well, 2009 was probably the most challenging and negative year of my entire life. so many bad things happened to me that weren't fair.. it was just one thing after another. guess that's what happens to transsexuals in a world that is full of bigotry, transphobia, and outright hate and discrimination.
i certainly hope that 2010 is better, although i am not very optimistic about it. this is going to be a year of survival, where i take life one day at a time, with the ultimate goal of surviving each day with the daily goal of achieving 4 things: a visit to the pond to see the ducks, having food on the table, having a daily estrogen pill, and having a roof over my head to sleep each night. if i can achieve all four of these things for 365 days in a row, i will consider 2010 a success. anything else will be icing on the cake!
icing which i hope will include a new job, a change in provincial government health care policies to include surgery and other care deemed needed for transsexuals, and a year in which i better learn to manage the physical challenges of being on estrogen and going thru the feminizing process - and get some weight off and continue to excel in my running and swimming.. hopefully a year that includes some great marathon runs, and some great trips to see family and friends on the mainland..
i finished 2009 having run 4002km, an annual record for me. this included 7 officially sanctioned marathon runs, including the Boston Marathon and World Outgames Marathon in Copenhagen Denmark, where i gold medalled, and became what appears to be the first formally-sanctioned transsexual in world history to complete a marathon. It was also the year i joined the MarathonManiacs.com and achieved their level 5 status while running 3 marathons in 8 days, in what ended up being 5 marathons in 30 days.
i only managed 335k in the pool, which is only 48% of what i swam last year. but i did manage to participate in my first ever swim meet, also at the World Outgames, where i set a personal best in the 1500M freestyle and took home another gold medal!
it was also a great year in terms of reaching out and giving back to the community, both in terms of becoming a volunteer running coach, and in terms of taking on countless pieces of advocacy
work for the rights of transsexuals.
after losing 70 pounds in a span of 18 months from Jan 07 - July 08, i managed to gain back 30 of them in the following 18 months, which is something i expected with the hormonal side of my transition. i sense that the worst of the adjustment period is over, and i can now expect to get used to more stable hormone levels, which means i should be able to start losing weight again if i am a little more careful with my calories and pick it back up a notch in terms of training.
well, i'm sure there will be more reflecting back on the year that was, and the year ahead, in the coming days in these blog pages!
hope everyone has a great 2010!
Jennifer
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4002 km is a heck of a year Jennifer!! Congratulations on that - I've never gone over 3000 in 27 years of running, so I know what a feat this is! See you on the road somewhere in 2010 and have a great year of running, swimming, and racing :-)
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