What have I gotten myself into?!

Sarah suggested we all introduce ourselves. Now that I am done with paper, etc, I now have time! So, where to begin...
I was inspired by a post on the Lulu Lemon website (this one) about a woman who exercised for 365 days. In. a. row. At first it sounded like a great challenge! Yeah, I could do this! I mean, I work out a lot anyways, right? Wrong. I don't go to the gym or sweat everyday. Some days it takes me 15 extra minutes to just get out of bed! This is one of those things you think is really cool and fun at first and then after you decide to do it you realize it may be impossible. Luckily, I have a great team for support and I am not doing it alone! Together we will sweat for 365 days :)
I was never very active as kid. I did the usual extra-curriculars like soccer, dance, school sports, but I never really excelled at any. Then I found Highland Dancing. Call me weird, but it clicked. I was competitive for 11 years and have been recreational for the last 3. Now that I live in Kelowna, I'm not dancing as I haven't found a school to join. I miss it, but finding time to get to practise is tough. Other then that, I got really into running about 5 years ago. I then started going to the gym quite regularly. In the last 6 months or so, I have started to train seriously and I want to do at least 2 half marathons and a triathlon before the end of 2013. I think this crazy challenge will help me achieve those goals! It would also be pretty cool to reach my weight goals, as well.
I have a couple personal rules about this challenge, though. The "sweat session" has to be at least 30 minuted in length. I know I shouldn't be putting a time limit on it as I will do doing it every day, but you need at least 30 minutes to improve your fitness level over the long run. The other is that my workout for the day can't be sometime I would do regardless. I usually break a sweat walking up the hill from my car to class. Its a long hill and if I wear too many layers, I get hot. This doesn't count. It has to be 30 minutes out of my day for myself. Other then that, the opportunities are endless! Hopefully I can try new things to change it up a little.
A whole year. I have never committed to anything for that long. Ever. I don't really know what I have gotten myself in to, but I am excited. Bring on Monday! It's time to make exercise a priority instead of a burden.

Second thoughts, third thoughts.

Yesterday I agreed to take part in the 365 Days of Sweat project with Katelyn and Nicole.

Great, I thought.

Sounds like fun, I imagined.

And then I woke up this morning and the magnitude of what I've gotten myself into hit me.

It's true that I've been pretty active since I was a kid. I played hockey in a girls' league for a few years as a young kid, ran track (badly, slowly, terribly) for a couple of years, and then moved on to synchronised swimming. With the exception of a few short breaks, I've been active in synchro ever since, at the recreational level starting at age 8, and then eventually at provincial and national levels. Every synchronised swimmer will be recruited onto a water polo team at some point; naturally, I played water polo throughout high school. 

Solo free competition in Gothenburg, July 2010

In 2009-2010, while completing my masters thesis, I trained with SyncTO and competed at FINA World Masters Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden, while also swimming and competing in the Canadian University Synchronised Swimming League (CUSSL), Canada's intercollegiate synchro league. It was a busy year, and I often doubled up on practises during the week, to the point that I might swim 9 or 10 practises each week, including masters and varsity team practises, masters solo practices, and extras. While my skills weren't quite equal to my ambition, my body quickly adapted to training intensively.

Then came fall 2010. Cue medical school.

Sedentary, in a sling, and drowning my sorrows in San Pellegrino

Med school has been a disaster when it comes to staying active. In my first year, I gained 40 pounds, despite swimming on a varsity team. During my second year, I had a pretty big shoulder surgery, during which my left shoulder capsule was pleated, plucked, and tucked into a new, smaller shape to prevent daily dislocations. I spent a couple of months before the surgery mostly in a sling, and the sling stayed on for three months post-surgery. I had a hard time adjusting to my new, sedentary lifestyle, and continued to gain weight. Three months after surgery, my enforced rest was up, but I still wasn't cleared to return to swimming. I learned to love running (which I had previously hated!) since it was almost the only activity I could do with relatively little pain and little risk that I would somehow destroyed my yet-to-heal shoulder capsule.

Still smiling after 21.1k with Katelyn, September 2012

Katelyn convinced me - even though I hadn't even run a full 5k at the time! - to sign up for a half-marathon, which we ran in September of this year. My time was terrible, but I reached my goal of completing all 21.1k without stopping, and it felt like I'd reached a major milestone.

But then clerkship started, and everything changed. Clerkship marks the end of time spent in the classroom, and the beginning of time spent in the hospital. It looks a little bit like the first episode of Grey's Anatomy (am I dating myself here?) - you know, the one where Meredith gets lost wheeling the pageant contestant around the bowels of the hospital? Except clerkship is way less sexy. And, well, we're way more fumbling and confused. And we have even less control over our lives and schedules.

So, while I agreed to this challenge eager to get moving on a regular basis, I'm wondering now how it will fit into a schedule that includes the complete destruction and dissolution of both my circadian rhythm and any illusion of control over my own life. Not to mention, of course, singing in a choir, learning Greek, and swimming on a varsity team.

Monday, you're too close already.

 

Sarah

So what's going on here, anyway?

Katelyn, Nicole, and I were inspired by this post to sweat for 365 days. Our start date is this coming Monday, December 2nd.

Um...what does that mean?

We're about to find out. The idea is to incorporate physical activity into every day, no matter how busy, tired, or lazy we find ourselves. Some days, that may mean running 20k, and others it may mean forcing ourselves out of our respective apartments for a walk or a low-key yoga session. It sounds so simple right now, but when I think about all the times I've stayed in because I was tired, had a long day, or didn't like the weather outside, it feels pretty daunting...

How much do you need to sweat each day?

There's no minimum. In Nicole's words: You just have to sweat! A 45 min walk, slow yoga, HIIT or a 10km run all count. It's more about committing to an active lifestyle, not the number of minutes you sweat for!

Are you crazy?

Yes, probably. But it's a good crazy.

Why are you doing this?

With all the benefits of physical activity - increasing cardiovascular fitness, avoiding diabetes, and maintaining a healthy body weight among them - why wouldn't we? The aim is to emerge in a year fitter, happier, and healthier.

See you on Monday!
Sarah