Victories of 2013

The scale was basically not a big part of 2013.  After a while I just accepted that maintaining was going to be the theme of the year.  This means that our victories were of the non scale variety this year and I'm okay with that.  Instead of focusing on the things that I didn't do well on this year, I'm going to try to focus on the things I did right this year or the things I got to do as a result of previous year's hard work.

I think of where I was a year ago with my Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome and leg muscle issues.  We had to cancel New Years Eve in Chicago because walking was just not possible.  I've come to realize that the muscle issue will always be something I have to manage but I'm thankful that I had a good chiropractor to show me proper exercises, massage techniques and such to help me.  (Things I've slacked on over the past two weeks and I need to get back to asap so I don't backslide into pain)  I'm not happy I have to deal with this but I know this is something that will require constant dedication on my part.  I'm hoping as I lose more weight the pressure off my legs will make things a little better.

Our trip to Kauai was a realization of over a decade's worth of dreams and seeing other people live the vacation we always wished we could.  Even though I trained for stand up paddle as best as I could, nothing could prepare me for the real thing.

Even though it wasn't necessarily my favorite activity, I was proud of myself for doing it.  I had a LOT of mental obstacles to get through in addition to the physical ones.  It's something I never thought I'd do but I didn't even think twice when it was time to do it.  That is a feeling I hope I continue to take with me in future adventures.

When we were done with stand up paddle, it was time to move on to kayaking.  I mean literally.  We were done stand up paddling and I surprised the Mr with a kayaking excursion. I was so looking forward to this because I can't count how many times I would see kayakers on the Hanalei River as we were driving over the bridge or down the main drag and wonder if that would ever be me.  This year, it was...

I never thought I'd get a picture of me in a kayak with Bali Hai in the background but I'm so proud that this year I could...even if it was taken through a crappy camera dry bag.  Thankfully I got a better bag for Christmas for the next kayaking adventure.

The other dream we made come true on Kauai was walking their Visitors Industry Charity 5K.  This is a walk we always heard about every time we were in Hawaii because it's on all of the islands.  We always said we wanted to do it someday and we went down for last minute registration the morning of the race.

I don't know if we were more excited about walking the walk or the fact that a "normal" sized race shirt (XL) fit us!  I was in a lot of pain for it but the pride won out over the pain.  Not that I ever had a 5K on my fitness bucket list but I can cross it off anyway.

For the first time, we actually broke out the exercise bands we took with us on vacation and did some homemade tabata style workouts while on Kauai.

We hoped to do this when we went to Traverse City but we didn't but we did walk 38 miles while we were there and I consider that a victory even if neither commitment to exercise on vacation kept the pounds at bay.

Speaking of which, even with as disastrous as our holidays were on the food front, one thing we never wavered on was the exercise.  We exercised 6 days a week and yes, even on Christmas day.  Don't get me wrong, there were days we didn't feel like it but it was never an option to skip and I'm thankful we didn't.

While I would've loved for this recap to contain a little more than just our Kauai victories, this year is wide open for new opportunities.  It's just up to us to seize them.

Name three things you are proud of this year on the fitness front.

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