End of last year and an anticipated slow start for the new year

I did fewer workouts in 2013 than I'd done in 1012 - about 20 fewer.  I did CrossFit more often, I skied more often, but I ran and cycled less in 2013.  As always, I ended the year wishing I weighed a little bit less than I weigh.  My weight is lower than a year ago, but it's also 10 pounds higher than my low point in 2013, which happened at the end of July.

I'd like to say it was a good year.  From a fitness perspective, it wasn't bad.  I got new lifetime bests in all of the power lifts, including a 440 pound deadlift at age 51.  I had a PRP treatment done for a nagging rotator cuff injury, and that healed reasonably well.  I improved my mobility, and therefore my form, for a number of lifts - primarily the front and back squat and the Oly lifts.

On the flip side, I had some skin cancer removed from my arm early in the year.  It wasn't a big deal, but it means I need to be more vigilant in the future.  In September, I lost my mother unexpectedly.  Shortly after that, my daughter's cat died unexpectedly.  And, then I got hit by my biggest issue of the year - a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

It was caught early and I should have a complete recovery from the cancer.  However, all of the treatment options truly suck.  There is no other way to describe it.  When you spend all your time with doctors talking about things like recurrence, impotence, incontinence, "penile shrinkage", androgen deprivation therapy, various forms of radiation, wearing a catheter for a week or more, robot assisted surgery, pain from CO2 gas stuck in your abdomen after surgery, etc., you realize that the solutions aren't optimal.

But, I supposed most of them beat dying a painful and premature depth.

So, I got to CrossFit yesterday for my first workout of the year.  I'll go again today.

I'll teach skiing all weekend.

And then Monday morning, I'm heading to Dartmouth to have my prostate surgically removed.  I'm not looking forward to this in any way, but I do want the stupid cancer out of my body.

The amazing thing is that I feel strong and fit right now.  I have zero symptoms.  But, if I wait too long to treat the cancer, that won't remain the case.

So, Monday afternoon, I'll be in surgery, completely knocked out.  I haven't had general anesthesia since the late 1960's, when I had my tonsils removed.

If all goes well, I'll miss a week or so of work.  I might work from home for another week.  I will likely be out of skiing for a month or so.  Lifting heavy could be 6-8 weeks.  But, as I heal, I should be able to return to my normal activities.  And, if the surgery goes well, the cancer should be completely cured.  I will need to be monitored, but hopefully, a few years of blood tests will be all that I need to verify that it's gone.

It's not my favorite way to start the new year, but we don't always get things exactly as we'd like them to be.  So, it's time to get this fixed and move on.

And after it's over, I'm looking forward to working hard in the gym, so I can duplicate or exceed my workout load from this past year.