7 weeks past chemo now and I am starting to get my energy back. I went for my first big workout at the gym about 5 weeks after chemo - I did a whole 30 minutes on the elliptical! By the 10 minute mark I was having issues breathing and was sweating like crazy. I admit I was a little disappointed, a small part of me thought that maybe my body would bounce back quickly and I'd be able to do 1 hour bootcamps without issue. After that first workout I took a step back and thought about how I should approach my exercise program. I didn't want to jump in too fast and injure myself, but I also want to be able to do the Ride to Conquer Cancer in August! So for the past few weeks I did little workouts. I would do 20 minute easy rides on the bike at home, or some sun salutations in the morning, and my favorite, 10 minute barre workouts. Some of these would still leave me sore for days, but I could tell that it was helping with my energy levels.

I think it's important when you're going through something like this to remember that your body is not the same, and to listen to your body so that you don't hurt yourself even more. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and think ugh, where did THAT come from?! Or when did my arms lose all their toning?! I then remind myself that I went through two major abdominal surgeries and six rounds of chemo - that's enough to change anyone's body! My body is amazing for what it has gotten me through lately, and I really shouldn't be so hard on it for how it looks. Each of my surgeries took 6 or so weeks to recover from before I was given the OK to start gently working out again. Well, have a couple of those surgeries and follow it by 18 weeks of chemotherapy and you can imagine I did not get a lot of exercise in. It's like starting from scratch to get my endurance back. Getting through the day still takes a lot of energy out of me. Sometimes at the end of the day walking up a flight of stairs will make me breathe a little harder and make my leg muscles burn a little.

I have a new respect for people who have been unable to keep fit due to illness or injury. Coming back from these things takes a lot of time, patience, and effort. It's hard to keep your mind under control and not get frustrated. It's hard to recognize that everything is different and the same routines may not work. I pushed myself last weekend and did a "virtual ride" class at the Winter Club - it's just a video that they put on that you follow along to. This one let me ride through the countryside of Northern Italy. It was nice for me because I was able to slow down if I needed a breather, but it also pushed me to complete a full class that took more effort than riding at home takes. I rode a total of 26km in that hour (and burned 940 calories!) and was very proud of myself! Now my next challenge is skiing - different muscles, different intensity - I guess we'll see how it goes!