Sweat is Good for What Ails You

Leg Day again!

I was so tired and spacey this morning I almost drove off to the gym wearing only half my gym gear... because I was still wearing my pajama top under my fleece hoodie! Luckily, I realized this before I actually left my driveway although the car'd been warming up for 20 minutes already. And even though the parking lot seemed kind of full, the gym itself wasn't. I hopped onto my favorite elliptical and immediately started peddling away. None of this slow walk warm up for me. I'm too cold to have any patience for it: I want to be warm and sweaty as soon as possible!

I'm not sure why, but I'm able to zoom through the hill routine, and I don't lose too much momentum on the intervals. Except that I develop the suggestion of a stitch deep inside my right hip. I try not to slow down too much, but by the cool down, I'm actually grimacing to finish the set. The pain has crept up my entire right side and the outside of my ribs ache. But when I'm done, I feel really good, sweat leaving a salt crust on my lips, my hoodie completely drenched. And miraculously, the stitch is gone. Off to do Squats and Dead Lifts now!

Today's Total Workout:
35 min hill #6 = 4.15 miles + 35 min intervals #7 = 4.48 miles Grand Total = 8.63 miles! Wahoo!
Smith Rack Squats: 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs
My 100% cotton hoodie is too soppy for me to deal with anymore and I struggle to pull it off over my head because the zipper's jammed at the bottom; I feel like a 6 year old at this point. 
Smith Rack Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts: 6 x 12 @ 95 lbs
Because I'm concerned that Thrusters are having a bad effect on my knees and ankles, I've stopped doing them. Coincidentally, my right outer ankle has stopped clicking oddly.
The Obese Man makes his way to the free weights to wrestle with some DB and I see M come over to chat with him. Like B, M chats with everyone, but I've been told that he's just a really nice guy. That may be, but I'm comfortable not chatting.
Cage Stretch
8 Pistol Squats each leg
There's no pain whatsoever in my knees or ankles when I do these today and I'm quite thrilled!

Seated Leg Extensions: 6 x 15 @ 60 lbs
Seated Leg Curls: 6 x 15 @ 90 lbs
My hands hurt more from bracing myself against the lap bar than my legs do; I don't really fit into this machine very well because I have such short calves, but it's better than the standing Leg Curl which puts too much pressure on my knees, and the Lying Leg Curls because Damn It, I am not going to lay there with my butt up in the air. Plus, I don't really fit in it anyway.
Mat Stretch
I feel as if I've waited too long before doing these stretches because my left leg bicep seems a bit tight and I'm not quite as flexible as yesterday. I'm careful not to push too hard because I'll injure the ligaments instead of stretching them. Even though today is Leg Day, I still do my entire stretch routine which also works to relax shoulders, neck, upper and lower back. I figure it can't hurt.

While I'm doing Leg Curls I see Mo in the free weight area with a light barbell. I can't see if she's remembered to wear her elbow braces today, and she's gone before I get to the mat area. I see a few regulars like Skinny J, RangerRick, PJPants, Amazing Stretch and Eagle Eye toward the end of my workout. Wednesdays must be a popular day for people to come later. I'm even considering cutting back on my routines so I'll have time for something else, like maybe a class, or perhaps even a (gasp) job or something. Egads! But I don't like to rush into things so it'll take me a while to figure out just how I'll cut back without losing all the gains I've made over the last two years.

My clothes reek by the time I get into the locker room, and everything from my hair to my tank, sports bra and shorts are completely soaked in sweat. But I feel great. And the long hot shower feels even better. The gym scale reads 108.4 which seems high. My home scale registers a much more reasonable 105.8 lbs.

Tomorrow's my birthday but I don't expect anyone to remember unless I tell them. I'm just getting use to the idea of tooting my own horn. My sister did send me a nice moonstone pendant although it's not exactly what I asked for. I asked for small and round, sort of like a dime. She sent something, although quite lovely in the fact that it appears to have its own blue light, that was nearly 2 inches in length and definitely not round. Coincidentally, I happen to have an old, tarnished, silver chain that seems to fit the pendant perfectly. See for yourself!