A Galaxy Quest Kind of Day

This is the 3rd double cardio day this week and I'm determined to do better than yesterday. Never mind that I had a great Arm Workout and wonder how sore I'm going to be. Never mind that the intermittent rain and steamy temperatures have made me ground zero for every biting insect on my road. I didn't even have to leave the house last night and by midnight I was scratching over two dozen tiny bites scattered across my ankles, feet, fingers, arms and shoulders. In short, any place devoid of protective clothing. So my main concern this morning is whether socks are going to chafe unbearably during cardio. High humidity means I don't want to wear a unitard under my dayglo orange UnderArmour shorts and black tank. So I don't. I realize this means I won't be doing some of my stretches because I really don't need anyone peeking at the underwear that gapes through the generous leg holes. Teenage boys have a hard enough time focusing on what they're suppose to be doing.

I'm able to get on my favorite elliptical and punch in Interval 7. It's a bit chilly in the gym with the A/C blasting so I have my hoodie zipped all the way up, but after 20 minutes, sweat beads up on my face and can feel rivulets streaming down my neck and back. I'm pleased with my mileage and punch in another 30 minutes (plus 5 minute cool down) to do Hill #6. I start off quickly (197 Strides Per Minute) but after 5 minutes, I've dropped down to a more sustainable rate of 188 SPM.

While I'm peddling, I try to determine what it is I'm feeling. Is it that the legs are beginning to tire, or that I'm out of breath? No, not really. It feels more as if my lungs are just tired. I'm not panting and my legs don't actually ache. If I think hard, I can make them rev up to a higher rate but that requires such concentration and I can't seem to sustain that sort of intensity! I need to fall into a rhythm. I change my stride every few minutes, lengthening or pulling up short, changing my hand position each time. By the last 5 minutes, my hands ache and the last two fingers are sore from gripping the side handles. I curl those fingers under my hand and hold the bar with just my thumb, palm and pointer finger. I'm determined to go as fast as I can, to go as far as I can. Even though Meatloaf is wailing Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, I hear Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest, "Never give up. Never surrender."

I'm panting when I finish because I like to max my SPM for the last minute. Sometimes I can only get 30 seconds at 250 SPM. Every now and then, I can reach 300 but then I'm toast afterwards. At least for a few minutes. I chug water and slick back my hair under the hoodie. Yesterday I finished my entire 1.5 liter bottle, but I'll be lucky if I get halfway through it today. A quick Cage Stretch with no side kicks, and then a Mat Stretch before I head back to the locker room to toss my sodden hoodie into my gym bag. I fish out some band-aids and wrap tape around my first knuckle and then around my right hand. Apparently I don't punch hard enough with the left hand to warrant any knuckle bruising. Wearing those godawful pink Everlast gloves, I wander back out to the cardio area where the Nexersys stations are located.

Round 3 Sparring

My routine is to start with the Avatar Follow Me, beginner level, 3 rounds. I'm bad at following directions, mostly because I get confused when the screen lights up the right side of the avatar's head and says Jab, then Cross. I jab with my right, but I'm unsure whether to cross (hit across diagonally to the opposing head pad) with my right or left. I suppose Combinations make more sense if you right jab, then left cross. But a lot of times I right jab and immediately right cross. Probably not very efficient a strategy if this were the real world. This makes me aware of how much stronger my right side is compared to my left even though I try very hard to train both sides equally (at least with weights).

The next 3 rounds is spent smacking the Avatar Sparring, beginner level. I'm easily distracted and miss a few blocks during the first two rounds, although I always land a lot of punches. I'm not quite sure how scoring works or what the points mean. I don't even remember what I'm looking at half the time, just that I need to tap the correct pad when the Avatar's glove lights up because that is how a punch is blocked. Again, my left side is much weaker than the right. I'm better at not sounding the alarm buzzer (You Are Punching Too Hard) but don't understand how the station registers Power. Finally, I remember to snap a photo with my cell when round 3 ends. Off to shower!

Friday Workout:
35 min Interval 7 = 4.56 miles + 35 min Hill 6 = 3.99 miles  Grand Total = 8.55 miles Wahoo!
I tally up my mileage for this week (a tad over 33) which is only a mile less than last week so I'm pretty happy with myself although I am beginning to wonder if this is getting a bit excessive...
Cage Stretch
Mat Stretch with splits
Nexersys Boxing Station: 3 rounds Avatar Follow Me, beginner female
3 rounds Avatar Sparring, beginner female

The gym scale reads 108.8 lbs which is a tad better than yesterday, but now I'm really hungry. (My home scale says 107.4 lbs and BF down to 19.2% but I don't think body fat and muscle can fluctuate like that.) Mo is just getting started and I'm ready to leave. She's rescued another kitten from someone who rescued it from a back alley in Poughkeepsie. She's got at least 4 other cats and as many small dogs. I tease her not to become another crazy cat lady. But I'm not quite joking.

While I was smacking the Nexersys, Hannibal Baggy Knees sat a few stations away, peddling on one of those new programmable stationery bikes with the rugged terrain screens that make you feel as if you're actually doing off-road biking. He's been putting Grecian 44 in his hair lately. I don't like him and avoid him like the proverbial plague, although after today I'm sure he'll be giving me a wide berth. Most men do because it weirds them out to see a small woman punching so hard. The women I've seen at the Nexersys tend to be more tentative, probably because it's a new experience for them. Regulars like M, Nixon, PJ Pants and R are also here today but they're in the free weight area. It feels weird not to be there too, as if I'm playing hookey from school. 

Time to go home. It's downright tropical outside, but not in a good way.