I tried very hard to get to the gym earlier, and still found elliptical #1 occupied by the odd new guy. He pedals slowly because he has it set to a full incline (level 13 is the steepest angle). I sigh and resign myself to other cardio machines and start with 15 minutes on the Stair Master. After a set of pull-ups, I glance at the row of cardio machines and he's still trudging on the Precor. Wind Breaker is on machine #3 and will be for the next several hours. I look around and see that there are 5 recumbent bikes available. Do I need to come even earlier, or later? (Suddenly I'm reminded of a song by The English Beat. I'll paste that below.)
It takes me a minute to readjust the seat and pedals and after 2 minutes, I see the odd elliptical guy walk past me with his water bottle. Which means he's done. If he had left his stuff on the equipment, like Wind Breaker does, I'd know he was merely taking a break. He's not old, maybe in his 20s but his head is bent forward as if he's already developed a dowager's hump or the disintegrating spine of a senior after a lifetime of being hunched over books or close work like watch repair.
I grab all my gear and initiate Program #1 on the elliptical. Less than halfway through, I see my phone light up and it's the dog boarding place calling to confirm. Ugh. My earbuds disconnect from the iPod and sync with my phone so at least I'm not screaming at the caller. But it's interrupted my cardio routine. I'm glad I took the call though, because they have an internal communications problem and set up baths for the Monday that I'm actually coming to pick my dogs up early. That's not right. Baths rescheduled for Sunday.
It all gets sorted but now I need to pause my program and grab my iPod out of my gear bag (on the ground next to the pedals) to resync my earbuds with the music. If I could figure out how to transfer all MY songs (songs that I own the CDs to and converted to MP3s to put on the iPod) to my phone, I'd do that. But I refuse to subscribe to Apple Music streaming services. Why would I want to rent music I own copies of? Yes, I am stubbornly old-fashioned and maybe in danger of becoming a Luddite.
I get a second set of pull-ups done, and then, as the gym starts to fill up with kids, I saunter off to the Aerobics Room. It's not as cold as I'd like. Odd, considering that there was no Senior class there this morning. Temps have gotten warmer, but nothing like the blazing summer heat a few weeks ago. My sciatica has been very mild lately and I don't want to do anything to aggravate it. Still taking 400 mg of ibuprofen in the morning.
I have a doc appointment to take a new Visual Field Test. I'm pretty sure I haven't regained any lost vision in my right eye. I'm not sure about my IOPs or the peculiar thing happening to my skin: patchy dry areas where it feels hard to the touch. It could just be how my IV (ichthyosis vulgaris) is aging. Or it's how my body is dealing with an allergic reaction to one or more of my eye drops?
I'm reading about how the Shingles vaccine might serve as a protection against dementia and that tempts me. Every time I walk into the CVS, the pharmacy wants to know if I'm game for a vax for pneumonia or RSV. I'm not feeling the need for that just yet. I mean, yeah, I'm getting older, but damn, I don't really feel old.
The wild lilacs on my property haven't bloomed yet, but I see other places with lilac trees in full flower. I haven't caught any of their fragrances on the breeze. There is a lovely Lily-of-the-Valley shrub (Japanese Andromeda) with cascading white flowers that perfumed the road for the past several weeks, but those blooms are done now. Wild turkeys gobbling in the woods at dusk have been silent the last two evenings, but the peepers are still trilling. And there are dandelions, wild violets and other purple flowers everywhere. It's lovely.
I made a point of getting to the gym earlier just so I could access the Precor elliptical #1. I'm glad I did since later the gawky fellow who spends more than an hour painfully trudging showed up later and was on machine #4, right beside Wind Breaker on #3. I don't think it matters to him which machine he's using, so better for me to arrive early and use the one machine that accommodates my needs. I actually almost made it to 2.8 today. And I did feel sufficiently warmed up afterward.
I hit the Stretch Cage twice, ostensibly for pull-ups. Although I did think about hanging from one arm the second go-round. But that felt so difficult that I wound just doing a bunch of quick pull-up reps. I also did 15 minutes on the Stair Master. It's Friday and very pleasant outside. The gym isn't very crowded. I'm game to push some weights so I find a flat bench, grab the 30 lb solid BB, and a pair of DBs.
It starts to get crowded. I notice a loose bolt under the bench, but none appear to be missing from that piece of equipment. (I'll bring it to the front desk later cuz I'm pretty sure something is going to shake loose at an inopportune time.) Again, the first set of Rip Skulls/Skull Crushers makes my left elbow click and twinge. But the next three sets are fine. Must be that need for warm-ups. I'm always much better after a decent warm-up.
And while I'm okay with DB Lateral Raises, the Seated Alt DB Curls makes my arms tired. I was worried when I enter the Aerobics Room that all this arm stuff would make me fall on my face when I did push-ups. So I was surprised when I could knock those out with no issues. I got a mild tingle in my right foot while doing Dead Bugs, and again during Bird Dog planks. Otherwise, everything felt okay, and I am not at all tempted to stretch more or add anything new. I'm still taken 400 mg of ibuprofen when I get up in the morning, but otherwise my sciatica appears to be appeased and mostly dormant. I'd like to keep it that way.
Tomorrow I get to take a desk lamp with questionable wiring to the Repair Cafe, a group of retired folks who provide repair services for free every few months. So much better than trashing a perfectly serviceable item that just needs a bit of know-how. Sunday, my friend and I have tickets to see Temple Grandin speak. I read her books some years ago, and recently watched the Clare Danes movie. Yes, I have eclectic interests.
Next week I have an appointment to have another Visual Field test to see if my glaucoma has progressed. It's much worse in my right eye. My left eye feels stable, but I can see what I don't see in my right eye. It's very disturbing. And the weirdly dry scaly skin surrounding my eyes signals to me that I'm still having an allergic reaction to one of my meds, probably the last one added... I wonder what other medications I can try cuz I'm going to avoid having an Ahmed shunt implanted as long as possible. It's likely that my body will create too much scar tissue to make it an effective solution to the eye fluid pressure problem...
I had to talk myself into going to the gym today. I had already skipped Monday and Tuesday, and although I felt guilty about not having exercised for several days, the damp cold weather made me want to curl up under blankets for the rest of the day. I'd already spent close to 2 hours at the dog park so it's not like I hadn't ventured outside already. But, due to my procrastination, I got to the gym past 2 pm and subsequently, never had a chance to use the Precor elliptical machine. I'd be on a different cardio machine when the Precor would free up, but within a minute or two, it'd have a new occupant. Too bad the other Precor elliptical machines aren't worth pedaling.
That machine (#1) is probably the only cardio equipment that lets me fully max out without any injury to my knees, ankles, shins or feet. My sciatica hasn't been horrible so I chose not to tempt fate with the Life Fitness cross-trainer. Instead, I played with the other equipment, spending 15 minutes on the Stair Master but never really working up a sweat. I took the Expresso Bike for a spin as well. Unfortunately, it now requires an account to access the programs. It does allow you to sample the different programs for a mere 3 minutes, so I did that twice while running the Dragon Island game, but 6 minute isn't enough time for much more than a quick taste.
Then I ventured onto the Octane. I'm not thrilled with this type of machine due to the lateral movement. While it is adjustable and you don't necessarily need to use the moving handles (just like the cross-trainer), I worry about it aggravating my sciatica. Because it's not a natural movement, I don't fully exert myself so after 15 minutes, I'm just barely warm.
I did get two sets of pull-ups, and decent push-ups in the Aerobics Room. Otherwise, I'd say I was a bit frustrated cardio-wise and contemplating going back tomorrow just to get some time on the Precor. I was watching a YouTube short by FactsAndFineLiners about apes and how strong they are swinging through trees. And I thought to myself, I'd like to try just hanging off the stretch cage and seeing if I could hang momentarily by one arm, and then the other. Cuz I've never done that but I've always wondered, and it's not like I'm getting younger, or stronger.
Meanwhile, my kid's Nepenthes plant seems to be on the mend and forming new baby pitchers. And the hubs came home from the office with a wee potted succulent (echeveria) that was being distributed for Earth Day. Yes, today is Earth Day, and it is cold and wet but at least the snow didn't stick. There is also supposed to be comets in the sky after midnight, but of course, it's raining. So I'm not going to see anything. And I'm still suffering from allergic reactions to one or more of my eye drops, with oddly dry flaky skin on my upper and lower lids, and an annoying pin prick sensation on my face.
Echeveria
My eyes feel swollen all the time but thank goodness they don't look as awful as they feel. I could stop using the newest eye drops but I worry that'll raise my IOPs a lot. I could use the steroid drops to alleviate the allergic symptoms, but that will definitely raise my IOPs. The last time I called my doc's office, they suggested a different eye drop, but it isn't covered at all by my insurance and there's no way I can spend $300/mos on a single glaucoma med when I still have to cover copays for two other drops as well.
I am on the hunt for a lovely blood orange tea I had at the British tea shop. A friend had her cousins bail on her for the third time so she asked me to come to brunch with her over the weekend. While the tea was great, I was less impressed with the "eggs Benedict over salmon cakes." Poached eggs were delicious. The salmon cakes could use seasoning. Maybe it's a British thing? Just as their Coronation Chicken Salad spiced with South African curry seemed to be lacking any semblance of curry flavor. It's def a Brit thing.
I stayed up much too late because I wanted to finally be done with Stranger Things and watched the last 3 episodes in a row. It's nice to have closure, but I was more pleased by the fact that the show played Sweet Jane by the Cowboy Junkies (yes, I have that CD). Yes, it's a Lou Reed song (I have that CD too) but there's a lot more Cowboy Junkies than there is Lou Reed. They also ended the series with Bowie's Heroes. And that's a great song. So, I didn't go to bed until 2:30 AM.
It's been summer-time hot for days, and every night it's rained with thunder and lightning. The first two nights I had to dose one of my dogs with "calming chews" that contain melatonin, chamomile, tryptophan, ginger, passion flower and thiamine mononitrate. Basically, the same stuff humans take to chill out before bedtime, but formulated to be tasty for dogs. Of course, I haven't put away the winter stuff yet as there is a forecast for frosty weather next week. April is crazy.
What's really crazy is that I made the mistake of actually eating breakfast before I went to the gym. Which meant instead of just eating half a banana with my morning vitamins, I put banana slices on top of toasted ciabatta bread smeared with peanut butter. It's been my staple breakfast for a few weeks now, but usually when I plan to skip the gym. It might've been the chunky peanut butter, but I felt a bit stodgy, as if I hadn't been able to fully digest the meal. Normally I use creamy peanut butter, but super chunk is what was in the cupboard.
My routine was askew as well since there was an unknown person on elliptical #1 and Wind Breaker was of course on #3. Machines #2 and #4 aren't worth using. They're just spacers. Yes, they operate but don't display their info properly so they might not be programmable. I opted to do 13+ minutes on the Stair Master, then popped onto the vacated elliptical for 35 minutes. Pull-ups weren't great. I felt the heaviness of chunky peanut butter weighing me down in the pit of my tummy. Next time I'll just stick to half a banana and a cup of instant coffee. Yes, instant coffee does not contain those nasty LDL-raising diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol).
Because it's Friday, I wanted to push some weights. The bench I like was available so I did most of the DB Shoulder routine, skipping the last set just as a cascade of kids flooded the free weight area. My cue to exit. Happily, the Aerobics Room was completely abandoned. It wasn't as cold as I wanted, probably because there had been a Senior class earlier. But what I did notice was that my sciatica wasn't being horrible today. I did take 600 mg of ibuprofen this morning, but other than my foot going numb during Bird Dog planks, that nerve bundle was fairly quiet today. Yaaay!
I have learned my lesson though: no tempting fate by pushing the limits of my stretching abilities. I did get the name of a recommended acupuncturist but he's down in Chinatown in NYC. My brother's wife's cousin spoke quite highly about this doctor's treatment for chronic allergies, as well as sciatica. While I'm probably never going to venture to Chinatown for acupuncture, it's always good to keep options open. Just in case.
The Merlin ID bird identification app on my phone has upgraded and is less clunky and loads more useful. I bought a few Hawaiian shirts from a Hawaiian outfitter, Hilo Hattie, and I'm apparently a boy's size M. They have some patterns I really like but the women's shirts are all cut for people not like me: too blousy or weirdly off the shoulder (completely uncomfortable and impractical).
I read somewhere that middle-aged Asian women tend to dress like boys. Not just dress like them. I find myself barely unbuttoning my flannel shirt and just pulling the shirt along with the long-sleeve T underneath off all in one movement. Just like a 10 yr old would. Much less fussy, much more efficient. Much easier to put on that way too. And I'd probably wear the same shirt and pants the next day anyway... Perks of having super dry skin and not sweating very much. Unless it's blistering hot.
The dogs think it's much too hot to run around outside, although the multitude of new smells keeps them occupied when we go for walks. Peeper frogs are trilling, and cicadas are much too early this year. I'm still not putting away my snow shovel just yet.
17 April 2026 1:03-3:18
Sunny Friday but Late Night
Basics w sciatica & breakfast
Matrix StairMaster (R) (1:07-1:2)
Manual timer 12 + 2:24
Speed 5 (49-45) / 2 (36) / 1 (29)
Steps 610
Floors 38
Cal: 93
Hr n/a
Precor elliptical #1 (1:26-2:02
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5394)
Distance: 2.77
Cal: 304
Precor HR: 151, 194
Fitbit: 45-144
HGPU 17 (not great)
Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
A couple of YouTube weather channels have reported substantial temperature fluctuations in the next several days, courtesy of a very strong El Nino. Today my indoor/outdoor thermometer read 92F before I even got out the door to drive to the gym. It certainly was very warm, too warm at the dog park earlier in the day. Pups are happiest when temps hover in the brisk high 30s-low 40s. They are not going to be happy this blistering summer.
The gym wasn't too crowded so I was able to hop on my preferred elliptical machine. I was worried that it would be too warm but only the Aerobics Room seemed under cooled. I was hoping to do better at pull-ups but the shoulder started twinging toward the last few reps. Still, it wasn't horrible. It's also amazing how easy push-ups feel when you haven't pre-exhausted your triceps with weight lifting.
I got my steps in on the stair machine and then trudged off to do core and sciatic relief stretches. Popping three 200 mg tablets of ibuprofen each morning seems to work keeping the most egregious sciatic pain at bay. It worked Saturday morning when I convinced my husband to join me on the Salamander Stroll, which was more of a moderately strenuous hike through a model forest only a few minutes from where we live.
It was a very large group of over 30 people, including toddlers (one riding dad's shoulders and another in a backpack carrier), an infant (in a chest carrier), several seniors with hiking sticks, teenagers and middle aged adults. The weather was brisk and sunny, and if we weren't overheated from scrambling up boulders, then we were chilled by breezes coming off wetlands and vernal pools.
We were lucky enough to spy a few tiny salamanders under rocks and boards, where they normally hide. The woman with her infant strapped to her chest was the only person wearing leggings. But she was also wearing work boots. My FitBit says we racked up a lot of steps, but not quite as many as the day before, when I went to the gym and then did grocery shopping. Oh well...
It's April. Spring peepers are trilling in all the wet swampy spots behind our house. Last night, other frogs were making their way across the roadways. It's always a treacherous time for them. The eye gnats are awake and flit around me at the dog park, which means I have to protect myself with sunglasses. There are also biting insects so of course I'm wearing my hooded, long-sleeve bug jacket, long pants and boots, and I have a small bottle of picaridin in my pocket.
Meanwhile, I'm still having an allergic reaction to some of my eye drops. My eyes are teary and slightly swollen. OTC allergy drops aren't helping and I can only use steroid drops for a limited time as they have an adverse effect on glaucoma. One of the techs in my doc's office recommended switching to preservative-free latanoprost, but of course, my insurance company doesn't want to cover that. Which means they want to charge me close to $300/mos. Do you wonder why we cheer for Luigi Mangione?
I got a confirmation email this morning about the "Salamander Stroll" scheduled for tomorrow morning. It was reassuring to read an admonishment regarding proper footwear and clothing, long sleeves, long pants, insect repellent and sunscreen, water and a packable lunch with a carry-in/carry-out policy.
Years ago, I was on a Scout hike where a parent showed up wearing bejeweled, thin-soled sandals more appropriate for the poolside than a trail trek. I don't know what she was thinking. (That family didn't last long in Scouts even though we tried very hard to encourage their participation.) If anyone shows up tomorrow wearing leggings, I'll probably smirk to myself because even though BSA Scouts now sells leggings for female members, I doubt if they're recommended for camping or hiking. But I have seen the Amazon review post of a large woman falling and rolling down a rocky hill and remarking that the leggings were still intact. And then she claimed to have purchased more because they were indestructible.
I didn't notice any soreness from Wednesday's workout until I reached overhead during Dead Bugs in the Aerobics Room. Those triceps feeling a teensy bit tight. Cardio was fine although the gym seemed a bit warmer than usual. What I didn't expect was my fingers to be sore and tired, and that reduced my rep count down by 3 on the pull-ups. I got less steps on the Stair Master too, but that's arbitrary since all I do is set the timer and the level (speed). The machine itself speeds up or slows down all on its own so the step count will be different. It says my HR is way up there at 169, although not as crazy as the elliptical reading 209. Of course, the FitBit says "Calm the fuck down, your peak HR was only 144 today." That makes more sense.
I wore new gym pants today, the pants that cost me as much in hemming as it was to buy them (I bought them at a steep discount). I like them because they're soft, drape nicely, have wide legs like palazzo pants, and most importantly, they have pockets! However, I will not be wearing them to go hiking, especially since I'll need to douse myself in DEET or picaridin because it's baby tick (nymph) season and Lyme disease is endemic to the area. Synthetics should not be doused in bug repellent chemicals if you want them to last.
good lighting
I've become quite enamored of a newly discovered TV program called Your Friends & Neighbors with Jon Hamm. I hadn't actually watched Mad Men when it was popular and have only started the first season, but I know who Hamm is, mostly from his role as Gabriel in Good Omens with David Tennant and Michael Sheen. That was an excellent show and I'm excited to watch Season 3 although it's been abbreviated to a single 90-minute episode. Yeah, I probably watch waaaay too much TV...
I'm beginning to think that my body really needs 4 days off to feel recuperated. I meant to go to the gym on Monday but my eyes were so swollen and the rims of my lids burned with every eye drop application, so I called my glaucoma doc and got an appointment for that afternoon. Apparently, having an allergic reaction is considered an emergency. I slotted 30 minutes to drive there, knowing that the road I normally use would be closed due to a drainage culvert being replaced. Unfortunately, the main road where all traffic was being funneled to, was also suffering from road work! It took me 20 minutes just to leave town, and I was really late to my appointment.
Still residual swelling
The doc said that the latest drop I'd been taking was known for delayed allergic reactions, stating that one patient had been on it for a year before suffering enough to call it quits. I'd managed almost 3 months. Now I have an Rx for prednisolone to reduce the swelling for the next 4 days, then start with another old drug, Travaprost. Except the CVS has the prednisone but no record of the second Rx. Finally, I get a second notice but it's for latanoprost, which is in the same family as Travaprost, but not quite. Ugh. I call my doc's office. Someone will get back to me. But they never do. Never. I'll have to call again to find out if I'm waiting for a new Rx, or if I should use what's been stocked.
I get to the gym and am very happy to be able to access elliptical #1. Afterward, I get a decent set of pull-ups and don't quite make it to 19 only because my right shoulder is twinging. My joints are finicky like that. I do a few minutes on the Stair Master and realize that the free weight area is really empty. Which means I can grab a bench and the 30 lb BB as well as a few DBs. I haven't done a triceps workout in months and almost forget how I'm supposed to do this.
Happily, muscle memory kicks in once I lay down and get the bar positioned over my chest. Touch my forehead the first rep, then reach past my head for the second rep. That's a one count. I do this 12 times for three sets. At first, my left elbow clicks and aches a bit but warms up and by the end of the routine, there's no pain whatsoever. I'm really pleased that my sciatica is not an issue at all while doing this. (At this point, I've actually forgotten that I have sciatica! I credit the Step machine for that.) As filler between tricep sets, I grab some DBs and do lateral raises and then seated DB Alt Curls. Kids are starting to filter in but since Spring Break is over, and it's brightly sunny outside, it never gets very crowded.
BSA pants & belt
The Aerobics Room is empty and ice cold. I know push-ups might give me trouble cuz of the triceps workout, but I make it to 25. Everything else is as anticipated, with Dead Bugs causing my sciatica to flare up, and Bird Dog planks making my foot go numb. I've been taking ibuprofen in the morning before taking the dogs to the park just because the ache when I wake is more than annoying.
Still, I signed up for a "salamander stroll" through the Cornell Cooperative Extension to explore the Clearpool Model Forest on Saturday. It's a family thing so I'm sure there'll be a lot of little kids. If I'm actively walking through the woods, I should be okay. And because I hate being unprepared, I started looking for my hiking boots today (found them!) and pants that aren't stretchy knit fabric (bad for thorns and brush) that still fit me.
511 work pants
Digging through my dresser, I found several pairs of pants that I viewed with skepticism, perhaps because I know I've put on some weight (although I've been trying to shed a few pounds). I'm actually really happy and surprised that while none of the pants were baggy, they all fit, as in I could zip up, button the waist and still drop into a squat.
Even my slim BSA pants fit! Those are women's pants. [The shirt is an XL boys though, cuz the women's shirts are too roomy in the chest and just looked weird on me (back when my kid was in Scouts and I was the Advancement Chair).] Having a good belt helps though, and I still have my BSA webbing belt which is great because it's totally adjustable without the rigidity of notches. I am just soooo pleased!
