Recovery Takes Freakin' Forever

Today

My son takes his laptop to the gym Child Care room today because it's mostly toddlers and he claims that he doesn't have great games on his phone. And since the gym offers WiFi, why not? I'm in a mad rush to get my stuff stowed away in the locker room, warmed up, and then taped and wrapped. This all takes time. Two hours just isn't enough if you plan to do an hour-workout. There's just no time for anything more, especially since donning and stripping off gear also takes time. I need the moleskin to keep my knuckles intact, the tape keeps the moleskin intact and protects my fingers from the edges of the gloves, the cotton wraps support my tiny hand bones and keep the gloves snug. As you can see, the one-size-fits-all pink gloves look enormous on me. But they're not big gloves. And just as I've put all this protection on, I have to methodically take it all off.

The 10-minute warm up on the elliptical feels good. I don't even wear my ragged blue hoodie today because it's a reasonably warm day for March. My sciatica's not bothering me either. Wahoo! I haven't yet decided how many rounds to do. It depends on how much time I have left, how much time I take between sessions. And how I feel.

I'm not lacking in the strength department as I catch sight of Power numbers that reach into the 300s. I've never seen that before, and quite truthfully, I didn't know the machine could register that high. But this is just the Beginner rounds. I'm sweating by the end of 5 rounds, and I debate whether to pull a round from each subsequent session. Naw. Let's go for 5 at Intermediate. I do forget to change the database so I'm still 55 years old, not that it makes much difference. Intermediate is a lot harder, and faster. I still suspect that the machine's software is glitchy, and using the Advance pacing for some of the Intermediate rounds. My Power and Accuracy ratings drop, but not because I've missed any Strikes. I'm not taking this personally.

By the Advance round, I'm really tired. I don't have my usual stamina so I cut down to 3 rounds. I've also blanked the machine a few times, which means I've probably missed a few blows here and there. By the time I'm done, the clock tells me I only have 30 minutes to strip off all my gear, shower and change. It's actually not enough time, especially since I'm particular with how I put all my stuff away. The most-time consuming part is dealing with my hair. I really miss the wash 'n go aspect of having a Pixie cut. At some point I'll get fed up enough to chop it all off, but then I'll have to deal with maintenance trims. Too much work!

Wednesday Workout 

10 min elliptical
13 rounds Nexersys Follow Me

Photos posted for actual stats:

5 rounds Beginner
156% Power is pretty awesome!

5 rounds Intermediate
Still maintaining Power and Accuracy

3 rounds Advance
Damn I'm tired!