Probably nobody wants to go back to a year ago (May 2020).
Graduation ceremonies were canceled, summer vacations were canceled, and everyone had been stuck isolated in their homes for about two months at this point.
My family—we were still on endless, mostly non-verbal video calls with Dad in the hospital, where he was away from all of us for about 60 days.
Pure misery is the best way to describe it …
I had to pause because actually I really don’t want to think about what happened a year ago …
The point I was getting to was that about a year ago, I was a true couch potato.
I literally hobbled around my house in the mornings because of plantar fasciitis.
I remember telling my health coach (that I desperately hired a couple of months later in July 2020) that I struggled to stand and get my second leg into my pants–like balance on the other leg for a brief second and raise my leg over my waistband and insert into my pant hole to slide my pants on.
It sounded silly then, as it sounds silly now, but the struggle was real.
When I first got started with my health coach, my introduction assessment with her (over video call) was a list of basic movements a 34-year old should do without much effort.
2020 really took my body and spirit to an all-time low.
I thought about this when I got dressed this morning for my workout.
My plantar fasciitis used to be so bad that I couldn’t walk barefoot to the bathroom. I had to slip on my special arch-supporting flip-flops.
I still instinctively reach for those flip flops before leaving my bed in the morning, and I don’t need them at all in the morning.
I’m on day 18 of 60 in my 5k training on my treadmill’s running program.
I did a 12-day beginner run series before that.
This morning was another interval training with a faster, steady, 8-minute run in the middle.
Every workout progresses, so it’s always tough, but for 18 workouts of the 5k training so far, I have finished, survived, and did the next one.
I ran two half marathons in my 20s.
I have really missed running – it’s my favorite way to exercise. I’ve been running on and off over the years, keeping my treadmill in regular commission, but these past couple of months have been the most frequent.
It feels like I finally have a really challenging but achievable goal for the first time since my last half-marathon.
It’s only training for a 5k (10 miles shorter than a half-marathon), but very different training.
More focused on increasing speed rather than long endurance.
Anyways, my body is still far from my ultimate goal of losing 100+ pounds, but I’m proud every day that I wake up and choose to move my body.
As silly as it is, I’m even more proud that I can balance on one leg and slide on my pants and even my socks now without falling over.
My core and flexibility have significantly increased.
I usually won’t sit on the couch longer than an hour, and I’m grateful that I no longer have chronic back pain.
A lot can change in a year: minus missing dad every day, I’m glad so much has changed since 2020.
I hope for more growth and positive changes in another year from now.