Once upon a time I would have described myself as an outdoors person. I regularly mountain biked, road cycled, skied, hiked, kayaked, sailed and climbed mountains. I had a passion for the being outside and being active.
A shift to Wellington some 12 years ago, working life in an office and a busy social life put paid to a lot of the activities that I loved to do. Whilst I have kept up the sailing and for a time the cycling, gradually my 'other' passion (the devil on the other shoulder) for food, wine and a good party overtook the healthy living.
But the passion has never died and it's time to begin a journey back.
So just why do I consider this a journey? After years of neglect and excess I got a shock from the bathroom scales. On 24 January 2013, I saw the figure of 130.7kg. To me, that was the catalyst that triggered an awakening. There's no hiding from it... if I didn't do something soon then I knew I was on the fast track for an early and unhealthy demise.
So how did I get here? I was pretty good for a number of years. I regularly biked to and from work racking up the kilometres and keeping my weight under control. But there were a couple of setbacks. In 2007, a serious crash in the first race of the Wellington road racing season landed me in hospital with two broken vertebrae. I spent the next six months on crutches and when I finally got back on the bike my confidence had taken a big knock.
A year of solid training though had me feeling pretty good about my form and my weight was hovering in the mid 90's (I've never been a lightweight!!). In 2009, I set a goal of going under 3 hours over 100km. When the time came, I felt ready and had a strong race. But the dynamics of bunch riding saw me miss that three hour mark by 20 seconds. Yes, a mere 20 seconds. I should have just shrugged it off, knowing that 20 seconds was nothing, but psychologically something inside me snapped. This 20 seconds has done me far more damage than the broken back did.
I decided to take a break from cycling and other than a half-marathon in mid-2009 have done virtually nothing to maintain my fitness. I also did nothing to adjust the rest of my lifestyle. In a little over 2 years I racked on 30 plus kilos and for 2012 hovered in the mid 120s. At this point there was always the "I should do something about it"... but I never, until now did
By recording that fateful 130.7kg, I immortalise the number as a reminder of where I have come from and where I shall never return.
Next chapter... The first steps to redemption.
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