Cars Should Not Chirp

Yesterday I decided that the only exercise I was willing to partake in was going to my evening swim class. Because my husband was still en route from Boston, I took my son with me to the swim school. It was pouring, windy, dark and just a few degrees above freezing. (I hate being cold and wet, and here we were braving it just for me to get cold and wet in the pool. Yes, it's a heated pool, but not heated enough.) I hit an unseen pothole in the glare of oncoming traffic and a few minutes later the "tire pressure warning" lights up my dashboard. Aarg! I couldn't actually see which tire(s) was affected but none of them looked flat. Yet. Swim class was fun, with me being the only student. I got a good cardio workout. And I took my time driving home.

This morning I took the car for it's "bi-annual" oil change. Okay, maybe I take the car 3 times a year for an oil change. Because it's not something I'm going to do myself. I like the fact they check all the head, tail and signal lamps. And they always check the tire pressure. They can also rotate the tires. "Have you noticed your car making a chirping noise?" one of the service techs asked me. Uh, yes, but only occasionally. "There are cracks in your alternator belt and that makes the chirping noise. We recommend that if you have 3 or more cracks, that you replace it." It had considerably more than 3 cracks so yes, replace that please.

The tires, which should've had readings of 30-34 lbs, were down to 20-22 lbs. Egads! But no discernible breaches like nails or cracks. Everyone tells me that it's the sudden cold weather. I've never had this happen before, but then again, it's my first car that actually has a tire pressure sensor. There's also an air filter right behind the glove box, and that was full of leaves and debris. Uh, yeah, change that too. The $10 coupon helped, but as my husband likes to joke, there's no leaving the Valvoline with just an oil change.

I like the fact that if a light is out, or my wipers suddenly go kerplewy, they'll replace them on the spot. Because I drive like an old lady. But not so old that my son didn't notice the car in front of us last night doing 10 mph on a twisty part of the road. "What's wrong with that car?" he asks me somewhat annoyed. The sign says 20 mph but locals drive 30 on it. Because that's slow for that road. Normal speed is about 40-45 on the parts that state 30. But nobody drives 30 where it says 30. No body. Especially not the cops.

The tire pressure light finally went out and I drove to the gym. It's nearly noon. I had a brief thought to do some light benching and rowing, but the Smith is occupied. Instead, I do a Cardio & Bodyweight Day. I even do 30 minutes on the "good" cross-trainer, which accumulates more mileage than the elliptical. My foot doesn't bother me today. The first set of pull ups reminds me of how tired swimming makes me. Push ups remind me that I really really should do a few every day. Crunches and planks are just a way for me to catch my breath. I even venture off to do a few Pistol Squats just because it's been such a long time and I'm worried that I've lost my ability to balance. No, I can still do them, but I stop after 5 because I really don't want my thighs or butt to grow. My pants are already too tight, because I'm getting fat. Yuck. The gym scale hovers at 111 lbs this week. Not where I want to be. It could be worse. But it could be soooo much better.

Intervals are much harder right after doing Pistol Squats. It takes me nearly the whole workout to loosen up, and recover enough energy/strength to do the exercise justice. In the "valley" at Incline 4, I try to keep my pacing above 200 SPMs (Strides Per Minute) for a full minute (averaging 200-226 SPMSs), drop down to 170-185 for the second minute, then jog at 106-120 for the two minutes where the Incline rises to 8.

The last set of pull ups feels much better now that I'm warmed up. Alas, it's also time to leave. I do most of my Mat Stretch, and then rush off to shower and change. Venus is in the locker room, readying herself for a workout. I've seen other regulars in the gym, like The Mayor and Ollie, and a bunch of young new faces. Last week, I watched from the elliptical as Towel Guy used the assisted chin up machine, and did kipping pull ups. WTF? I thought about what advice I could give to people on how to do a pull up, and unfortunately, the best I can say is, "Use your back to pull your chest to the bar, not your arms". But, in reality, it's hard to know what that really means, or even what it feels like because most of us don't really know our bodies well enough to know what our limbs are doing if we're not actually looking at them. That's what's happening at swim class as I'm trying to figure out the breast stroke kick. Ugh.

Tomorrow my son and I get to help a Scout in our Troop work on his Eagle project, which involves trail-clearing. Oh boy! My husband's new Boston project has kicked in so he's working the weekend. And here I thought Boston was over, but another project has started at a different terminal. At least he's not flying to Houston. Yet.

Friday Workout
(6.41 total cardio miles)

39 min x-trainer
3.78 miles
138 cal
8:00/mile av pace
7.50 av speed

HGPU 31
Knee-Ins 50
Push Ups  100
Crunches 3 x 60
Side Planks 2 x 60 sec
Bird Dogs 2 x 60 sec
Pistol Squats 5 ea leg

30 min elliptical
Intervals
2.63 miles
300 cal

HGPU 36 Yaaay!