Farewell 2011!

Yesterday was a day of rest for me - and boy did I need it! Not only were my thighs burning from Thursday's squats and lunges, but I was in quite a bit of pain ... I wonder if it had to do with the Swiss ball crunches + reverse crunches that I did or maybe it was the fact that I worked out two days in a row (a first since my surgery) ... It didn't feel like surgical pain; it actually felt like the 'normal' uncomfortable pain that prompted my surgery in the first place. In any case, for most of the day I didn't feel well at all (had to resort to painkillers unfortunately), but things seemed to get better by the evening. Perhaps it really was just a need for rest.

Despite the pain, I started today off with an early morning workout - a bit of cardio (went up to 6 km/hr for 10 minutes today, yay!!) and then Workout A for NROL4W. I really hope that I can finish the program before my trip to Argentina.

I guess the end of the year is a normal time to reflect on what went right/wrong -- and how to proceed in the upcoming year.

I do feel like this year had more downs than ups. I feel like I never really caught my footing. My PhD work (which is still not done) took over most of my time ... that resulted in fewer workouts than I would have liked, less time with my friends and family, and just overall stress ... put that together with my illnesses over the year and you can see that it's been a frustrating year.

I'd have to say, however, that one of the best things about this year is this blog. For me, it has been a great way to express myself and just keep a general log of how I'm feeling/doing day to day. The bonus has been an incredibly supporting network of bloggers out there - some of who I definitely consider friends even though we've never met.

The most important thing I learnt this year -- I am a lot stronger than I realized -- and that's what I'm going to keep in mind as I start this new year ...

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.

~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"~

Wishing you all health and happiness in the new year.