I am my own real-life tamagotchi...

So, four weeks into this 'walking around vaguely purposefully' thing and, much to my surprise, I'm still managing my ten thousand steps a day. It seemed like quite a lot when I started and, unless I make the effort, it still does.

I can pick up an easy thousand or so walking from Ipswich station to my office, and another thousand back in the evening. Walking for half an hour around the town centre at lunchtime is another four thousand or so, and I can pick up two thousand or so in my office, photocopying something, making coffee, fetching a glass of water, that sort of thing. The extra two thousand requires more thought though.

So I've taken to looking for those extra steps if I can. If I'm early at Stowmarket station, I can walk up and down the platform for ten minutes or so, which helps, and I get in a few more steps by doing the same at Ipswich on the way home. And, if all else fails, a T-shaped loop around my village, walking to each of the three edges of its built-up area, is about two thousand steps (much to my immense surprise).

All of this is measured by the Fitbit app on my iPhone. It also sets me a target for drinking water, something that I'm not particularly good at as a rule. However, it does seem to act as a prompt, and water is supposedly good for me, so I'm making sure that I drink the required amount each day.

So, so far, so good.

Interestingly, one unexpected side effect is that I look for household chores to do that require me to take some steps - laundry, restocking the logs next to our wood-burning stove, loading the dishwasher. And, this weekend, going to the supermarket.

Creeting St Peter doesn't have a supermarket but, fortunately Cedars Park has a largish Tesco on its edge, even more fortunately at the Creeting end, so I walked there yesterday and today, slightly disappointed to find that it's only three thousand steps each way. The first half of the walk is through the fields, and it is a bit muddy at the moment. However, today's walk was improved somewhat by the sight of an egret at fairly close quarters.

My first challenge is looming large though...