Year of the Horse

Yesterday was Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse. It's suppose to portend a wild, unstable and temperamental time. Traditionally, birthrates decline during this period because no one wants to raise a baby under this omen. This past weekend was also Valentines Day, and Presidents Day weekend. And NY schools are closed for the week for mid-winter break, something we did not have when I was a child. Today is also Ash Wednesday. Seems like a lot of events all smushed together in a very tight week. 

The husband and I did eat at a new local Chinese eatery over the weekend and had some tasty tonkatsu ramen with added duck, bamboo shoots, fish balls. Long noodles and dumplings are recommended during New Year sine they signify long life and wealth. But of course, they also taste good. 

Today is the first day I've been to the gym all week, and the week is half over. It's been raining all day and there's still plenty of snow everywhere. I'm later than I'd like and expect the gym to be crowded. It's not. But I can't use the elliptical because a girl I've never seen before says she's going to use it as she adjusts her earbuds and water bottle. Whatever. I don't think she's on there very long but I've already moved on to the Stair machine. Unfortunately, even 15 minutes isn't really enough for an adequate warmup. This means that pull-ups are rather abysmal. Yes, I can get 15 reps but they are rather ugly. My sciatica is not appeased. 

Because the free weight area was unexpectedly quiet, I saw my opportunity to finally do a DB Shoulder routine. It's been months! I'm nursing a sore right shoulder but that's can be adjusted for. The shoulder is most likely due to my dogs on a walk constantly switching back and forth, left to right, right to left and me having to loop the leash overhead to untangle them. It's less likely to trip me up than having to step over and between leashes. 

Once I got the weights done, I went back to the cardio platform and got on elliptical #1. Wind Breaker was still pedaling. I think he pedals for 3-4 hours every day, but I'm not sure what the point is. He doesn't seem to do anything else at the gym. Elliptical #1 is behaving a bit differently: not making the grinding noise on a descent, probably because the machine doesn't seem to be able to make a descent regardless of what the console displays. I chose to do a different program: Intervals for 20 minutes and I didn't feel or see the pedaling platform adjust from level 10 down to level 4 and back up again. I wonder if the other programs are similarly impacted; I'll find out next time.

In the Aerobics Room, a woman has laid out several pieces of equipment: ropes, plates, DBs, step up platform, a jump rope and a mat. I asked her if there's a class cuz maybe I stumbled into an afternoon class I didn't know about, and she said, No, it's just her. Cool. I take a mat to the corner and do my usual routine. My sciatica is still kicking my butt during Bird Dogs, push-ups, and even Dead Bugs. But it's not a surprise, just a resigned disappointment. I'll be so happy when one day I wake up and suddenly realize that there is an absence of pain. It'll indeed be something to celebrate. 

18 February 2026 1:12-3:21

Late Wednesday Cold Rain

Mid Winter Break so HS kids

Easing back Matrix StairMaster (L)

(1:15-1:31)

Manual timer 13 + 3 cool down

Speed 4 (40-49) / 2 (33-29) / 1 (21-24)

Steps 630

Floors 39

Cal 97

Hr 153

HGPU 15 (ugly since I'm not very warmed up)

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys (slow & EZ)

10 lbs x 25/15/25 (1:44)

15 lbs x 30/15/30 (1:52)

20/15/20 x 25/15/25 reps

Set 1 (2:00); Set 2 (2:09); Set 3 (2:20)

Precor elliptical #1 (2:53)

Program Intervals 8/3

Time: 20 + 5 (3564)

Distance: 1.94

Cal: 208

Precor HR: 137, 182max 87 min

Fitbit: 46-147

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!!!)

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 25 (legs shoulder width)

Air Squats 25

Skip Neck Stretch / eye yoga

Ignoring Medical Advice

I planned to go to the gym yesterday but I was so exhausted by the time I got back from the dog park that I canned that idea and went grocery shopping instead. The last thing I need is to ignore fatigue symptoms and let myself come down with another unnamed but persistent illness. The one I got at Christmas that lasted for over 3 weeks was quite enough. Today, I'm still tired but not as much. It seems to take me a long time to get basic chores done, so of course, I'm at the gym later than I'd like. 

Wind Breaker is pedaling elliptical #3 and all the rest are vacant. I get on #1 and proceed with program 1. There's a loud noise outside of the normal clunking and I look down to see that the plate covering the pedal rods has slipped out of place and is banging against the frame. I can reach down with my toe and slide it back into place. Once the program hits a severe incline, the plate slides down again and I have to pause again to toe the plate back into the position. 

While I started off with my quads feeling quite depleted, but by the time 35 minutes was over, I was actually less tired. My sciatica was still upset, as always, and my toes were numb. This got progressively worse when I did a few stretches at the Stretch Cage. Pull-ups were better than last time, probably because it's been literally an entire week since last I did this. There's only one of the two older Step Machines working and luckily, it's vacant. I do 10 minutes there, again, at the slower speed of 4. Because the machine varies its speed, the step count is different than last time, when again, I did 10 minutes at speed 4. 

The gym is getting crowded, especially with HS kids. Maybe I'll do the DB Shoulder routine tomorrow if I can arrive early enough. I've been crunched for time since I started walking the pups in the morning while waiting for temps to warm up a tad. Then I can defrost the car windshield and we can mosey off to the dog park. Also, dog friends don't arrive at the park until 10ish so another reason to wait instead of getting to the park at 9. 

Because my sciatica is abated by using the Step Machine, I decide to give pull-ups another go. I figure the worse that'll happen is that I make it to an even dozen? Am I being presumptuous? The gym has moved the Stretch Cage out from between the Torso Twist and the Lower Back Press. The problem is that people tend to slam the torso machine and that causes it to inch forward until it's literally pressed up against the Stretch Cage. I'm not sure how moving the cage out six inches really helps since the torso machine will still be creeping forward. Until someone drags it back into position. 

I was rather surprised that my second set of pull-ups was as good as the first set. Maybe slightly better. The sciatica didn't hurt as much during this set and I stopped at 15 from fatigue, not pain down my right leg. Then off to the Aerobics Room to do some stretching and bodyweight movements. Dead Bugs and Bird Dog planks are really the only movements that aggravate my sciatica. Push-ups are fine with the legs apart. Air Squats have always been okay. Should I add Walking Lunges? Probably not just yet. 

I did see the Orthopedic specialist with my MRI results. I'd been warned that he's pro-surgery, and while he's soft spoken and not at all pushy, he did state that he could only recommend either a pain management doc for steroid shots to relieve inflammation, or surgical options to reduce the narrowed vertebrae space inside the spinal column. I'm not inclined to do either of these things. Instead, I'm probably going to continue doing what I'm doing to see if I can regain my former exercise routine with less pain. Or I might visit the chiropractor with my x-rays and see if there might be a way get my spine back to a more stable position.  

12 February 2026 1:37-3:12

Late Thursday  

Bare Basics w sciatica

Precor elliptical #1 (2:16)

Program 1

Time: 30 + 5 (5308)

Distance: 2.75

Cal: 300

Precor HR: 145, 200-77

Fitbit: 43-135

Kept having toe the plate back into position after a program steep incline

HGPU 15 (w/ sciatica after 12 )

Easing back Matrix StairMaster (L) (2:28-2:38) right ft numb etc

Manual timer 8+2 cool down

Speed 4 (40-45) / 2 (33-29) / 1 (24)

Steps 401

Floors 25

Cal 61

Hr 129

HGPU 15

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!!!)

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 30 (legs shoulder width)

Air Squats 25

Skip Neck Stretch / eye yoga

Before Another Polar Vortex

Yesterday I noticed an odd circular print in the snow just off the trail that goes from the main dog park gate to the shed atop the hill. The print is about a foot off from the kill site where I found the yellow-tailed flicker. There are still a lot of feathers, big wing and tail feathers and smaller downy fluff scattered in the snow, along with small locust bean pods. I guess no one wants to eat those. 

Because the weather has been relatively calm and not a lot of dogs have come due to the extreme cold, the site has been very stable. The circular print looks like a ring of feathers, much like a bird of prey touching down, perhaps in a swooping attack. Tonight, a bone-chilling polar vortex descends upon us and relieves us of the balmy 30 degrees we've been enjoying for the past two days. Winds are expected to gust up to 50 mph so the prints will probably not survive. 

This morning, we went to the dog park as always, and were locked out of the park because management changed the lock codes, then swore they had emailed the new codes to us all. Which they hadn't. While I was standing at the gate yelling into my phone, with my two dogs frantically trying to paw the entrance open, a man walked in through the exit road with two small Doberman-looking dogs. I had never seen him or the dogs before. My bigger boy became irrational and wanted to attack the intruders. I'm still screaming at the park employee on the phone to give me the goddamn gate code. I can't drag my dogs back to my car as they're too riled up. I need to get them inside the park. 

Park employee has to check with her supervisor who has to consult the list of renewing members. (I renewed weeks ago.) She finds my name and proceeds to tell me once again that the codes have been emailed and I curse her out and tell her they haven't. Finally, she tells me the stupid code over the phone and I get my dogs inside just in time. The stranger and his two dogs are walking back. I have my dogs in separate pens because until I give the reactive one a "calming chew" there is the very real danger that he will take his frustrations out on his smaller, more passive brother, who is unwilling to share the same space with crazy dog. At least until he chills out. 

After 5 minutes of running along the fence when another dog and person walks by (we know this one by sight so it's not as infuriating), a big drink of water and a tasty melatonin chew, my big guy has calmed down. Just in time as a dog friend arrives at the park. Now my other pup is comfortable enough to join everyone. Whew. All this could have been avoided if the park people had sent the code out properly. I'm sure we'll go through this again same time next year. 

Before I go to the gym, I stop off at the Park office to straighten out the dog park code issue. I tell them to humor me and email themselves from the park email server. When they look closer after insisting the email was sent this morning, they realize that it only went to 3 recipients, and not the entire list of dog park users. Uh, yeah. I'm finally able to get to the gym and it's really late. School has let out and there are clusters of very small, very young boys scattered throughout the free weight area. Luckily, not too many people interested in the cardio equipment. 

It's freezing at the gym. But after 35 minutes on the elliptical, singing my tunes, I'm thoroughly warmed up and a bit drenched. My glute aches a little, my right foot is partially numb. Those annoyances get much worse at the Stretch Cage when I do pull-ups. Today, the first 8-10 aren't too painful and I can maintain my form. But the last few really hurt, the ache from my glute down the calf and into the entire tingly foot. It hurts a lot. The free weight area has dozens of pint-size boys and I'm not in the mood to deal with that. But I don't head right away to the Aerobics Room. Instead, I do 10 minutes on the Step Machine. It's been a long time, so I actually set it to level 4 (40 steps per minute) down from 5. It's painful to start, but by the end, the sciatica actually feels better. Guess I'm adding that back in now. 

Of course, the relief is all ruined by some of the core exercises I do in the Aerobics Room. Like Dead Bugs, which lately really aggravate that sciatic bundle. Bird Dog planks also numb my foot. Push-ups feel better when I can spread my legs shoulder width apart, otherwise there's a lot of lower back and sciatic pain with feet close together. I have an appointment with the orthopedics doc next week. I wonder what he'll tell me about the MRI scans. I hope it's something that will allow me to increase my physical activity, cuz it's been very frustrating.  

6 February 2026 2:17-3:55

Late Friday Before the Polar Vortex

Bare Basics w sciatica

Precor elliptical #1 (2:54)

Program 3

Time: 30 + 5 (5284)

Distance: 2.75

Cal: 299

Precor HR: 145, 194-80

Fitbit: 44-134 (right foot numb)

HGPU 15 (w/ sciatica after 12 )

   Easing back Matrix StairMaster (L) (3:05-3:15) right ft numb etc

Manual timer 8+2 cool down

Speed 4 (40) / 2 (33-29) / 1 (24)

Steps 382

Floors 23

Cal 59

Hr 126

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!!!)

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 30 (legs shoulder width)

Air Squats 25

Skip Neck Stretch / eye yoga

Post Groundhog Day

Groundhog Phil saw his shadow yesterday and that's not reassuring. Temps are slated to dip into the negative double digits, making our small town colder than the city of Buffalo, a place notorious for deep snow and lake-driven wind chill. It's courtesy of the polar vortex that has Florida seeing more than frost in the orchards. I wonder if iguanas have fallen from all the palm trees. It's been so cold without respite that nothing has melted and snowbanks are piled high, obscuring vision at intersections. 

The dogs go to the park later in the morning when temps at least rise into the teens. Single digits are a worry for frostbite. Last week there was at least one pup to play with. This week there is no one. Uncharacteristically, my dogs now tell me they're ready to leave the park after 45 minutes. They're bored. And cold. The snow is deep and there's no one to make trouncing in it worthwhile. Yesterday, we found a dead bird right on the "trail" up to the shed. Mostly intact with feathers everywhere in the snow, it was a large yellow-tailed flicker with an egregious wound to its neck. Most likely an interrupted hawk attack. 

I moved the body to outside the park fencing, but not roadside as I didn't want any critters colliding with traffic while searching for a scavenged meal. The last thing I wanted was my dogs playing with the carcass although I'm not sure they were all that interested. What got them excited was finding a feral cat hiding behind the trash bin when we went for a walk this morning. Thank goodness I had a good grip on both their leashes as the cat zipped out and ran down the road. 

The gym wasn't too crowded when I finally arrived. I really tried to push myself on cardio so that worked out okay. Again, pull-ups really suck once I get past the first half dozen. The pain from my calf and lower back, along with the numb foot really makes the next half dozen difficult. I make it to 15 and it's definitely not pretty. I do a few of the stretches I learned at Physical Therapy and most of my routine in the super cold Aerobics Room. 

Dead Bugs, Bird Dog planks, push-ups all aggravate my sciatica, or vice versa. The sciatica makes doing these movements so much more difficult than they should be. I worry that I'm losing upper body strength and vow to make time to get a session of the DB routine in, maybe Friday. 

I went for the long awaited MRI yesterday. They call it an "open MRI" because you're not being inserted into a closed tube, but honestly, it was more like being rolled into a panini press with a huge white flat plate inches from your face. Yeah, the sides are open but since you're not supposed to move, you don't appreciate any "openness" and even with earplugs and headphones, it is still really really loud. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, like a meditation. Then, after it was done, I got a CD to bring home. The doc will get a report. I viewed the images but I wish I knew what I was looking at! 

I'm worried that I'm possibly having an allergic reaction to the Alphagan P in that I've been unusually tired, even after a long nap. Some glaucoma patients report that their meds make them barely able to get out of bed. I also feel more susceptible to colds, or maybe it's just being out in freezing weather everyday with the dogs. My eyes are sporadically itchy and that could be a reaction. 

Or it could be that since all my meds reduce eye fluids to reduce eye pressure, the results are ultra dry eyes. But not just eyes. Dry mouth is constant, and lately, although my nose runs all the time, my sinuses feel really dry. I'm not sure how that's possible! But it could also be the ridiculous low humidity that accompanies cold winter air. 

My skin is disintegrating and I'm slathering moisturizing creams and petrolatum every few hours to tamp down the incessant flaking. Every time I change my clothes, it's like I shook a snow globe in the room. Today was balmy with a peak of 33 degrees. The rest of the week will rival Antarctica, but without the penguins. 

4 February 2026 1:09-2:26

Less Frigid Wednesday

Bare Basics w sciatica

Precor elliptical #1

Program 2

Time: 30 + 5 (5290)

Distance: 2.75

Cal: 300

Precor HR: 145, 182-73

Fitbit: 43-134

(right foot numb)

HGPU 15 (w/ sciatica after 11 )

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!)

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2 (numb right foot)

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 30

Air Squats 25

Neck Stretch / eye yoga

All of The Above

My night owl tendencies are getting out of hand. Lately I've been headed to bed after 2 AM and not even close to being asleep until nearly 3. It's been so cold that I've delayed taking the dogs to the park until temps at least hit double digits. No reason to chance frostbite and yes, even winter-hardy pups can get frostbite even if they insist on being outside. They're not huskies or malamutes, after all. They're mixed breeds, and while they have double coats, their undersides are fairly sparse of coat. They are super lazy at home, preferring to dine like Romans, in the reclining position. 

All this means I'm barely getting 6 hours of sleep and probably less. At least most of my carnivorous plants are doing well (Venus flytraps are flowering, tiny new sundews are making dew) except for the lone pitcher plant that needs exceptional babying. It's in a plastic bag to maintain high humidity, on a heat mat, under indirect light. Fingers crossed. I'm told they hate being handled, and that I need to be super patient with it. Okay... 

I've started to notice some odd side effects since starting the "new" glaucoma drops. Technically, Alphagan-P (brimonidine) is not a new medicine. It's just new to me. I'm sticking with the name-brand since I have a vague recollection of being allergic to the generic about 30 years ago. The side effects don't affect my eyes although they are much drier now, as is all my nasal membranes and mouth. What's odd is that now when I administer a different eye drop, brinzolamide (brand name Azopt), there is an unpleasant metallic taste afterward. But I've taken brinzolamide for years without this effect. I believe it's been precipitated by the Alphagan-P. And I space my drops almost an hour apart so it's not that my meds are mixing in my eyes. 

Another side effect of Alphagan-P, is a lowered heart rate, and possible shortness of breath. This might translate to feeling overly fatigued. Like I felt at the gym today. Except that 2 hours prior, I'd been trudging up and down the dog park hill and had to shovel out two more gates (we arrived late and a dog that one of my pups doesn't like was in the main area so I had to access a smaller side enclosure until that dog left). It's been too cold for the snow to melt even a little, and because the snow is powder fine, it's loose and slippery and great for skiing, but it doesn't clump, so bad for snowballs and making snowmen, and difficult not to slide down when descending steep hills. 

Which means there are several reasons why cardio was difficult today and my quads burned with fatigue early in the session. My sciatica has been actively annoying, aching before noon and reminding me how very little activity aggravates it. The ache extends up to my lower back and makes laying flat in bed uncomfortable. Sciatica makes pull-ups harder than they should be. I'm good for the first several, but struggle with the last 3-4. I can still get over a dozen so perhaps I should just be thankful about that. 

I forgot that the cleaning lady wipes down the equipment on Saturday afternoons. It's more than annoying when you're laying on a mat in the Aerobics Room doing Dead Bugs and she's mopping the floor by your head. There's no reason for me to be exercising while breathing in cleaning fumes! I actually complained to the front desk as nicely as I could. I'm glad the gym is being cleaned. But seriously, no one wants to be panting cleaning solvents while trying to do healthy things. I skipped the neck and shoulder stretches because of this. 

I finally got approval and an appointment for a lumbar MRI since the sciatica isn't any better and it's been almost 4 months. Is it a disk issue or stenosis or something else? I had to wait for approval from my health insurance company. Then, there was a question as to whether the micro stents in my eyes were MRI safe. I also have Durysta implants in each eye, but that might either have completely dissolved or is made of something other than non-reactive titanium. Depending on what type of MRI device is being used, titanium devices could generate heat, which would be very bad. Pacemakers, etc are a no-go. Not sure what a patient does if they have one of those. 

Meanwhile, we are breathlessly awaiting a nor'easter that might dump more snow on us tomorrow night into Monday. I am giving serious consideration into getting a snowblower. Not those monster gas-powered ones, but a smaller, more manageable rechargeable electric. There are several posts on YouTube with recommendations. Of course, this is absolutely the wrong time of year to buy one, but it's not to soon to research. Cuz this isn't the last year for heavy snowstorms. It'll be the Year of the Horse, a year of tumultuous and interesting times. 

31 Jan 2026 2:13-3:24

Frigid Saturday

Bare Basics (w sciatica aggravated by dog park ski snow hill)

Precor elliptical #1 (2:50)

Program 1

Time: 30 + 5 (5164)

Distance: 2.71

Cal: 293

Precor HR: 186-77, 146 avg

Fitbit: low battery

HGPU 15 (w/ sciatica after 11 )

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!)

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 30 

Air Squats 25

Snow Sore

In the car with pups

My forearms and glutes were (are) really sore when I went to the gym today. Shoveling 15" of snow, even dry powdery snow, is quite the workout. Not only are my forearms sore from wielding a heavy shovel, but so is my lower back and the entire posterior chain afflicted by my inflamed sciatic bundle. Trudging through snow that deep is also quite taxing. While I've shoveled a narrow path down the walkway, to the woodpile, the driveway, channels to the trash bins. 

At the dog park this morning, I had to clear the two front gates. And then I was too tired after making my way up the hill to the dog park shed to do any more snow clearing. The dogs appear to be very unhappy with snow up to their undercarriages. It's going to get colder this week, with low temps in the negative numbers. 

Happily, being sore wasn't too horrible on cardio but damn, between the forearm weakness and the inflamed sciatica, pull-ups were a struggle. I managed to make it to rep 15 but it was ugly. The Aerobics Room was frigid, which was pleasant in the beginning, but by the time I got to push-ups, I had to put my hoodie back on. Dead Bugs was the only movement that felt strong, but my right leg still hurt a lot afterward. Same for push-ups and bird dog planks. Air squats felt normal. Thank goodness for little things. 

I'm on a new "old" med for my glaucoma. So far, I don't think I'm having any allergic reactions to the Alphagan P but I did read about some folks having unpleasant side effects like low blood pressure, brain fog, faintness, weakness, shortness of breath. I have been panting a lot these past few days, but shoveling in 10F weather might do that regardless. A box of Hot Hands I ordered in November finally arrived at the end of December, and then I found more I had stashed away. Hand warmers. Toe warmers. All good, especially for time at the dog park in the middle of a northeast winter. 

I'm hoping my forearms will be better by tomorrow cuz I need to haul a couple of wheelbarrows of firewood into the house. At least I already have a trench dug out in the snow to the tarped pile in the middle of the yard. Not happy about the prospect of a new snow storm hitting us next weekend. I remember having to shovel every weekend waaay back in the 90s, when I was a lot younger and not hindered by sciatica and glaucoma, and/or the meds and their side effects... 

27 Jan 2026 1:24-2:48

Frigid Tuesday

Bare Basics / sore from snow shoveling w sciatica

Precor elliptical #1 (2:02)

Program 3

Time: 30 + 5 (5334)

Distance: 2.75

Cal: 301

Precor HR: 178-84, 152 average

Fitbit: 42-126

HGPU 15 (struggling w/ sciatica)

20 Piriformis/Hip flex

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!)

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 30 (sore arms & lower back)

Air Squats 25

Neck Stretch / eye yoga

Better But Not Great

I got to the gym really late as it was damn near 2 pm on a Friday, but a Friday before a forecast of a huge winter storm. The town has already laid down salt lines on a lot of the roads in anticipation of icy roads over the weekend into next Monday. I'm hoping it'll skip us but that's highly unlikely. This after I finally got all the ice off my walkway and driveway yesterday when temps hit the mid-40s and allowed the de-icer to work properly on the stubborn patches. 

Dogs go to the park every morning, and if friends arrive, then we stay later to allow them time to play and socialize. Then another half and hour getting their dog park passes renewed because the website is under construction and the office is on my way to the gym. But there's a lot of paperwork and not everyone is terribly organized. It's okay. I'm not in a rush and the weather is chilly but sunny. 

Finally, on my way and there is a lot of traffic. Especially at the groceries cuz there's early panic about this huge, slow-moving winter storm. I'm really surprised at how empty the gym is when I arrive. There are electricians in the women's locker room, installing the new heater for the sauna. That sauna has been out of commission since early November. The replacement heater has been sitting in its box by the front desk since early December. (Happily, they are done before I come back to shower and change.) 

Wind Breaker is on machine #3 and all the other machines are vacant. I get on #1 and pedal program #2. I think it's the hardest program out of the 3 different "terrains" because it's two pairs of steep hills. I'm not unhappy about the mileage because I'm feeling better than I have in several weeks. That illness, whatever it was, really drained my energy and it's taken a long time to regain my former strength and endurance. Still not quite there yet. But better. 

I know I'm better because, although I haven't been able to add reps to my pull-up set, they feel stronger and the sciatica doesn't bite me until I get tired and start to curl my legs up. Prior to that, I'm able to hold my body straight with ankles crossed and knees bent out enough to feel like I'm shaped like a trapezoid. Weird? Well, yeah, I'm quirky. I know I'm better because I could knock out 30 reps at push-ups without my lower back aching and my toes going numb. Air Squats were fine. Bird Dogs were fine. I'm still skipping Hip Bridges because I don't need to aggravate that tender nerve bundle and ruin all the other movements. 

Tiny Sundews

I could go to the gym tomorrow as the storm isn't expected until the wee hours Sunday through Monday. But I anticipate a lot of shoveling on Monday since there's the potential for 18". That's a lot of snow. And bitter cold temps. Think single digits into negative number territory. Pups will still want park time, but I'll have to limit their time outside cuz frostbite is a real thing, even for winter-loving dogs like Jindos. Besides, they're not purebred Jindos. Good thing the reactive pup likes those "calming chews."

Flowering Venus Fly Trap

Meanwhile, I'm still worried about my kid's pitcher plant (bagged it as per recommendations from other carnivorous plant enthusiasts, placed on a heat mat with good indirect light) and I'm told they can take months to acclimatize and recover. The other plants, 6 venus flytraps, and a pot of teeny tiny sundews seem to be doing okay. As a matter of fact, the VFTs think it's summer (oops), and some are pushing flower stalks. I expect a few blooms any day now. This will be the first and only year that I overwinter them inside with grow lights to make them stronger. Apparently VFTs need a winter dormancy period for optimal life expectancy. Learning new stuff every day! 

23 Jan 2026 1:48-3:03

Frigid Friday

Bare Basics / Electricians in the Locker Room!!

Precor elliptical #1 (2:26)

Program 2

Time: 30 + 5 (5304)

Distance: 2.75

Cal: 301

145, 188-79

Fitbit: 41-137

HGPU 15 (sciatica rep 12 curl legs up)

20 Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

10 Hamstring stretches

DeadBugs 20 x 5 (mild sciatica)

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Arm rotations 20

Push-Ups 30

Air Squats 25

Neck Stretch / eye yoga