Had a weird year in 2017 for health and fitness. Started the year with a month of planks (starting with 50 second plank and ending with a monster 6 minute plank, but it was an ugly plank). Feb was a month of squats (starting with 30 and ending with 130).
Got the colonoscopy done this year (no polyps), but bowel prep OMG.
Had some great skate-skiing at Winding Trails in WeHa, but a spectacular wipeout on ice left me beaten/bruised, and soon I was at PT with a torn MCL.
Oncet the knee was healed, I picked up roller skate-skiing, and it is hard-going balance-wise: any crack in the road or stick can send you caterwauling.
Noticed some blood in the urine after longish runs in May, and had visits to Dr. Fear, ultrasound (nada), and a cystoscopy (all clear). Still had coloration until kidney stone passed in Sept. Yikes, that was an awakening.
Lots of quality hiking in Scotland, Santa Barbara, and H'istan through the summer.
The race wall had been empty until a 5K in August (lousy timing, had to walk). Started filling up the fall with short races, including Twin Cities 5K at the Capitol - first race I didn't have to walk some this year. Last race was Moustache Run 5K in Minneapolis.
NBBW and I got mountain bikes for each other for our anniversary, so started getting into that - there are good trails not far from where we live.
Lots of swimming throughout the year - the only constant through all of this other stuff.
Discovered that Forest Lake School has their pool open for public lap swimming on weekdays from 5:30-7:30AM ($3) so started taking advantage of that over Thanksgiving and Xmas breaks.
Closed out the year with some cold-weather grouse-hunting with the little Hnos earlier this week, and an indoor triathlon this morning in Stillwater at a club (short swim, long spin, short run).
So Nation, what are you doing to keep yourself healthy and sane?
I think one NY resolution for me will be to fix my shitty ankle.
Back, knees, ankle, shoulder. These body parts are wearing out on me. My left pinkie toe feels awesome though, so there is that.
I still get periodic hip flexor aggravation/inflammation but not enough to prevent me from hitting the Y twice a week.
Youngest brother is having his first hip replaced on 1/4, and hopes to get the other done six weeks later. Aggressive schedule, but doable. He's a HS teacher, and he waited way too long, as it hurts when he sits and he walks with a noticeable limp. For Christmas I sent him all my paraphernalia (long reach grabber, sock puller-upper, long handled shoehorn, etc)
When I found out we were going to have our second child, I promised to lose weight and get in shape. That didn't happen. However, since her birth in September I have lost 30 pounds all by eating better. Still haven't done any exercising. No resolutions on that for the new year. But we'll see.
Oh, and last week I had a stranger cut my vas deferens in half, so that probably knocked off some weight, too.
Good to hear you got that "fixed". Keep the bag of frozen peas handy
All part of eating better.
I have lost 25 pounds now on my low-carb diet. I was riding my bicycle pretty regularly this summer, but have not had much time to exercise since fall hit. I don't see that changing until maybe about May or so.
I've put about 8 pounds on this year, about half of which came in the last 10 weeks in the wake of ankle surgery. Six weeks on crutches was a bitch on my shoulder (repaired about 5 years ago, when the surgeon opined that I would get about 5 years until I'd need a total replacement). All of this sedentary crap means that I am super stiff in the morning and any time I spend too long sitting (e.g., at work).
ON the bright side, I went back to wearing two shoes (one per foot) a week ago, and was able to go to the gym twice this weekend to ride the stationary bike and do a few other exercises. Also, back to driving stick shift this weekend.
So my path is clear. Lose about 10 lbs this year (which would take me back to 195ish, which is what I weighed at the start of senior year in h.s.); get my fitness back up; and take care of all my defective parts.
I bought a scale on the theory that knowing my weight will help me keep better track of it.
Diet control went away for a few weeks there, but I'm back that horse as of right now, and hopefully I can say the same thing again tonight.
I was considering trying to get a little more sleep this year. So last night I got angry about something, then stayed up late writing the holiday thank-you notes, then was up with the jalapeno at 4:30, and fell back asleep a little after 5. So that's how that's going.
(I'm really, really glad I got the thank-you notes written, though.)
THANK YOU FOR THE LOVELY SWEATER. UGGGH, WHY CAN'T THE KIDS JUST GO TO BED WHEN I TELL THEM TO!?
Ha, this is totally what I should have written!
Invested in a high-quality treadmill for the home gym* - took delivery the 28th. I haven't used it yet as I was sick for most of the Christmas break, but my wife thinks it's awesome. I was lucky to snag a spot in the Bjorklund Half Marathon and agreed to participate as a team member in the Minneapolis Life Time Tri.
My key to success of sticking with the treadmill - dedicated tv shows. Shows I'll only watch on the treadmill.
I'm currently on season 4 of The Americans.
Good advice ... my plan is to finish The Wire, Breaking Bad and Deadwood. Should be ready for running outside by the time those're done.
Now, don't ever move (it). A sizable part of the move was just dealing with the treadmill.
I helped a friend move one from a 3rd floor walk-up aprtment to the 2nd floor of his house. A couple months later, he asked if I knew he had moved.
He's lucky we're still friends.
team member in the Minneapolis Life Time Tri
Are you doing a relay? What is your leg?
Yes - either the swim or the run.
Last year, we did a coed relay team (my wife swam, my friend cycled and I did the run portion). We managed to place 5/16 coed teams and 9/29 overall in the sprint distance.
Couple years ago, I did the swim portion with my brother and the friend from last year. My swim time was ugly, but I had fun.
I hit 211.5! A new personal best...erm...
My little bro found me a 50lb kettlebell for Christmas, hope to make good use of it.
He also got me a Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, which is apparently special, and I had better make good use of. Then more kettlebelling.
How do you bowl a fractional pin?
Um...multiply my 10 frame score by 1.5?...traditional Amish scoring, no?
My wife and I started eating a keto diet in early October, and the results have been great. I'm at my lowest weight that I can remember as an adult. We've also done intermittent fasting (or as I like to call it skipping breakfast).
Long ago, earlier in the year, it was a goal of ours to lose 40 by 40 (both of us hit that milestone in 2017). After failing initially, we kind of forgot about it. It wasn't until I was about a week away from the big day that I realized I had actually done it. My wife was not happy with me. Still, I love fitting into my old smaller clothes again, and I love seeing the numbers go down. I hope to start going for walks when the weather warms up.
Congratulations!
Dido
Friend of mine just finished a 72-hour race/event. She won, running 220 miles, first place overall. Well played, Amy Mower.