activity in Early Retirement
I could have probably jumped on the treadmill for ~75 minutes on Halloween night to keep the streak going, but instead I was munching on some trick-or-treat candy. 🙂
It’s hardest to get my steps in when the weather isn’t the best, yet this is also my favorite time of year to be outside. Last night, Old Man Winter dropped a couple of inches of snow in our area and it made the neighborhood come alive with early Christmastime magic.
I like to head out for a walk right as twilight sets in after sunset. For us, that’s right about 4:32p now. It’s much earlier than I could have gotten out walking when I was still working, as I typically got home long after dusk this time of year.
Right at twilight the neighborhood Christmas light timers click on and for the next hour, the lights gleam bright and I have the sidewalks to myself (unless my wife joins me). It’s really perfect to walk and see the day quickly turn to night. At Christmastime, this ‘blue hour’ is a true Yuletide spectacle as the twinkling lights reflect off the new fallen snow. Any temperatures above 20 F is plenty warm for me to get out and our average is 31 F right now.
We have just a few days left in November now, but even after having a few sedentary board meeting days early in the month, I’ll easily beat my monthly steps goal this month. It will be a new streak hopefully lasting as long as the last one. It’s made simple when you are ‘walking in a winter wonderland’.
Image Credit: (c) MrFireStation.com
MrFireStation 
Do you know what? Getting my steps in is one of the things that I’m most concerned about when I hit FI. At the moment my walk to and from the station every day at each end of my commute means that I get my 12,000 (I’ve got the same target you) in without really having to think about it. I listen to podcasts or just watch the seasons changing and its great.
Weekends and when I’m on holiday that just falls off a cliff (7,000-8,000 steps). I know that I can build other routines in but I feel that misses the point. What do you do to manage to get them in or is it just your normal daily activities?
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I simply track my steps everyday as if it is my JOB now. My Dad once said, “When you retire, your work is your health.” I don’t always like to do it everyday, but I didn’t like work everyday either! I walk outside, play tennis, golf, play softball, run on treadmill, and do league curling. It’s your new job!!
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