What was your surprise accomplishment in 2019?!
Options
lorrpb
Posts: 11,464 Member
Which fitness accomplishment in 2019 surprised you a little bit, or a lot?
For me it was cycling 1060 miles. Last Jan I had a grand total of 85 miles biking experience. I had many opportunities to ride this summer and loved every minute. Never expected to get over 1,000 mi this year! Looking forward to what next year holds
For me it was cycling 1060 miles. Last Jan I had a grand total of 85 miles biking experience. I had many opportunities to ride this summer and loved every minute. Never expected to get over 1,000 mi this year! Looking forward to what next year holds
17
Replies
-
My husband and I unexpectedly ran an ultra marathon! At the last minute my husband and I entered the Tour d’Esprit 24 hour race, which is a time based race during which you run as many circuits of a 1 mile course, both roads and trails, as possible. We had not been training for anything more than 10k, and had never previously run longer than a half marathon. We figured we would do at least 10k, since a glance at previous years’ results showed that the majority of people in our age group did 10k, attend the spaghetti dinner at the race site, and then see what we had left in the tank.
We ended up doing 11 miles before dinnertime. A half is 13.1 miles so it seemed obvious we should do at least a half, since it was only a couple more miles. Then we said, hey, if we just do that again we will have run a marathon! So we did 27 miles that night. And then we got a little sleep and said, 27 miles is technically an ultra since it’s longer than a marathon but it’s kind of weency for an ultra, why not do a few more miles and call it 50k? So we did a few more miles and ended up running our first 50k.
It’s not something I planned to do, and I doubt I will do it regularly, but we enjoyed running all through the night in the wilderness, passing other runners quietly struggling in the darkness, checking in with the guys at the timing booth each circuit. A 24 hour race is very different from a 5k!15 -
My accomplishments are much tinier.
I lost 32kg and got to goal weight - but my surprise accomplishments were:
1. from only being able to plank for 20 seconds, I could plank for 2 minutes
2. I could walk up a hill/stairs without feeling like I was going to die8 -
I surpassed my yearly running mileage goal by a hundred miles, for a grand total of 700 miles! I attribute this to the fact that I had a UAE procedure to treat multiple fibroids and I’m no longer borderline anemic from them for the first time in years! I feel like my endurance has improved immensely. Also it’s now been about 6 years since I started running and I feel like I’ve really dialed in my form... didn’t even have any tendinitis so it’s been a fantastic running year for me, I’ve had so much fun! Happy New Year to all!
9 -
koalathebear wrote: »My accomplishments are much tinier.
I lost 32kg and got to goal weight - but my surprise accomplishments were:
1. from only being able to plank for 20 seconds, I could plank for 2 minutes
2. I could walk up a hill/stairs without feeling like I was going to die
That is awesome! I can completely understand your second point because that was literally my relationship with stairs/hills when I began my weightloss journey about 7 years ago. Congrats!1 -
rheddmobile wrote: »My husband and I unexpectedly ran an ultra marathon! At the last minute my husband and I entered the Tour d’Esprit 24 hour race, which is a time based race during which you run as many circuits of a 1 mile course, both roads and trails, as possible. We had not been training for anything more than 10k, and had never previously run longer than a half marathon. We figured we would do at least 10k, since a glance at previous years’ results showed that the majority of people in our age group did 10k, attend the spaghetti dinner at the race site, and then see what we had left in the tank.
We ended up doing 11 miles before dinnertime. A half is 13.1 miles so it seemed obvious we should do at least a half, since it was only a couple more miles. Then we said, hey, if we just do that again we will have run a marathon! So we did 27 miles that night. And then we got a little sleep and said, 27 miles is technically an ultra since it’s longer than a marathon but it’s kind of weency for an ultra, why not do a few more miles and call it 50k? So we did a few more miles and ended up running our first 50k.
It’s not something I planned to do, and I doubt I will do it regularly, but we enjoyed running all through the night in the wilderness, passing other runners quietly struggling in the darkness, checking in with the guys at the timing booth each circuit. A 24 hour race is very different from a 5k!
From one runner to another... WOW!0 -
Which fitness accomplishment in 2019 surprised you a little bit, or a lot?
For me it was cycling 1060 miles. Last Jan I had a grand total of 85 miles biking experience. I had many opportunities to ride this summer and loved every minute. Never expected to get over 1,000 mi this year! Looking forward to what next year holds
You are absolutely radiant in that pic! Congrats!1 -
In January 2019, I weighed 231 pounds. I quit smoking, eating fast food, drinking coke, and all things containing corn syrup, and went on a low calorie vegetarian diet. In march I bought a spin bike and began using it every day. By june I had dropped 40 pounds, and now in december I'm weighing in at 160. Talk about surprise accomplishments, I'm still wondering whats going on!10
-
It was a big year for me, not so much in terms of weight loss (which is fine - though I did go down at least one size) but rather in fitness. I competed in a sport for the first time since I was in 8th or 9th grade, I got second place in men's novice 4+ boat class at NW regionals (out of 3, but we beat the third place boat by multiple seconds), I learned how to scull, I competed in multiple sculling races, and I managed to figure out how to force myself to do strength training.5
-
I had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and after just a couple of months I have recovered more than some ever do from the surgery. So I guess getting the shoulder repaired and a speedy, determined recovery is my biggest accomplishment7
-
Two of my biggest accomplishments were continued daily exercise, even when I REALLY didn't want to. And becoming vegetarian. That is something I have ALWAYS wanted to try for as long as I can remember. Finally attempted going veggie at the beginning of 2019 and I LOVE IT. It's a lot of fun trying all kinds of different foods and combinations of foods. I've tried so many things I've never eaten before. For example, Jicama, rutabagas and acorn squash to name just a few. Where have they been all my life?? Yum!4
-
I had planned the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in NZ in 2019 and we did it. My surprise was the ease I did it with I am not a good climber and the steepness and height difference of this one-day hike is quite dramatic Still my husband and I did it in a very decent 6.5 hours.
The real surprise was my walk fro my husband's work to our home. I took the scenic coastal and parks route as much as I could. Took me 8 hours or so and was 36.4km a well as 56K steps completing all my Garmin steps related badges3 -
Went from Obese Class II BMI to Normal Weight BMI from April 6th to Dec 31st.9
-
Probably the half marathon I ran last January!!
I'm a cyclist, especially a long distance cyclists ... I've dabbled in running now and then, but didn't really expect to ever actually run anything as long as a half marathon!4 -
Wow, these are some motivating accomplishments - congrats to all! I struggled with my weight all year, but I did commit to walking 200 miles each month, and ended the year with just over 2,500 miles.10
-
Both my Century rides in 2019 were surprise accomplishments in different ways.
First one in July was supposed to be an organised Audax ride of just under 90 miles as preparation for my planned big August one where I was raising money for charity. Coming back from a major lumbar disc prolapse, a lot of family commitments and subsequently feeling under-trained I need to confirm to myself I could get the distance.
When the route came though it had grown to over 90 miles and on the day a road closure and reroute brought the distance up again. And then only 14 miles in I had a huge and very fast crash. Bike was a bit of a mess but I could make it rideable - I was a lot of a mess but could ride on with a torn medial knee ligament, displaced clavicle, mashed hand and fingers plus a lot of abrasions. As the day was ruined I thought I should salvage something from it.
A navigation error brought the distance up to 98 miles so I went past the finish and back again to click off the 100 miles and finish my hardest ever ride on a small high.
My physio had cleared me to ride in the August one "as long as I was sensible and didn't crash". My knee was very unstable as it was already missing a couple of important bits before I badly tore the MCL and although riding shouldn't damage it further a crash could be serious. Sensible plan was to take it steady until all the major climbs were done by 60 miles and then raise the pace only if I felt OK.
A few minutes before the start I had a "sensible and senile are far too similar, sod it - don't finish and wonder how you could have done it if you had given it everything" moment. Decided to flip my plan and push hard from the start and slow down if I had to.
Ticked off all three goals of a Century PB, 20 miles in an hour (managed 40 in 2hrs) and raised well over £1000 for a cancer charity in memory of my FIL & BIL.9 -
November 2018 I started rowing on my concept 2. In 2019, I finished several challenges, rowed all available days (I travel for work and pleasure) except for 13 days. And I made it to 1million meters! Basically everything was a surprise accomplishment as far as rowing goes.3
-
Last New Years I was recovering from a total hysterectomy and single oophorectomy... mentally, emotionally, and physically I was a mess! Definitely struggled with depression through all of winter (SAD plus the emotional mess from all the hormone fluctuations and inability to get on with normal life).
Started to get back into running, but had gained enough weight that it was pretty hard on my joints. By the end of our cross country vacation in August I was up 15 lbs from before surgery. Day to day I just felt awful.
One day I said “no more!” Enjoyed a last hoorah meal out, and the next morning started MFP.
15 lbs down, physically able to do more than I have been able to do in years (fibro and chronic fatigue). I fully ran more than one 5k and am currently training for my first Sprint Tri this spring! 6 months ago I felt “done” - at 35 I didn’t know if I was going to ever be able to do much outside of day to day functioning. My mom has commented on how much better I sound emotionally as well. A couple hiccups where depressions tries to show it’s ugly self but it is quickly snuffed out!
ETA: oh! And yesterday I did 90 minutes at the trampoline park with the family! Rock wall, flips, jumps, dodgeball, basketball dunks - it was a blast! My husband said he feels like he has his wife back He never made me feel bad on my hard days/weeks/months, but inside he didn’t know if life would ever be the same8 -
Mine is the fact that I became a water aerobics instructor! And not only that I've been told by several people I'm the best one at the pool and my classes are always fuller than anybody elses. I've also been asked by the gym to get certified and teach High Fit. I'm still debating that one as I have random knee pain. Sometimes its fine other times it randomly hurts.6
-
I can run 5k at a time. Running wasn't even on my radar at the beginning of the year. I hadn't run in 40+ years, and even then was under duress in PE class. Once I started running, my goal was to run, with my daughter, the 5k path around the lake where she lives. We did that a week or two ago.
My 2019 goal was to get an arm balance in yoga. I've gotten several variations, and am working on headstand in the middle of the room. Lost confidence after getting one up and then taking a noisy and embarassing fall in the middle of a crowded class. However, getting one up at all was a surprise accomplishment in and of itself.
So 2020 goal is a headstand in the middle of the room. I can easily balance on my elbows, it's just getting the dad gum feet up in the air!4 -
I signed up for a marathon and (surprise!) got preggers before the run...so I ran my second marathon 14 weeks pregnant.6
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 390 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 922 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions