Week Five Day Two: Unexpected Cardio

I'd been planning to do two cardio sessions today on the Precor but I got to the gym late and all the Precors and LifeFitness ellipticals were occupied. Bummer. I'm not one to sit around, especially since the clock's ticking in the Child Care room. I look around and realize that there are Cybex Arc Trainers available. I'm not very familiar with their programming so I use the default settings which is 20 minutes at Level 1. While the glide is extremely smooth on the knees, I feel almost too short to be completely comfortable when using the front handles. The screen resets before I can snap a photo of it because my phone is on the floor as there is no shelf under or over the screen display.

There's no cool down so I move on to a freshly vacated LifeFitness elliptical. The Precors are all still occupied. The default setting is 20 minutes and I leave it in manual mode Level 1. I don't like these machines because there is too much resistance in pushing the peddles forward and eventually my ankles and knees complain. But what's really bothering me is the bunion on my left foot because suddenly my sock is chafing against it. I picture the skin splitting every time I step. There's nothing I can do about it because I'm not about to interrupt my workout just to go find a band-aid. At least I know what my mileage is when I'm done.

Now the Precor's are all free, and I trudge over to machine number two and punch in 30 minutes for Interval 7. At first the glide feels gritty but as I rev up to speed, the track seems to even out. I've already done 45 minutes of cardio on two other machines but this is the only one that counts right now. For the last two minutes of the program, I ramp up my speed to finish strong. Again, I don't drop my pace much during the "cool down" 5 minutes and I'm very happy with my mileage.

I do a limited Cage Stretch for just hamstrings, a few torso twists and then an abbreviated Mat Stretch. My legs are a bit stiff but not as much as I've come to expect from a double cardio session. I've enough time to shower and change before rescuing my son from the Child Care room. Today is $5 Tuesdays at the local cinema. Last week we saw Despicable Me 2 in 3-D ($6 tickets). We missed Monster University so we're going to catch Turbo instead.

Week Five Day Two: Cardio and More Cardio
20 minutes Cybex Arc Trainer Manual setting Level 1: I think it said a mile and a half or so but I'm not 100% certain what information the screen was conveying before going blank.
20 min + 5 min cool down LifeCycle manual setting Level 1 = 2.52 miles
30 min + 5 min cool down Precor Interval 7 = 4.52 miles
Grand Total estimate : 8 miles

The gym scale reads 109.2 lbs and I'm good with that. I'm also in a rush because again, my son is virtually the last one in the Child Care room. I may go back and play with the Cybex Arc Trainer until I figure out what everything means. It's got a remarkably smooth glide even if the peddles are spaced a tad wide and the handles a bit far forward. But by far the most annoying aspect is the lack of a shelf for my phone although I suppose I could put it in the side water bottle holder. Tomorrow is Day Three and I'm making it Back Day. Should be fun!

I just have to remember to bring the monster zucchinis to distribute... ignore garden zukes at your peril. I did for two days and the fingerlings morphed into forearm-thick clubs. At least there are a few snow peas.