Born Again Gym Rat: Friday the 13th is Just Another Day

Friday, February 13, 2015

Friday the 13th is Just Another Day

I'm in the odd position of mourning someone who isn't dead. Yet. Because you don't survive metastasized breast cancer that's spread to the brain/lung/liver. And feeling guilty about it, because although this is someone I used to work with a very long time ago, we hadn't stayed in touch. We have mutual friends and acquaintances though. And she's not passed yet, but I still feel an overwhelming sense of loss. I know it's so much worse for her family and close friends. "Men die and they are not happy." That was my HS yearbook quote, taken from Camus' Caligula. Because it's true. And I'm not a terribly cheerful person.

I'm at that age now where people are starting to drop off here and there, because we all expect to live to be 100. And most of us won't. It's always shocking when someone dies young. It's not normal. But we survive. Then we get complacent, feeling as if we should all live well past our 80s. After all, isn't this the Golden Age of Medicine. Don't we know all the ways we can stay healthy, and young forever? Barring a freak accident, road rage, random acts of Nature and our own stupidity. My in-laws are battling the indignities of age, losing their memories and independence. No one expects that to happen either.

This morning, my first thought before I got out of bed was "I'm too tired. I can't do it." That was followed by the shadow of a thought, "Just 5 more minutes," but the dog was licking my hand and I hate rushing to get everything done. Dog needs to be fed and walked. And it's 4°F outside. WTH? I make my son's lunch, fix myself coffee and oatmeal, refill the bird feeder, start the car so it's warm by the time I have to drive down to the school bus stop. It's Leg Day. Well, if nothing else, I'll get some cardio in, because cardio is good enough. After 30 minutes on the cross-trainer, I feel like a human being again. The Smith is free. Not only free, but set up as if it was expecting me. Really odd. There's no weight on the bar, but the foam neck pad is attached. And the small flat bench is close by. I suspect one of the regulars, but I have no proof.

I do my Smith Squats. My right knee is a tad sore. I cut my back on the Smith SLDLs because at 120 lbs, there is an unpleasant pulling sensation in my right forearm that runs through my elbow. It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel right either. (I don't get this from RG BB Rows and I move heavier weight there.) I've decided to up my sets for the Smith One-Leg Split Squat and use the small flat bench to put my back foot on. I can really feel this movement in the glutes, and quads today. Usually I only feel my quads when I'm doing Pistol Squats. I'll do those later. I know I'll just fall on my face if I attempt GHRs immediately afterwards so I "rest" by doing 30 minutes on the elliptical, Performance Program #3 which ends with a lot of backward pedaling. The GHRs are still hard, but I get them done. Just grit my teeth under my hoodie and muscle through.

Last is a modified Mat Stretch, with just one set of Dive Bomber Push Ups, a plank, a few pistol squats, and of course, lots of stretching. Tomorrow my son has a dress rehearsal for kung fu, and then I suggested to my hubs that we go to a favorite local Latin restaurant because we're both tired of sushi. I know it's Valentine's Day so I've gotten my son a small box of candy, and a card and box of chocolate covered blueberries for the hubs. My son just lost his second molar, and the Tooth Fairy left him another "gold" dollar coin. I have kept all his baby teeth, because the Tooth Fairy is loathe to discard such intimate items, no matter how petty or trite. We all want to live forever. And in the end, we know that we can't. But we can sure give it a good try.

Friday the 13th Cardio and Leg Day Workout
(total mileage = 6.4; weights moved = 14,255 lbs)