2012- New Year's Resolutions

As you may have guessed, most of my New Year's Resolutions had to do with my health and fitness. I started the year off with a bang, and jumped right in to accomplishing amazing things. I was on a roll, and the weight continuously dropped, along with my body fat percentage. I was getting in 5-8 workouts per week, and teaching 14 dance classes per week, as well. My diet was on track, and I felt that I had made lifestyle changes rather than merely trying to "diet".

Ready for Zumba! Just let me enter my day's food selections into the "My Fitness Pal" app on my iPhone.

Everything was great, that is, until April came along. I started running as the weather improved, and really jumped into it, running a 5K distance in as little as 29 minutes. I might want to add that I am not a "runner" and that before April 2012, the furthest I had run was 1.5 miles, since 1995. I guess I pushed it too far one day, because I ended up unable to walk, with plantar fascitis and bursitis in my right foot. I also pulled the muscles going up the back of my right leg, my lower back muscles (on the right) and up to my right shoulder and neck. Why was the right side of my body so beat up, you ask? My left hip has been giving me a lot of trouble for the past 4 1/2 years, and I have been putting a lot of stress on the right side of my body to compensate for the pain.

Enduring an ice bath- ouch! On the floor are some new running shoes to replace the ones that were blown-out. That also contributed to my injury.

 I am in a great amount of pain after teaching a ballet class (where my feet are in a turned-out position), after sleeping on my side, driving or sitting for a long period of time, and also after certain workouts. During Zumba, I will sometimes feel that my hip is giving out, and that I have to use odd muscles to lift my leg. I also have the problem of my hip getting "stuck" while I walk, especially when it is cold outside. The pain comes and goes, but it has not changed in severity for these past 4 1/2 years. After my traumatic C-section delivery of little Sasha (4 1/2 years ago), I had to get used to standing and walking without using my stomach muscles. I can remember a few times, feeling my legs give out at the hip, and falling. For a few weeks it felt like my hip needed to "pop" which was pretty normal for my dancer-do-crazy-things-to-be-flexible body, but one night it "popped" in a really loud and painful way, and has been hurting ever since. As I have been unable to exercise and dance of late, I am finally going to see the hip specialist that will most likely perform hip surgery on me for a labral tear in my hip socket. It took me 4 1/2 years to call him, and once I did, it took 2 months to get in to see him. June 13th is the day! Just after I turn 36. Last week, my good friend, Melody Surat, sent me a little card in the mail, as she now lives in Georgia. In it she said, "I was beginning to think you were invincible! Best of luck on your recovery." It made me smile, and also made me realize that it's true, I have been able to go quite a long time, and have accomplished a great deal, before my body finally gave out on me. Time to take a little break and get better, so I can continue doing the things I love as soon as possible.