In 2009, I was a dedicated rock climber and hiker. I was redpointing 5.10c and a 12 mile hike for me was a good day. Then one day something horrible happened, out of the blue.
I began to feel intense pain in my abdomen, and I was diagnosed with an intestinal ailment. I struggled with "conservative measures" for many months. I was unable to eat enough to maintain my health, and my weight dropped by 25 pounds. When it kept going down, and the ailment did not heal, the doctor recommended surgery. After the surgery, I was still unable to gain my normal weight back, even though I was eating a normal amount of food.
It took many months to get back to a healthy weight, and now I am happy to report, I worry about weighing too much! After the medical nightmare I endured, wasting away month after month, weighing too much seems like a pretty good problem to have.
Last year, my blood pressure went out of control. While I was getting stabilized on medications, I was not able to climb. Now I am stable, and I have been cleared for climbing once again. So I am beginning the process, once again, of building my strength back up. Climbers talk about having a "foundation." By that, they mean the basic level of strength and fitness you have to have to make the moves that get you up the cliff. It takes dedication and months of training to build this, and it takes regular workouts to maintain it.
There has been an unexpected gift in all of this; I've learned to focus on enjoying what I do, no matter what level of accomplishment I happen to be at. The rock in my hands, the wind in my hair, a well-executed sequence are all enjoyable no matter the level of performance!
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