One year of exercise in the books....

Today is the one year anniversary of Echelon.  I still think about that day in Costco and Merinda and I both thinking about the bike at the same time.   Yes, I did ask about the hot tub, but that's because I didn't think she would use it and I think I was right.  It was a tough year for her so we'll see how this year goes. 

I made a post on the Echelon groups and it was surprisingly difficult for me.   I'm feeling pretty emotional about this anniversary because of what a remarkable year it was.   I made a lot of positive changes for myself and exceeded every goal I could have imagined this past year, and I feel grateful to the Echelon community for helping me achieve them.   It's so much more than a piece of exercise equipment and I struggled to verbalize my feelings about that.  I didn't want to mention anyone by name there because I didn't want to skip anyone, but there was some irony in this falling on a tuesday.   My very first live ride was Sam's cadence 20 and I still take that class every week, so it felt right to ride that this morning.  

Since I've been metric driven all year let me share what I've accomplished this year:

• 761 rides
• 4706.21 miles
• 107 pounds lost

This doesn't even describe the changes in my health this past year or that I've had to buy all new clothes since all my old clothes don't fit, yes my waist went from a 44+ to a 36.  The last bit is the impact it's made on me.  I've had self image issues for so long that it's just been a part of my life, but for the first time I can remember, I feel good about myself.   I'm pleased with the way I look and feel and that is a welcome change.  

This year I have a few things to look forward to...  I'm going to start taking scuba lessons at some point.   That was one of the things I wanted to do if I lost weight.  Second, I'm going to get my cube for 1000 rides.   I expect that sometime in March.   Merinda and I have a few trips planned, and being healthier makes them so much more enjoyable.  

With that it's into year 2 of my fitness journey...  Thanks and talk soon!

That was quick...

 Upon some further reflection, and feeling shattered for most of yesterday, I've decided that trying to hit 450 miles for this month isn't feasible.  I mean, could I do it?   Yes, I could, but I think it's pushing myself much harder than I need to, so I think I'll revisit that goal.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

 I've always loved Christmas.   It is by far my favorite holiday.   I like Christmas movies, TV shows, decorations, the meals and of course Christmas day.   Coming from a divorced family I usually spent Christmas with my mom and as such associate it with family.  It's not meant as a slam or slight against my father, but I lived with my mother and my sister after the divorce and they *were* my family.  Sadly my mom passed away almost 17 years ago, but we're going to spend Christmas in Ireland with my mother-in-law, and I'm excited to finally get to have a true Boxing Day :) 

That said, I had a great November.   I'm maintaining my weight, actually I've lost a little more despite Thanksgiving, and have maintained my focus on exercise and demolished my mileage target for the month.  Let's look at what I wanted to accomplish:

• Maintain Weight
• Ride 450 miles - I am trying to hit 500
• Walk 20 miles
• Perfect Month in Apple

Weight results:

• Starting Weight: 225.9
• Ending Weight: 219.1
• Net Loss: (6.80)
• Total Loss: (108.90)

Exercise info:

• Number of rides: 99
• Time on exercise: 01:08:18:09
• Distance on rides: 608.24
• Number of walks: 6
• thTime walking: 2:38
• Distance walking: 7.3

Results:

Well as usual I didn't get my walking goal.   I tried to get there, but for some reason I seem to fall short of it.   Why?   I've been riding a lot this past month and I'm usually too tired to go for a walk afterwards.  I'm not going to mince words, it is what it is.   I thought I'd walk more when I was in Virginia for Thanksgiving, but ended up using my sister in law's bike instead.  I'll try again this month, and with us being in Ireland for 10 days or so, I'll need to walk to hit my exercise goals.   That said, I crushed everything else.   I set distance goals every month and I thought after hitting 500 the past two months I'd probably be around that.   Boy was I wrong...   I ended up hitting 600 miles this past month which was a substantial jump in distance.   It's almost assuredly from the challenge I joined but I'm not goign to complain.  In line with that I exceeded all my apple goals, as well as some other challenges I joined.  I don't expect that kind of mileage for December since I'll only be home for 21 days, but I am gunning for 450 miles which will be a stretch.   Good thing Merinda is away this weekend so I can try for a 50 mile day.

Alright lets set some goals for December:

• Maintain Weight
• Ride 450 miles
• Walk 20 miles
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Apple December exercise goal
• Gold in my December challenge

These look familiar because these are the same goals I set last month.  With the exception of the mileage goal, which I would have set at 550 this month if we were staying home, these will stay consistent going forward.   I just want to stay healthy and fit.  I really can't work out in Ireland, so it's going to be mostly walking and lower goals while I'm there.   Since Apple wants me to hit 79 minutes of exercise for the December goal I'm going to be busy.  I also need to be a little more careful with my weight.   I lost some more weight this month without trying so I need to tweak my diet a bit.

Final Thoughts:

I was pleasantly surprised by this past month.   I thought I'd gain some weight over Thanksgiving, but that wasn't the case.   Yes, we had food, hell I ate at two disparate Thanksgivings as well as some other junk, but I don't remember feeling like I'd grossly overeaten.  I just don't want to drop any more weight and I think 215 should be my floor.  Another thing from this past month is that I was able to set a bunch of PR's on Teresa's bike.   It's a lot "easier" so I will miss it because I have records that are going to take a long time for me to match.   I guess that's ok because I need to stay focused, but I'm not gonna lie...   It was fun finishing first in a class, and I did get a second today, but as they say those are  first world problems.  Maybe I'll try to buy her bike :)

Pretty busy at work today so this is going to be short.   Have a great month and as my year echelon anniversary is coming in 2 weeks we'll talk soon.