2011 REFLECTIONS

With only a few days left in this year, I thought it would be a good time to look back on how 2011 panned out.

After the horrendous start with floods, tsunamis and other freaks of nature the year got off to a good start. I started training for my 2nd half marathon and got to about 4 weeks out when I was plagued by chronic injury that wouldn't respond to physio or chiro treatment. I made a wise decision to downgrade to a 10km race instead so as not to waste all that training effort. Post race I kept running but my injury got steadily worse. Eventually I saw the light and decided to hang up my running shoes and become a walker instead.

I spent the first half of the year still struggling with my eating. Weight up, weight down (not by a lot but enough to be damn annoying) binging, making up for it, over and over. On 10 June things took a turn when I made a decision to stop dieting, accept how I was and start trusting myself to know what, how to eat. I can honestly say "life was good" as my weight came down and I was feeling calm and happy within myself.

In August I discovered Bikram yoga and was instantly in love with this style of workout. I don't go often but I love how it makes me feel and the meditation aspect of it is awesome. It will never be my main form of working out but I plan to keep it up in 2012.

Weight training has never been my passion but I kept up a reasonable schedule for most of the 2nd half of the year. The fact that I wasn't running coupled with a careful approach to my lower body training saw my injury subside significantly. I had some really good months from June to about October.

Professionally my highlights were studying my management training course which I really loved and my stint as Acting Director in October. After the initial fear of failure I decided to embrace the opportunity and give it my best shot. It was a tough time with a massive workload, study ramping up to exams and managing my home life as well but I got through it all admirably, I thought.

So I'm not quite sure what happened in November but when the wheels fell off, they REALLY fell off. I was binging frequently again. I'd lost my training mojo. I lost my trust in myself. I was no longer in my happy place and struggled through several weeks, off and on, in this state.

Look I'm not complaining. Life is good and I know I have so much to be grateful for but I know I could have finished the year much better than I did. There is a hint of disappointment around this and hence I've planned the start of 2012 to be different and better.

Phew what a year that was but I'll be glad to say goodbye and embrace the new one with a different outlook and some specific goals. Stay tuned for part 2 coming soon.