Still Dizzy

Again, I don't get up as early as I should to make the most efficient use of my morning. I'm not really a morning person. My head still feels odd, and although my vertigo feels milder, it is still there. I'm medically paranoid enough to wonder if I don't have tiny tumors growing inside my inner ear canals. Lately I've been digging tiny growths out of my skin, like the "sand grain size" bump embedded in my palm. It didn't bleed because it was in the top layers of skin, but the resulting wound stung when I applied antiseptic to it. It wasn't a callous or a pimple. I'm not sure what it was. There's no scar and no indication that it'll return, so that's good.

I get a few chores out of the way before I head to the gym. It's noon by the time I get done with my first cardio session, and in spite of my feet going numb, I feel okay. Still a bit dizzy when I bend over though. And horribly dizzy when I have to look up at the Stretch Cage roof to grab the bars for pull ups. Ugh. Today is a Cardio Day. Just because.

I'm not sure if I'm making it to the gym tomorrow since I've had to call a tree service to come look at two partially dead trees behind my house. They're small, but the tops are dead. As in white, barkless, leafless. They waver in the wind, and if they fall the wrong way, they'll hit my bedroom roof. Not what I want. I don't even care if they cut the trees in half and leave 5 foot stumps, because those won't fall over. But the tree service can't bring a truck back behind my house, into the wetlands. It'll all have to be done by hand, with ropes, ladders and a couple of guys. I know how it has to be done. I just can't do it myself.

There are too many people on the Mats today, and I stalk off to the classroom to see if it's empty. Yaay! It is, and there's at least one other person in there doing some sort of gliding calisthenics. I do push ups, and try some new things. Like the Superman pose. It's not hard, but it helps to see yourself in the mirror. There's no mirror where the big Mats are. But the classroom has two full mirrored walls. I also try lower ab scissors, and another movement that brings your leg straight across up and across your hip. Kind of a waist-trimming exercise. I could use a trimmer waist since I'm built like a fireplug. Later, though, I'm dismayed to find that I've bruised my tail bone area again, and scraped the skin off. Of course, I only realize this once I'm in the shower. Sigh.

I go back outside to the general gym area and up to the cardio platform. The ellipticals are all vacant. I haven't done Intervals in months and I feel guilty. The program is so exhausting that I flicker back and forth between Intervals and a milder program. But of course, I tell myself that I can always just rest longer and make other adjustments during the session. Nothing is set in stone! That's the only way I can convince myself to actually start the Intervals program. For 30 minutes. And a 5 minute cool down.

Unlike tabata HIIT, I don't actually max myself out during the Up phase. Well, at least not until 20 minutes into it. Because afterwards, it takes me a lot longer than 3 minutes to recover when I go "all out". Instead, I strive for anything over 200 Strides Per Minute and I'm usually at 220-230. Max today was 254. I've gone as fast as 270, but that's when I do Intervals on a regular, weekly basis. On the Down phase, I'm trotting along at 110-120 SPMs.

There are some people at the gym whom I just absolutely despise. A stocky man gets on the elliptical next to me. A Staffer has just wiped it down. He drapes himself over the control panel, resting his elbows and entire upper body while he pedals. Done after 20 minutes, and he dismounts without wiping anything down. He walks like an ex-jock with a bad back, except those glory days were probably 20 years ago. Nasty. And no excuses for being an ass.

I'm totally drenched by the time I exit the machine. I can still manage pull ups though. But the vertigo hasn't really subsided, and it takes me a few moments to stabilize my head before I can reach up. Ugh. When I finish, I have to wait a few seconds before I can leave the Cage because I'm dizzy. Double ugh.

The gym scale rewards me with the good news: 110.4 lbs today. Whew! Water weight begone! But of course, I'm having leftover pastrami for lunch when I get home. There's a lot of salt in deli meats. However, I made myself a pot of 3-ingredient turkey chili last night, and I'm quite happy with how it tastes, and the nutritional breakdown. It's just ground turkey (1.3 lbs), 1 can of beans (these happen to be pink beans), and 1 can (14 oz) of Delmonte diced tomatoes with green chilis. Of course, you need to use a little oil to brown the turkey, and add additional spices like onions, garlic, chili powder, and a dusting of cayenne. No rice. I do add a slice of leftover deli Swiss cheese on top to mitigate the heat.

My vertigo makes me wonder if there are other issues at hand, and I suddenly remember that I have MVP, mitral valve prolapse. Not that I've ever truly forgotten, but it's always been a non-issue except when I have a dental cleaning. The mitral valve is the valve that regulates blood from the Left Atrium to the Left Ventricle, pushing oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. It was diagnosed over 20 years ago by my primary care physician when she heard the tell-tale systolic click of the valve flap. A later echocardiogram confirmed it.

There is some association between having this condition and other heritable traits, such as connective tissue disorders. Well, in spite of my flexibility, and genetic skin condition, at least I don't have EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome), a connective tissue disorder suffered by my husband's niece. (They're not blood relations so I don't worry about it occurring in my son.) The poor girl is barely in her 20s now, valiantly trying to finish college in spite of needing to use a wheelchair, and suffering from a host of ailments not excluding extreme fatigue, fainting, and difficulty healing. My ailments are minuscule compared to hers.

Tuesday
7.27 miles (yaaay me!)

30 min x-trainer + 5cd
Calories 162
Miles 4.22
Average Heart Rate 154

HGPU 26
Knee-Ins 50
Leg Cross-Overs 15 ea side
Lower Ab Scissors 50
Push Ups 50
Superman 2 x 30s

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Intervals
Calories 346
Miles 3.05
Average Heart Rate 147

HGPU 26