diff --git a/cmd/execution/main.go b/cmd/execution/main.go
index 46a4cff37bf..74f328ae72d 100644
--- a/cmd/execution/main.go
+++ b/cmd/execution/main.go
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ func main() {
 			flags.StringVar(&triedir, "triedir", datadir, "directory to store the execution State")
 			flags.StringVar(&executionDataDir, "execution-data-dir", filepath.Join(homedir, ".flow", "execution_data_blobstore"), "directory to use for Execution Data blobstore")
 			flags.Uint32Var(&mTrieCacheSize, "mtrie-cache-size", 500, "cache size for MTrie")
-			flags.UintVar(&checkpointDistance, "checkpoint-distance", 40, "number of WAL segments between checkpoints")
+			flags.UintVar(&checkpointDistance, "checkpoint-distance", 20, "number of WAL segments between checkpoints")
 			flags.UintVar(&checkpointsToKeep, "checkpoints-to-keep", 5, "number of recent checkpoints to keep (0 to keep all)")
 			flags.UintVar(&stateDeltasLimit, "state-deltas-limit", 100, "maximum number of state deltas in the memory pool")
 			flags.UintVar(&cadenceExecutionCache, "cadence-execution-cache", computation.DefaultProgramsCacheSize, "cache size for Cadence execution")