Taking a compliment

crossposted on my other blog...

Mmm...I just finished my breakfast of cottage cheese and peaches. I can still taste it. Yum...just yum. I still can't believe that that is one of my favourite breakfasts. Strange how things go like that...
This morning I crawled out into the cold cold world and came in to do my upper body weights workout and then 35 minutes on the treadmill nice and fast at incline 2. I admit to breaking into a run for 2 minutes near the end during a favourite song and then reigning myself in again. It's so hard. I'm one of those nutters that LOVES to run...it just isn't good for my knee and I know it. And I must be good, because my knee, for the first time in a LONG LONG while, is utterly and completely normal. In fact, it's better than normal. I've been doing one legged lunges the last few weeks with no complaints and last night I bounded up the stairs to get something at home. In the past this would have elicited a twinge or pinch.

Now? Nothing. Because I'm achieving my goals. My legs are strong. The muscles supporting my knee are strong. I used to only be able to do one set of leg raises of 10 lbs before my knee would complain and ache. As of yesterday I can do 3 sets of 40. Yes...hard work and attention to form has given me back the active, strong legs I have been wanting and I couldn't be more happy about it. I can do everything I need to do...and my butt is really coming together :P

Being the hermit I have been with school lately I've sort of not noticed the changes in my health and overall body shape over the past few months. Nose to the grindstone. Really it's only my annoying lack of fitting clothes that's given me any signals that I'm really changing my body. The last week or so, going to Christmas gatherings a few people have come up and asked me what I'm doing to make such a good change. It's a bit embarrassing for me as I still don't know how to take a compliment, but it really pleases me that it's noticeable. I mean, I see myself nekkid and I know about all the muscle tone I have...and I have passed the grinning husband test. I'm not doing this for other people...and yet knowing it's visible to others is really encouraging. It's the same reason why if I think I should pay a stranger a compliment I do...I know how it feels :)

I'm really struggling with finishing up my last assignment (it's one of those make work sort of things) and studying for my exam. It's been over 10 years since I've written a final exam...and I don't quite "get" all the material I need to to completely understand it all (it *is* biostatistical analysis methods...not exactly a cake walk, but still...I've got a nerdy brain. This stuff usually comes easily to me). If I can finish up my final assignment tonight I'll have 5 days left to study. I'm hoping it will be enough to mush things around in my head and come up with a decent understanding of what i need to know. Maybe I'm being a bit hard on myself, but I really want to know that when I walk into that test, whatever mark I get is the best I could get. If I blow it, so be it. At least I will have tried my best. Then there is no regrets and I can go on with life. It's been one long frigging difficult semester and I'll be damned if I give up with 1 week left :).

Well, I must be off. Lots of lab stuff to do...later taters!

Workout tunes: Fatboy Slim - Greatest Hits: Why try harder

2 comments:

Sagan said...

So happy for you! It's wonderful when you and others can really SEE the results of all of your hard work.

Charlotte said...

yay for a happy knee!! And congrats on the compliments and the hot bod! I know how you feel though - I never know what to say when people comment on my body one way or the other. So uncomfortable!