Last December I wrote about taking up running. I had some fantastic weeks, I was gaining stamina and finding actual value in my new found ability to run (late to the train? I can run!). I never really grew to like it, and as I got up to 25 minutes of solid (even if slow) running I really had to push myself, but things were going well.
Then, in April, I got sick. This kicked off my whole gallbladder ordeal. Almost 4 months of constant pain, changes in my diet to avoid triggers to increased pain. Running was out entirely, anything that bounced me around that much was not tolerable. The diet changes tended toward carbs, and away from meats and fats. The increased carbs and death of my exercise routine was a disaster for me weight-wise. Add on the busiest travel year of my life and all the stress and poor eating choices that come with travel, and I’ve managed to put on 30lbs this year, landing me at the heaviest I’ve ever been.
I don’t feel good about this.
By September I was recovered enough to start running again, but sneaking in discipline to exercise into my travel schedule proved tricky. They also don’t tell you how much harder it is to exercise when you’re heavy – all that extra weight to carry around! Particularly as I run, soreness in my feet has been my key issue, where previously I’d only had trouble with joint (knee) pain here and there. I picked up running again for a couple weeks in late November, but then the rain started in San Francisco. December has been unusually soggy. One of the reasons I picked running as my exercise of choice was because we actually have nice weather most of the time, so this was quite the disappointment.
But I haven’t given up! I did start Couch to 5k over, but so far it’s not nearly as hard as the first time around, so I didn’t lose all the ground I gained earlier in the year. Here’s to 2015 being a healthier year for me.
