Preface: As I said before, I’m a pencil-and-paper kind of person,
still, and, for me, figuring out how to import excel charts into the
blogosphere and make them look right is like sculpting ice with a feather. Will
work on this. Maybe a better feather?
After an all-time annual low in numbers of workouts in 2002,
my track record, so to speak, improved by 2004 to workout rate of about two out
of three days. In fact, to date, it has been my “most fit year” in number of days
worked out, despite a move from Paris back to Washington, DC, and bunion
surgery to both feet (that’s what commuting in dress shoes in the Paris metro
will do to you!) Thanks to the foot surgery, I discovered the magic of pilates:
you can be flat on your back and still get a workout in! I let the Tour de
France and Lance Armstrong (obviously pre-drug admission) inspire me during the
weeks after my surgery. With still sore feet, I moved with my husband to Moscow
in September. US Embassy Moscow had a more extensive gym, indoor pool and
indoor basketball court. Indoor is the key word here, as it seems most of the
year it’s winter in Moscow. I made use of the indoor facilities and agreed
(only once or twice) to run with my husband outside during good weather. Days
Worked Out: 231 out of 366 (a leap year) or 63%. Best month: September, 29 out
of 30 days, or a whopping 97%! And that only 6 weeks after bunion surgery. (When
you can’t walk, then watching and mimicking pilates videos is pretty much all
you can do besides eat all day, anyway.) Thank you, Pilates! Worst months: May
and December, tying the score at 14 out of 31 days, or 45%. Not so bad.
The year 2005 saw 217 out of 365 days of workouts, my third
best year in terms of days worked out, despite the fact that I spent most of
that year pregnant. Conclusion:
Pregnancy is good for staying fit! I also worked, a lot. I billed myself out as
a photographer, shooting portraits and events and hit the elliptical machine,
good for no-impact workouts. A “Yoga for Pregnancy” video was my new best
friend. I had my husband film me – the 45 extra pounds of protruding belly, double
chin, and all - on the elliptical machine the December night before my
scheduled c-section, so there’s proof! I was more in fear of the IV going into
my hand than the c-section into my abdomen. The last few exhausting days of
that year were spent learning how to nurse a wonderful, wrinkly, squawking
chicken-legged newborn. Days Worked Out: 217 out of 365, or 59%. Best month: July,
26 out of 31 days, or 59%. Worst month: December. 6 out of 31 days, or 19%.
2006 was another once-in-three-or-four-days years. I even recorded
five and seven workouts for the months of January and February, respectively,
despite healing from the fresh c-section slice and going on virtually no sleep,
while also entertaining loads of visiting friends and relatives who wanted to
see the baby. At six weeks old our newborn flew with us to wintery Moscow, where
we returned to a freezing apartment, all three of us wearing ski caps indoors. Unbelievably, neither the nights of little sleep nor the
whistling Moscow winds kept me from dragging myself to the gym every few days,
in between breastfeedings and naps. Instead, a workout meant a bit of freedom
and independence for me, both rare commodities for mothers with newborns. In
the summer, we moved back to Washington, DC to take a 6-week fast-track Japanese
course in preparation for our impending move to Tokyo. Now I juggled nursing
with Japanese flash cards. My “45% days worked out” in July dropped to the 20%
range for the rest of the year as we moved to Tokyo with our 8 month old and
got used to our surroundings in this exotic and exciting East Asian city. Days
Worked Out: 116 out of 365, or 32%. Best month: December, 18 out of 31 days, or
58%. Worst month: January, 5 out of 31 days, or 16%.
The year 2007 in Tokyo I recorded an annual average of 47%
of days worked out (171 out of 365 days), which translates to about an average
year for the decade, not great, not bad. I finished up nursing after the first
half of the year, took up soccer in the summer and became resonably fit for a glorious
but brief six months before becoming pregnant again. Best month: September. 19
out of 30 days, or 63%. Worst month: August, 9 out of 31 days, or 29%.
Next up: The Year’s Five-Second Stretch, no, I mean The
Second Five-Year Stretch, and the decade’s table (if I can figure out how to do
it!)
