1st Anniversary :)

[sundial]

• Lost 55 pounds
• Reversed Type 2 Diabetes (though the longer I go without being able to do real cardio work due to above mentioned injuries...
• Greatly decreased stress levels
• Depression disappeared

Several friends at church tell me that I am aging backwards

You have alot to celebrate, Catrin! Look at how much you have accomplished within a year. And just think of how many women you have inspired to take charge of their health. You may have started a quiet revolution.

[tangentgirl]

Yay, Catrin! Happy first! Hope you heal soon.

[DarcyInOregon]

I am most impressed with your focus and diligence regarding the cycling and gym work, with the result of losing weight and gaining blood sugar control. What you accomplished is a monumental achievement.

I believe cycling is the number one choice for cardio activity as recommended by cardiologists. I don't understand why people don't get it, how healthy cycling makes a person. You get it.

During 2009 I biked quite a few rides with this one guy who is my age. Towards the end of 2009 he decided he liked hiking better, so he stopped cycling and he quit the gym, changing intensive workouts 6 times a week for 1-2 hikes per week, and zero hikes on bad weather weekends. Today he is 80 lbs heavier with uncontrolled hypertension and blood sugars, and his bike won't hold his weight. He is an example of why cycling and gym work are important for optimal health.

You are doing everything right, reviewing 2010 for how to improve and not make the same mistakes, and looking ahead to 2011 to set new fitness goals.

[Crankin]

You've done a great job, Catrin. Just remember that you need to find your "balance," so you don't get hurt or sick. As someone whose body responds quite nicely to over training , I have learned the hard way. Thankfully, I learned this lesson in my thirties, so while I have had some instances of making a situation worse by my own stupidity in the past few years, mostly, I feel fine when I have to cut back or stop an activity. Like running; I really like it, but it does not like me.
I was thinking that I didn't do a 50 mile ride until I had been riding 4 years! Sure, I did lots of 30-40 mile hilly rides, but you really did ramp up quickly. And remember, what works for one person, is not necessarily true for another. I cannot do an intensive workout 5-6 days a week. While I do something generally 6 days a week, at least 2 of those days it's yoga or core work, or walking/hiking/light weight lifting. I quit my gym 1.5 years ago and do this all at home. And my weight and body fat has remained stable or even a bit lower. So, listen to your body. Half of fitness is the mental aspect.

[Catrin]

You've done a great job, Catrin. Just remember that you need to find your "balance," so you don't get hurt or sick. As someone whose body responds quite nicely to over training , I have learned the hard way. ...So, listen to your body. Half of fitness is the mental aspect.

Thanks for this...one of the ways in which I tried to gauge whether I was doing too much was how my body felt. My body felt great while doing all of this - until the day when whatever happened to push things over the edge happened. Obviously with two kinds of tendinitis in the same leg + a pulled hamstring means that this did not develop because of a single event. I obviously missed signs, or even if I didn't, looking at my calender should have warned me. But it did not. That, hopefully, won't happen again.

Part of my need for intense exercise is that I really do have to work harder than the average bear just to get the attention of my body. I have no thyroid at all though I do take a replacement. I have no reproductive system and am not on HRT, and that isn't factoring in the diabetes 2. However, that doesn't mean that a more balanced approach next year won't provide equally good results without the injury.

Balance is always a good thing.

Oh yes, my trainer is finally feeling comfortable enough with my recovery that we are, very slowly, starting to involve my legs again in our sessions. Very light, and nothing that activates the hamstrings, but it is a start My PT actually approved this several weeks ago, but my trainer wasn't comfortable with it yet.