100000 Step Project Segment by Segment -Holy Crap That’s A Lot of Steps!

I hate this, but… DISCLAIMER: I am not encouraging anyone to do this, it is excessive and I train and run marathons and ultra marathons. I am simply sharing information here.

Ok, I’m glad that is out of the way, but here are a couple of more housekeeping items so that we are completely transparent. The watch that I used during this was the Fitbit Surge. I used the gps for every segment so that it would all be recorded and transparent. I also felt that the best way to get as accurate a calorie burn as possible was with the heartrate functionality. I will now take you through the details of each segment of the 100000 step day.

Morning Long Run “Any Given Sunday”: 21.4 KM’s (13.3 miles) at a 6 min 22 sec per KM pace 21256 steps.

My plan was to be out the door for my long run at 6 am, but I couldn’t sleep. So I actually started this at 5:36 am and then took it very easy knowing that I had a lot ahead of me for the day. This took me 2 hours and 17 minutes. I felt good, as this is just a part of my normal training plan. I left the house at 5:30 am and started with 305 steps and got back to the house at 7:59 am with 21561 steps. I put my Fitbit on charge and replenished my vest with food, gels, and Tailwind. I also asked Mrs. Joe the Runner to make some bacon and eggs for when I returned from the morning hike!

Hike 1 “Leisurely Stroll Through Town”: 12.2 KM’s (7.6 miles) at an 11 min 7 sec per KM pace 14110 steps.

I only hiked this segment as I thought that I would be able to hit the 100000 without doing anymore running (I was wrong!). This was a very leisurely hike through town and I even stopped to buy a rain poncho because I saw the forecast for the day had rain. I hiked back up to my house and finished this segment as follows: I left my house at 8:25 am with 21571 steps and got back to the house at 10:46 am with 35681 steps. As soon as I got in the door, I starting charging my Fitbit and replenished all of my supplies. While I was chowing down on my bacon and eggs, I did some quick math and realized I needed to pick up the pace!

Hike 2 “The One With the Hotdog”: 18.3 KM’s (11.3 miles) at a 9 min 30 sec per KM pace 18961 steps.

Ahhhh, the fun begins. I left the house at 11:11 to start this hike/run and the sun was out and the heat started to hit! About 10 KM’s in I noticed my hands were swelling, a sure sign of dehydration, so I increased fluids and electrolytes. Also, I remembered that I passed a hotdog stand on the way out, so I decided to hit it up for a nice salty hotdog on the way back home. I want to address pace, as this would normally be considered slow, but remember, by the end of this hike/run I was at 51.9 KM’s or 32.2 miles with well over 1500 feet of vertical climbing sprinkled in. I would hike for about 10 minutes and then run until I started to feel a little tired, usually about 4 or 5 minutes. I tried to keep in mind, that I still had a long ways to go, so pace was important. And that hotdog… GLORIOUS!!!

Hike 3 “Two of Every Animal”: 23.1 KM’s (14.3 miles) at a 10 min 28 sec per KM pace 27495 steps.

If you follow me on Instagram (joe_the_runner) this is the “Poop hit the fan” video post. It started pouring down rain and didn’t let up for about 3 hours. Complete suck storm! There I am with my plastic poncho, hiking/running in a torrential storm. I stopped for a coffee just to collect my freaking thoughts! (I am Italian after all!) After I left the coffee bar, I kept telling myself that “This will pass, this will pass.” As I turn the corner in the park, I see it… It’s an Arc! And there are all of these animals lined up getting on the arc. It was incredible! Ok, I might be exaggerating, but it was pouring, and it definitely impacted my pace! On the flip side, it was cool and my hydration issues went away. I also could feel the final push, so I ended up staying out longer and getting the lion’s share of the steps for the evening in during this segment. Overall I was feeling pretty good, but my right quad was starting to complain a little. I started to go home for dinner and got this txt from my wife: “Are you near a store? Can you get béchamel?” That really puts things in perspective, I’m out there humping it, and she sees an opportunity for me to multi-task! And, wtf is béchamel anyway?

Hike 4 “The Walking Dead”: 13.5 KM’s (8.4 miles) at a 12 min 31 sec pace 18007 steps.

I left the house at 7:30 pm and needed 18000 steps. In the back of my mind I knew it was very achievable, so I started to relax. And even though I knew that if I didn’t do any running, it would take longer, I just didn’t care. I put on an oversized sweatshirt because it was starting to cool down, and I just crawled around Florence. I happened to crawl by a gelateria and said “Why not?” I needed the calories! As I’m walking home and the Fitbit is getting close to 100000 I took out my phone to take a picture. I don’t know what I was expecting, but you know when you hit your goal how your Fitbit goes bananas? I thought maybe something like that. Nope! It just turned over to 100000. And that’s how it ended. In the dark; by myself; in front of my house.

Final stats for the day:

• It took me 17 hours including 1 hour and 57 minutes of breaks for meals and bathroom etc.
• 6 KM’s (56.8 miles)
• 8445 calories burned
• 100217 steps

This chart shows the plan versus what actually transpired:

My conclusion remains unchanged. There is no way that normal people with jobs and families are averaging 60000 to 100000 steps per day. There is simply not enough time in the day. In fact, 40000 to 60000 is stretching the boundaries of reality. But, as I have said before and I will say it here now, block out the noise and compete with yourself in a healthy way. Increase your goals slowly and reasonably and become a better you. Don’t believe the BS!

The next post will discuss the nutrition that was required for this and it will blow your mind!

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