2013 In Review

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a whole new year out! Which means this little blog of mine is celebrating its one year birthday!

Now, I have to admit, I’m really not that in to the whole New Year’s thing—mainly because I believe that you can choose to make a fresh start toward just about anything on any day of the year. But, so as not to reveal my true nature as a curmudgeon, I’ll play along.

Truth be told, I’m very in to self-reflection. And I’m also into self-criticism and self-praise! So let’s take a look at the past year in the life of The Whale!

January 2013

I resolved to drop my overall percentage of body fat. I knew that I would need some kind of accountability for this resolution, so I decided to create this blog to report out on my progress and to share my sick sense of humor with the world at large. And let’s be honest, I also thought the world could use another arena in which to share cat videos. Challenge accepted.

The scale that would measure my fate for the year.

February 2013

The Age of Nemo. I think most of my workouts were shovel-based this month. The Hunger Lion also reared its head for the first time, as well as the initiation of my love for neon workout shoes.

Our cars post-Nemo. Five hours of shoveling followed.

My first pair(s) of shoes for the year.

March 2013

I was coerced by my triathlete friend to join her in a sprint duathlon. Fitness masochism ensued for the following two months.

Work, baby, work!

 

April 2013

Duathlon training continued, as did my love for eating everything in sight.

How I look when I eat everything in sight.

May 2013
My first race. Ever. Experienced pre-game jitters, got a crash course in improper race nutrition, and had one hell of a good time. We even finished third out of the women. Not too shabby.

Team "Whale, Whale, Whale, What Do We Have Here?"

After completing the race, I was feeling a little bored directionless at the gym. Until a friend asked me to join her for a Mud Run. Guess I needed to learn how to run…and jump…and climb…and crawl.

June 2013

Cat tumors abound my blogging endeavors, and I selected a running training program. My love-hate relationship with the treadmill intensified.

 

Cat Tumor #1.

July 2013

I struggled to keep up with my workouts in the craziness of summer traveling…and lounging.

Desperately seeking motivation, I subscribed to Runner's World.

 

August 2013

I introduced you all to Sleepy Karl. And my sweet new running kicks. And another cat tumor. I also blogged from an airport.

Cat Tumor #2

Sweet Custom-Fitted Kicks.

Airport Blogger Position.

September 2013

I trekked around the San Francisco Bay Area with my Family & Co., and took some awesome pictures. I also risked my life for a workout (I wish). 

Carmel, CA.

Beware of Mountain Lions while hiking.

Upon returning home, I bit the bullet and ran outside for the first time since starting my race training. It was soul-crushing, but I hit a PR for a mile in 9:38. 

My thoughts, exactly.

I also ventured into cheese making and produced some bomb mozzarella.

Organic Cheeeeeeeseeeee.

October 2013

I completed my first mud run in the Rugged Maniac. Team CatCorps dominated, and I had some killer battle scars to show off.

I learned to crawl!

Team CatCorps!

 

Also, after way too many cat nods my life blog for not even owning a cat, we decided to get one to legitimize my status as a Crazy Cat Lady. Enter the Age of Hatch.

All this cat does is sleep. (Also, Cat Tumor #3)

And Sleep.

And Sleep.

And drive her tanker.

November 2013

My trainer moved away, and I felt as if I’ve lost my left arm. Rather than re-upping with someone else, I decided to enroll in a Personal Trainer Certification program so I’ll never have to feel this way again. Kidding. I actually just wanted to possess the knowledge needed to kick my own butt.

Then came the start of the holiday season. Faced with constant parties, traveling, and incredible fatigue, this marked the virtual end of my commitment to fitness for the year.  

Does lifting pizza to your mouth count as a workout?

December 2013 

I find out that I am a mutant. A MTHFR mutant to be exact. I also continued to eat, sleep, rinse, repeat.

Me and Grumpy Cat. Both grumpy, both mutants.

Phew, busy year! While I definitely did some great—and new—things this year, I’m also not blind to the fact that there is solid room for improvement.

Growth Areas (a.k.a., What I Sucked At):

I could go on and on, but I think overall, the bottom line here is you get the results for which you work.

My most obvious growth area this year was my body metrics. I started this whole thing wanting to lose body fat, and by March, I basically fell off the body metrics component entirely. I did record it every week (sort of), but I didn’t report it back to you folks. I have to own up here—I didn’t meet my goal of attaining 23% body fat. Not even close. The lowest I ever got was 26.5%, and that was back in July. I can’t say I’m surprised or even that upset. By the last third of the year, I was just tired—tired of work, tired of travelling, tired of working out. I let my level of commitment deteriorate, and as stands to reason, so did my results.

The one-two punch following my lowered motivation was the holiday season. Damn, that kicked me in the groin this year. I have definitely learned that I have the appetite of a pro football player, and the metabolism of a sloth. That, and that I must be cookies’ greatest nightmare. I slaughtered so many of them since November. Up until Thanksgiving, I had actually managed to lose about 12 pounds overall during the year (despite my oftentimes plateaued body fat percentage). I put about 8 back on in the last six weeks alone. Clearly, I’m not to be trusted around holiday platters.

Am I beating myself up about these things? No. I could have pushed through my fatigue, but I made the decision to lighten up, take it easy, and eat, eat, eat. Though I definitely feel the effects, I also know I can make the choice—at any time—to recommit.

And since it’s a new year, why not now?

So what do I have in store for 2014? Well, we’ll get to that next time. But I’d venture to guess it will continue to include eating and cats. Spoiler alert.

Happy New Year!