RINGMISTRESS: Inspired by Technology, Karrie Miller Completes Yearlong Exercise Streak

By Marianne Hamilton

One year. 138 miles of laps in the pool. 1,965 miles walked. 3.9 million steps taken.

And Karrie Miller is just getting started.

Over lunch with a friend in February of 2022, Miller was showing off her new smartwatch. The BRIO resident knew the device had the potential to help her track her fitness program, but she had no idea which application she needed or how to set it up.

Fortunately, her friend downloaded the Workout app and gave Miller a quick tutorial. On each subsequent day, Miller’s watch then displayed a “bullseye” consisting of three rings. Depending on how much exercise she did and/or how vigorously she worked out while swimming or walking, the rings would eventually close. Additionally, she gleaned such details as the number of calories burned and the total distance covered in the pool or on land.

Miller found the technology to be an inspiration. By August of last year, she realized she was consistently racking up major swimming and walking mileage. On the spot, she vowed to complete a one year exercise “streak.”

“As of February twenty-first of 2023, I went an entire year without missing a single day of exercise,” Miller confirmed. “That included flying to and from Hawaii. I walked around the airport, and I stood up and moved on the plane. I thought, ‘If I lose my streak, it’s okay; I got to go to Hawaii!’ Somehow, I was able to keep ‘closing the rings’ while traveling, so I kept it all going.”

Growing up in Salt Lake City, Miller led an active childhood, albeit not exactly an athletic one. She was a dancer in high school and a recreational swimmer for most of her life. “I grew up in the fifties and sixties, when we’d go outside and play all day. Although I wasn’t on any sports teams, I was always outdoors,” Miller noted.

Since her move to St. George, Utah, in 2019 with her husband (coincidentally, also named Kerry) following his retirement, Miller has had the time to swim in BRIO’s indoor and outdoor pools, take water aerobics classes, and walk or hike many of Washington County’s scenic trails. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2018, she’d already been extra vigilant about incorporating daily exercise into her life.

Said Miller, “I‘d never been insulin dependent, but I knew I had to make some adjustments to my routine. The motivating factor was when my endocrinologist said that staying active and losing weight would help me get everything under control. I’ve since lost twenty-five pounds, and exercising has really helped me keep my blood sugar levels consistent.”

Miller had invested in the new smartwatch to maintain and monitor her fitness regimen. At first, merely closing the rings daily was payback enough: she walked and swam the minimum recommended miles and laps each day. Then her mate suggested that if she swam 880 yards, she’d log a half mile. Soon after, Miller was stroking her way to a full mile each time she hit the water.

“When I started all of this, a mile would take me almost an hour. I didn’t know how to do flip turns or any of that, and I was more interested in how far I needed to go to close the rings versus how long it would take me,” Miller recalled. “I started thinking, ‘Hey, we’re retired; we don’t have a lot we have to do!’ So instead of just walking for forty-five minutes, I started doing four miles on my walking days, and I gradually increased my swimming distance to 1.5 miles each time.”

At first Miller was reluctant to share her goals with family members and kept her “streaking” goal to herself, assuming that what she was doing wasn’t a huge deal. But when she hit day 200, she decided to let her loved ones in on her impending success. Not surprisingly, her children joined her husband in expressing pride and excitement that she was close to realizing her dream. “My husband teases me saying, ‘Your watch runs your life.’ But he’s really happy that I’ve been able to do this,” Miller said.

Scrolling through the archived data documenting her year’s workouts, Miller grew thoughtful. “Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever set a long-term goal and then actually achieved it. That is the thing of which I’m most proud. I have surpassed the distances in walking and swimming that I thought I would be able to do. I now want to stay active and keep closing my rings. My goal at this point is to see how far I can go.”

About the Author

Marianne L. Hamilton is a veteran journalist and marketing writer whose work appears in regional and national publications. When not race walking, hiking, or teaching water aerobics, she is the past Board Chair of Art Around the Corner and the Special Events Manager for DOCUTAH. She and her husband, Doug, are also co-adminstrators of the St. George Wine Club and race directors for the Huntsman Worlc Senior Games and National Senior Games. Marianne was crowned Ms. Senior Universe 2021-2022 and is the Senior Pageants Group's Senior Games Ambassador. She is a proud breast cancer survivor.