New Year, New Resolution

At the beginning of the year I read an article in Parade Magazine by Ellen Degeneres that I think I will adopt for myself. She suggested that when we make our New Year's Resolutions we say things like "I will put off exercising" and then voile, a day into the new year we are keeping our Resolutions. So, here I am on day 13 of the New Year and I have 2 days of exercise under my belt. Ahh, it feels so good - Yeah Right. I think that getting my knees scoped was a big eye opener for me. It's all quiet depressing, but as with a heart patient, or someone who is obese, I must change my lifestyle. I guess I've always thought of change being for other people, and that change in my lifestyle didn't really matter because after all, I don't have a heart condition, I'm not obese, and I don't need to be totally drastic to save my own life. But, here I am at age 29 and my knees are that of an old geezer's and I have to change my lifestyle. If someone would have told me 2 1/2 years ago that I would be changing the way I exercise I would've told them they were crazy. Running, I thought, was for everyone, and it definitely was for me. I thought people who said their knees hurt and they couldn't run were just being lazy, and of course they could find a way to run. Well, now here I am with bad knees and I've been told that I can run, just in the pool, or on the elliptical, if that's called running. Then of course, I can make my way to the road for my triathlons,(1,2,3 days a year) but I must bring my carcass back into the gym to the pool and the elliptical when I am done. Man, this is HARD. You would think they told me I was going to die next week, because that's sure what it feels like.

So, for a New Year, and a New Resolution, I must change my lifestyle. The Physical Therapist told me I need to lose weight. Of course, I knew that, but to hear it from someone in a field of medicine sure puts you in your place. I got so used to eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted because I was burning it all off that I sit here now with an extra 15-20lbs to lose. All of this stemming from my knees, the beautiful round part of your leg that has a cap and a little bit of cartilage that helps to move us around this beautiful world.

Six months from now, you'll be reading how lame I was back in January to think that I couldn't exercise, because with my lifestyle change, I will feel the benefits of my knees.