Progress, Not Perfection: I'm Chasing Nimo (Not Finding Nemo)

Dear Body,

How are you doing?

I know this is the week when you typically shut down and insist that we stay in bed. If it were entirely up to you, we would be curled up under the covers with cake, chevda and absolutely no intention of reaching 10,000 steps.

But look at you.

You showed up.

One thing that stood out this week is that movement is quietly becoming part of my daily routine.

There is no longer any great fanfare around it. Moving my body is slowly becoming just another thing I do—like drinking tea in the morning or washing my hands before a meal.

I'm loving it.

And guess what else is loving it?

My sleep.

I am now averaging more than six hours of continuous sleep, and according to my dear sleep companion—also known as Garmin—both my deep sleep and REM sleep have improved significantly.

This may be the best side effect of consistent exercise, reduced alcohol and less late-night eating.

Why are people not sharing these secrets?

Oh, wait.

Most of you probably do not have sleep challenges. You are those annoying people who simply close their eyes and fall asleep.

Who are you, and where were you born?

Did you not have parents who violently woke you at 6 a.m. because there was no chance they were getting up and going about their business while you remained happily tucked in bed?

Sleep and laziness were not welcome in our home when I was growing up.

Now that I need sleep for my survival, my body appears to be carrying memories from those early-morning wake-up calls. Every night, I have to begin negotiations:

"Wanjeri, you have had a long day. You deserve eight hours—or more—of sleep."

It rarely works.

But thanks to consistent movement, no alcohol and reduced late-night eating, my sleep is finally coming through.

So no, perhaps I cannot blame everything on my childhood.

Apparently, there is some science behind this magic.

I can also proudly report that I increased my swimming distance this week to 1,200 metres while improving my average pace to 2 minutes and 29 seconds per 100 metres.

I love it!

This is probably the right time to announce that my swimming journey is inspired by my quest to chase Nimo.

Not Nemo from Finding Nemo.

Nimo—my Kenyan friend who unapologetically swims two kilometres twice a week and makes it look wonderfully graceful.

She is something of a quiet fitness influencer. If you do not know her, you may need to check your circles.

She is fit as a horse. She can stand on her head, run, swim and perform all manner of difficult exercises—even at our big age.

It is impressive, and it shows.

So here's to Nimo.

If you find her, please tell her that I am slowly catching up. I will be swimming two kilometres twice a week in no time.

Well, perhaps not no time.

Progress, not perfection.

My steps also increased this week, and I reached 10,000 steps on three consecutive days.

But wueh, my dear friends—if I had not started this blog, none of that would have happened.

All my body wanted to do this week was curl up and eat cake, chevda, chapatis and every other comforting food beginning with the letter C.

Can you see the theme?

These are the official cravings of curl-up-and-chill week.

But I was having none of it.

Okay, perhaps I was having some of it—but I also got up and moved.

I did not reach every milestone. I completed three structured workouts instead of four, and my average daily steps remained below 10,000.

But I showed up.

And thanks to all of you following this blog, I felt the need to get moving so that I would have something worth reporting.

So this week, allow me to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read these random posts, laugh with me and cheer me on.

I am moving because I took the private promises I made to my body and made them public—to you.

Apparently, I did not just need accountability.

I needed witnesses.

And it appears to be working.

Yours—sleeping better and still chasing Nimo, Me

Week Seven at a Glance

This week, I clocked 58,795 steps—an average of 8,399 a day.

That is still short of my daily 10,000-step target, but something encouraging happened towards the end of the week: I crossed 10,000 steps on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Three consecutive days.

Apparently, consistency sometimes arrives quietly, without introducing itself or asking permission.

I also completed one Barre session, one strength-and-cardio workout and one swim. That makes three structured workouts—one short of my weekly target of four.

Not perfect, but still moving.

The biggest victory happened in the pool. I swam 1,200 metres at an average pace of 2 minutes and 29 seconds per 100 metres—my longest and fastest swim of the journey so far.

Nimo, I am coming for you.

Very slowly—but still coming.

• Total steps: 58,795
• Average daily steps: 8,399
• Days reaching 10,000 steps: Three
• Barre sessions: One
• Gym workouts: One—strength and cardio
• Swimming: 1,200 metres—48 lengths
• Average swim pace: 2:20 per 100 metres
• Total structured workouts: Three
• Average continuous sleep: More than six hours

Not a perfect week.

But better sleep, three consecutive 10,000-step days and my strongest swim yet?

That sounds remarkably like progress.