December Takes its Toll

The 2007 Holiday Season was a great time, no doubt about it! Hosting Thanksgiving at our house, Christmas Eve at my uncle Richard's, the week long California Adventure... All good!!

But what's not so good? Well, I'd spent pretty much all of 2007 convincing my body that it needs to be in better shape. All in all, I held on to a net loss of around 17 pounds for the year, but that figure had been well over 20 in Early November. But I guess as long as I have a year-to-year loss, it's all progress, so I won't get too down on myself.

The thing that really surprised me wasn't that I gained weight - I knew that was happening, as all the new clothes I proudly bought were getting tight and much less comfortable. The real shock was just how fast my stamina got up and left. Checking my fitness log (see the "Mike's Fitness Progress" link at the top right) I see that I had been quite disciplined in my working out right up to November 19. Then, only three days between then and yesterday.

Yesterday! Yep, back on the train, baby! I hit the Y at lunchtime, planning to do my normal mon-wed-fri routine. Before the break, I'd run between 8 and 16 laps (.5-1 mile) then do three full circuits in the weight room. Yesterday, I got 4 laps and one circuit, and I was wishing I'd brought an inhaler along.

Just to punish myself enough that myabe I won't let it slip so bad again, I got up at 4:30 this morning and played Racketball with a friend from church. Ouch. But we'll do it again Thursday, and I'm really hoping that the accountability factor of partnering with a friend will make it easier to stick with.

In 2007 I resolved to get in better shape, and even after this setback, I'm in better shape than I've been in over 15 years. 2008 WILL see me complete the trek to my final goal, hopefully before summer, so I can spend summer solidifying healthy habits. Wish me luck!!