January 2020 Walking Update – Month In Review
Below is a table covering the daily step total for the month of January 2020. You will also find a look at the other overall numbers for the month along with some of my thoughts for the month.
January Daily Steps
| Day | Steps Walked |
| 1 | 15,963 |
| 2 | 17,168 |
| 3 | 15,885 |
| 4 | 19,617 |
| 5 | 17,682 |
| 6 | 17,712 |
| 7 | 16,837 |
| 8 | 20,758 |
| 9 | 18,012 |
| 10 | 22,451 |
| 11 | 19,797 |
| 12 | 18,664 |
| 13 | 20,099 |
| 14 | 16,874 |
| 15 | 16,968 |
| 16 | 15,605 |
| 17 | 17,117 |
| 18 | 19,130 |
| 19 | 20,386 |
| 20 | 21,019 |
| 21 | 20,795 |
| 22 | 20,215 |
| 23 | 21,445 |
| 24 | 23,110 |
| 25 | 21,586 |
| 26 | 21,397 |
| 27 | 21,893 |
| 28 | 18,009 |
| 29 | 20,992 |
| 30 | 21,418 |
| 31 | 20,872 |
| Total | 599,476 |
Looking at The Numbers
For the month of January, I achieved my daily step goal 31 days. The month saw me walk 599,476 steps with a daily average of 19,338 steps.
The day with the most steps was the 24th of January with 23,110 steps. The day with the lowest steps was the 16th of January, with just 15,605 steps.
Walking Thoughts for January
January as it would turn out was the month of missed opportunities or at least failed record attempts. I came the closest for the best week and best month since I first set those records for myself. But on both records failed to meet the required numbers.
Missing my record for the most steps in a single week is something I won’t go over again. I discussed that in the weekly update for week 4, 2020, which you can go back and read if you like. The basic summary is that I thought about trying for my record week only to find what I thought I needed was considerably short of the actual.
I got very close to achieving the record for the most steps in a single month since I started recording my steps. I set this record for myself back in October 2015, with 602,989 steps for the month. Previously, the closest I got was March in 2016 with 573,056 steps and otherwise not even close.
January the total steps came in at 599,476, just 3,513 steps short of the record. I dropped the ball on this one. Even just a little planning on the last day of January could have secured a record for me.
I knew that I would be close and On the evening of the 30th I noticed the battery was getting low on my Fitbit. Instead of charging the battery that night, I thought it would be fine until the following day. Towards the end of the 31st I noticed that it was not recording all my steps. Even at one point I know I walked 100 steps, and it did not count a single one. It is a problem I have experienced before seemingly when the battery is low. Yet knowing the position I was in, I let it get to this point.
If you look back at the numbers for each day throughout the month early on, I was on target anyway. Until the 20th I had only 5 days above the daily average, I would need to reach the target. It was only the above average steps for the last 10 days of the month that even got me this close.
Having achieved this in January, knowing what I need to do I think it will be a sure thing that I will break the record this year for the best month. A Queensland summer was probably not the best time to try. The next best opportunities will be March or May. Just because they need a lower daily average to break the record. In February or April, I would need 20,000 or more steps every single day for the month on average.
Finally, just a note on my goal for the year which throughout the month I increased to 7 million steps. I think the total for this month puts me in a good starting position towards this goal. There is still a long way to go to reach the goal, but I got an ever so small lead over the goal from January of 6,000 steps.
Overall, I think January has been a rather good month for my walking. Despite missing two records, that would have been nice to get. But all said and done it has been the best month walking that I have had in a few years.