On the Mend

Fixed with Crazy Glue

I was ambivalent about going to the gym yesterday, but I had my bag packed. Then I bent over and the lens to my reading glasses plopped onto the floor. I didn't really think much of it and tried to pop the lens back into the frame when I suddenly realized that the frame itself was broken. Ugh. A clean break right below the nose pad. It's not a place that you can tape so I tried Elmer's. Nope. They weren't expensive glasses, but still... I have a second pair but they don't fit as well and tend to sit skewed on my face. They're not the same style either being wire-frames, so the lenses are actually smaller, which is fine for peering over but not so great for lengthy reading. I tried on dozens of readers to find the ones I wear most of the time, based on comfort and the fact that I only need a 1X, which I found out yesterday, is not widely carried by stores. I'm so pressure-sensitive, I can't wear anything heavy. With a typical Asian wide, square face (no nose bridge and big high cheekbones), I can't always judge how well glasses will fit me until I don them.

I went to 3 different stores and discovered that most only carry the Foster & Grants brand, costing upwards of $20 and starting at 1.25X. Ugh. Not what I want. CVS was the only store to carry 3 different brands and online the choices leap up to 15. But I can't try glasses on online. Two of the three brands carried in-store came in the 1X, but as did CVS's own inexpensive brand ($12.95), but the 1X appeared to be out of stock. I tried on the 1.25X, which fit well, and made type two feet away look very crisp, but I didn't want to start buying stronger glasses than I really need. The other brands cost $25 and $35, which made me wish I had one of those 30% off coupons. Even then the glasses would cost more than I wanted to pay. The store manager apologized and said that more glasses might be on the truck coming in at the end of the week. There were 3-packs of 1X readers for $19.95, but I tried a pair on and they were too tight in the temples. Besides, I didn't want to own 3 pairs of 1X readers. Instead, I bought some Crazy Glue and glued the frame back together. It's not pretty, but it'll do until I check the CVS again at a later date.

Today, I went to the gym. It was late, nearly noon. I did my 10 minute cardio warm up, and then shoulders with the Baby Bells. After pulling at the bands, I ambled over to the Nexersys machines. The older lady who spoke to me last week was actually at a machine, tentatively punching and kicking the pads. I'm impressed. But I'm not sure if she enjoyed it, or if she'll be back. I sat down at the other machine because prep takes me a good 10 minutes between applying the moleskin, taping my hands, using cotton wraps and then finally, stuffing my hands into gloves. By this time, she's finished and leaves the area. Which is great, because she was on the left machine, the one I've been partial to lately. I drag all my stuff over to that machine and continue my prep.

Punching too hard Round 6

I'm a little frustrated by the machine's arbitrary Punching Too Hard warning, especially when that round results in a lower than normal Power Average. The problem is that the machine doesn't count the blow that triggers the warning. Ugh. I also blank the screen several times today, causing me to miss several combinations. Oh well... It's still a good workout, and I don't cough once during any of it. I feel like I'm on the mend! I do blow a lot of snot out of my head once I go shower, but I feel pretty good overall. Once home, I crush a big clove of garlic, mix it with virgin olive oil and smear it on some toast. Between taking zinc with my vitamins and eating raw garlic everyday, I think my head cold is actually waning. Of course, no one else in my household is sick, just me. I only take 2 little red pills today: one when I got up, and another one when I get home. Tomorrow I probably won't take any... but I'll see how I feel. At least the scale is giving me encouragement: 111.6 lbs.

Thursday

10 min elliptical
Calories 97
Miles 0.85

T, Y & I DB Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys Follow Me
7r Beginner L
7r Intermediate L

HGPU 26

Getting Fat

Tuesday

25 x-trainer
Calories 120
Miles 3.27
Average Heart Rate 151

HGPU 26

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
50 x 12
70 x 12
80 x 12
90 x 12, 10, 8
60 x 25
50 x 25

BB Front Raises s/s Upright Rows
20lbs x 15/15 reps
25lbs x 12/15 reps x 3 sets

DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flyes
20/25lbs x 12/15reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
40lbs x 12reps x 3 sets

I feel better today, but that's probably because I popped a generic pseudoephredrine HCl, aka Little Red Pill, before I got out of bed. I take one 30 mg pill, wait an hour and then take a second one. It's easier for me to deal with when I stagger the dose, which is actually two pills. I'm off to the gym this morning because I've been slacking. I've known for a while that I've been putting on weight, and it's very frustrating to watch the scale creep up. My favorite pants are tight, so I know the scale's not lying. (I prefer my clothes to be loose.) So now instead of needing to drop 3 lbs, I need to drop 7. Ugh. I'm hoping that maybe I'm holding some water from salty foods, but two days in a row of the scale telling me I'm a skosh over 113 lbs means it's probably not that.

I seem to have put on 3 lbs just over this past weekend. You wouldn't think it was possible for the body to do something so drastic in such a short period of time. Perhaps I'm in hibernation mode where my body just wants to eat and store as many calories as possible? Maybe, but probably unlikely. I've just gotten lax with my meals. Since the body's so adaptable, it's going to take less food and more exercise to get myself where I want to be. Which is 7 lbs lighter. I'd settle for 5 lbs lighter actually, but always better to aim higher. And have looser clothes!

Still, I only do 25 minutes of cardio on the cross-trainer. Tomorrow I'll go back to 35 minutes. My eyes feel slightly burnt, which is what happens when I'm tired. Pull ups are okay. I skip the push ups and core work in order to jump right on the Smith machine. It's a Push Day! The routine goes well. I'm happy with the workout. What I can't decide is whether it's safe to continue with Smith RDLs and RG BB Rows on a Pull Day, knowing that my lower back seems to have some issues. Today my back feels fine and the sciatica is a distant memory. I just don't want to do something really stupid, like rupture a disc. Can I just do pull ups and DB rows for a back routine?

Last night I was researching sinusitis online. I hate poorly written articles and right now I have half a mind to contact the publication that sponsored the one about sinusitis. The author purports to write about symptoms and remedies for the condition, based on the experience of her husband, a chronic sufferer. So far so good. She makes brief mention of surgical options that alleviate pressure in the sinuses due to poor drainage. Okay, but it would've been nice if she detailed the procedure. Then she mentions viruses and bacteria in the same paragraph, making it seem as if the two terms are interchangeable. Ugh. Never mind doctors telling us for years that viruses can't be treated with antibiotics; that's for bacterial infections. She never quite distinguishes between the two, and how a bacterial sinus infection necessitates the use of antibiotics because there can be serious and potentially fatal complications, such as meningitis. Lastly, her sage advice for preventing sinusitis? Get a flu shot. Seriously? Because my immediate response is Why? How does getting a flu shot prevent sinusitis? What is the correlation? Or is she just a shill for the vaccine industry? Ugh.

This is almost as bad as the article I read some months ago (then sent an angry email to the publication) which used the words vitamins and minerals interchangeable. As if they were the same thing. The author breathlessly announced a brand new vitamin that helps your immunity and bones. And that vitamin is... magnesium. What?! Uh, didn't we learn this in middle school science and nutrition? These people are getting paid to write this schlock? Ugh. I'd better hurry up and finish my coursework...

That Time of Year Again...

Monday

24 x-trainer
Calories 113
Miles 3.04
Average Heart Rate 143

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Push Ups 60
HGPU 27


We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at my brother's house, but I probably drank too much wine. Alcohol tends to weaken the immune system, and it's that time of the year. Yes, besides the Holidays, it's also Flu & Cold season! While I haven't had a flu shot since I stopped commuting into the City, I make sure my son gets one annually because school buses and classrooms are literal germfests. Still, I'm quite dismayed to wake up Friday morning with a sore throat. I know it's sinus mucous causing this pain so I use my neti pot. I always use filtered RO (reverse osmosis) water and nuke it until it's boiling, with a 1/4 tsp of salt to make it into a saline solution. This is fairly effective in clearing mucous from the sinuses and throat, but apparently not the little space in between. I have to resort to gargling with my head tilted way back to hit the right spot, and then a nasty clump dislodges into my mouth. Yuck. Well, better than swallowing it!

Of course, Saturday was spent outdoors in a park by Lake Mahopac. My son's Boy Scout troop volunteered to help the Chamber of Commerce with their holiday festivities. Temps were deceptive, because 54F seemed warm, but was actually chilly. I had chemical hand-warmers inside my gloves, and alpaca socks, but the hoodie over my flannel shirt wasn't really enough. I did wear a hat. But after two and a half hours, I was cold. And I got a lot colder when evening came. My hubs wanted hot spicy food so we went to an Indian restaurant the next town over. Great food at Jaipore! But I woke up Sunday with a massive head cold. Ugh. I actually resorted to taking ibuprofen because my head hurt so much it was making my ear and teeth ache. Sinus infections have been a bane to my family for generations so I'm not surprised by this. I am, however, disappointed in my body's failing immunity. First shingles, now this. Ugh.

But how do I know I just have a cold, and not the flu? I didn't get a flu shot this year. Publicity about last year's highly ineffective flu shot doesn't reassure me. I check several websites and conclude that I might have the flu. Or I could just have a cold. I'm not running a fever, but I do feel slight, occasional nausea, and this time it's not because of any vertigo. Sometimes I get a chill, or I'm suddenly too hot. My nose is running in spite of taking pseudoephedrine. (I won't buy the fake stuff, phenylephrine, because it doesn't do anything for me except leave a bad taste in my mouth.) I have a dry cough that tastes like I got paper lint stuck in my throat. My left ear hurts and coincidentally, so does that side of my face. Ugh. It's probably just plain ol' sinusitis.

The best thing I can do is raise my body temperature, and the only way I know to do that is to exercise. So I go to the gym. I get there by noon because I had a few errands to run beforehand. I'm miserable in the CVS when I go to pick up more pseudoephedrine. It doesn't help that my son's acne cream gives me sticker shock when I renew the prescription. From a copay of $10 in June, it's now $45 with insurance. I look it up later and find that it retails for $215. WTH? And the copay changed because the pharma decided to change what tier the cream should reside in. What? So without any notice or warning, prescription drugs suddenly cost more, or aren't covered at all by insurance. WTF? Things are suppose to be more affordable under this administration. Well, okay, I didn't really believe that either... but still. (I already know that our premiums are going to skyrocket. Because corporations will steal money out of the middle-class pocket whenever they get the chance. Seriously.)

I feel slightly better by the time I get to Kmart where I shop for holiday lights (the ones on our fake miniature tree don't work anymore). Maybe the meds have finally kicked in? The gym is almost a ghost town by the time I get settled on the cross-trainer. I only do 20 minutes with a 4-minute cool down. I'm barely sweaty, but I'm tired. However, cardio fatigue doesn't crimp physical strength, and I'm able to knock out pull ups, push ups and my core routine without any issues. I do like that one aspect about my body.

Left foot normal. Right foot's a mess.

After a hot shower, I feel okay. Except my nose is drippy in spite of the decongestants. Ugh. Earlier, my feet had started to bother me. Well, the left foot, the good foot, the one without the bunion and hammer toes, started to ache along the outer edge while I was pedaling. But then everything was fine, and the tightness in that heel disappeared as well. Yaaaay me and my ugly feet. A foot model I will never be!

I haven't seen any pantry moths lately, except for the few caught in the moth glue traps. So that seems to be working. I check every week, and while I'm disappointed to have caught so few, I'm happy not to see any fluttering about inside my cupboards. And no little moth larvae crawling out of the grains!

5 dead India meal moths

Cardio is Best When You're Dead Tired

Wednesday 
7.79 miles

35 xtrainer
Calories 170
Miles 4.76
Average Heart Rate 151

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Push Ups 60

35 elliptical
Program 2
Miles 3.03
Calories 345
Average Heart Rate 149

HGPU 26


Tuesdays are crazy busy between my son's kung fu weapons class and Boy Scouts. He likes to get all his homework done before Scouts because we get back so late. It's difficult to unwind and head straight to bed, so very often we're up later than we should be. Last night was no exception. I look up and realize that it's past midnight and I'm definitely going to be unhappy in the morning.

Six hours is not enough sleep for me. I'm spacey when I get up. My son only has a half day of school but we're still at the bus stop at 7:05 am. The rainy weather is messing with my sinuses, and that means that I'm also having a slight vertigo issue. I feel a little carsick when I drive to the gym. Worse, my left foot develops a numb spot just under the metatarsal heads. My leg isn't over-extended since I've moved my seat closer to the wheel. I'm wearing my reliable Ariat Fat Baby boots so it's not footwear either. At the gym I put on the Ryka trainers, but my toes go numb just 10 minutes into the first cardio session. Ugh. Luckily, I'm not actually running, or doing anything that really requires toes for balance. My feet just aren't happy with me today.

There's no one in the Stretch Cage today and I'm happy to get my first set of pull ups done before going to the Mats for push ups and core. Gym Owner has a new female client and she's complaining that the weights hurt as she does dead lifts in the CF area. But she's also smiling and laughing, so I think she's just giving him grief. I see a few regulars, but I can't hear them, so I'm fairly happy. I do a set of push ups and the right shoulder feels a bit stiff, but nothing hurts. Okay, I am a little sore from the past two days, but that minor soreness doesn't actually register as pain. I do scissors, bicycles and crunches. In between, I stretch the piriformis muscles under my glutes and do a few lower back stretches. Side planks and bird dogs feel okay so I'm reassured that this sciatica thing is mostly done.

There are 4 ellipticals, and SnowBird is on the best one. I get on the next best one, which is to the immediate right. It has a slight catch in the flywheel action at low elevations. When the program raises the incline, the glitch disappears, but there's a noticeable click. Of course, if your tunes are loud enough, you don't hear that annoying sound. I can't imagine working out without earbuds or music. Yes, the gym has piped-in music but some days you don't want to listen to Disco or Country Western. Today I'm just doing Billy Idol instead of a mix. Unexpectedly, I'm bummed about David Cassidy passing away. I used to watch the Partridge Family! Who doesn't remember them singing C'mon, get happy! (That's also the name of his book, but I haven't read it and don't really plan to.) At least Bobby Sherman is still alive.


While I'm pedaling, I feel as if the ceiling lights are giving off too much heat. It's probably my overactive imagination, but it feels like the sun is shining down on the right side of me. Maybe I'm getting a sun burn too? It's yet another reason I prefer the other elliptical: that one isn't under the heat lamp! Kidding. They're just ceiling lights and the gym itself is air-conditioned. Maybe I'm so tired I'm hallucinating? Anything's possible.

I do another set of pull ups, and this time it's actually easier. Because I'm warmed up. But I can't wait to take my sneakers off on the Mat because the outside of my left foot hurts now. I don't know why. After some splits and shoulder rotations, I feel calm and relaxed. By the time I get into the shower though, I'm famished! I'm surprised my mileage is so good today. Probably because I'm tired. Which makes no sense at all. In the mirror, I look like a beast! But I'm actually slightly lighter today than yesterday, and I looked thinner yesterday. Figures...

Happy Thanksgiving. My gym is open in the morning, but I'm not going.

Does Housework Count?

Tuesday

10 min elliptical
Calories 93
Miles 0.83

T, Y & I DB Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Nexersys Follow Me
7r Beginner
5r Intermediate

HGPU 26

I always plan to get to the gym earlier than I actually do. Lately, I find that when I get in earlier, I'm stymied from using the equipment I want because there are too many other people. Today I get to the gym even later so I cut my workout shorter by 2 rounds. And because SnowBird, an elderly man in his late 70s who heads to Florida for the winters (and has the facial liver spots to prove it), was in the Stretch Cage, I didn't do any of my band pull warm ups either.

I actually spent the morning doing an impromptu shoulder workout. Kidding. But that's what 90 minutes of having my hands over my head felt like while I stood on a kitchen stool to unfasten the light fixture in the bathroom. Because when the bulbs burn out, it's kind of dark in there. And after wrestling with the lights over the over-sink cabinet, I also had to pull the in-ceiling light fixture down and replace those bulbs. That was fun. Not. Nothing like knowing you're so short that standing up straight on a 36" kitchen stool means you still have a 1/2 inch space between your head and the low ceiling. We have 7 foot ceilings because the house is a converted summer bungalow. Yep, good thing I worked shoulders and delts yesterday. Kidding. Well, at least the vertigo didn't cause any issues.

My sciatica seems healed up. Except when I drive to the gym, my left foot, the one that presses the gas and the brake, starts to go numb in the toes. It could be the hiking boots I'm breaking in. Or, it could be the fact my seat is too far from the dash. I really like my car, but there are little annoying things, like how my seat belt can get caught on the side lever that moves my seat back or forward. And the car doesn't need to be on for the seat to readjust itself because the seat belt caught it just right. Ugh. I move the seat forward.

I found an old pair of 6W leather Rykas in the closet. I don't remember why I don't like them but they seem to fit okay. I wear them to whack the machine today. They don't actually start to bother my feet until the last few rounds, when Sweeps cause the side seam inside the shoe to chafe my bunion. Ugh. I see a bunch of regulars. Thankfully I can't actually hear any of them. I am pleasantly surprised though by a chubby older woman who stops by while I'm between rounds. "You're the first person I've seen doing this machine. It looks great. I'm going to do this the next time I come here!" I smile back at her, and wonder if she knows what she's getting herself into.

I Hate Head Colds

My head is swimming when I get up. My sinuses are a bit gloppy, and that's not making the vertigo any better. Ugh. I'm probably developing a head cold. Well, it is the season for it. But it makes me truly miserable. The sciatica is much better although not totally gone. Having heated seats in my car really helps! I get to the gym early today because it's a short holiday week and I have a lot of errands. I know I've eaten too much, and not always wisely so I'm not surprised that I feel a bit bloated and puffy. Later, the gym scale delivers the bad news: 113 lbs. Well, it's not totally unexpected. There was an Eagle Scout Court of Honor reception on Saturday, then we ate a lot of pizza that night, and my son and hubs had some service work to do for a different Eagle Scout on Sunday.

Afterwards, we decided to check out the Sierra Trading Post in Connecticut. I'd seen their catalogs, but didn't realize they had an actual brick and mortar store! It's like a cheaper version of LLBean, or Dick's Sporting Goods. Just for fun, I tried on a pair of hiking boots that actually fit me in a normal 6.5 women's size (where my toes didn't get smushed or rammed into the front of the shoe while standing on a downward incline) and found hiking socks on clearance. My hubs was checking out all sorts of camping gear for the next overnight Boy Scout hike. Shopping is hard work! My son spent time in a portable camp rocking chair. We hadn't eaten breakfast, so we decided to try the newly opened Texas Roadhouse steakhouse across the street. My husband loves steak and BBQ places.

At 2:30 on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the restaurant was only partially full. It has a fairly extensive menu and makes a show of presenting raw steak cuts behind glass as you walk past the reservation desk. The bread on the table was glossy, and weirdly sweet, as if it'd been glazed with sugar and cinnamon. The butter also had sugar and cinnamon in it. Weird. It was tasty, but seemed more appropriate for a dessert item. Seriously. We ordered the Rattlesnake Bites appetizer, which were battered, deep-fried cream cheese balls with bits of jalapenos. Kind of gross. I like poppers better.

Both my hubs and I ordered the rib eye steak and ribs combo. The steak was cooked medium-rare and seasoned perfectly, smothered with sauteed mushrooms and onions. The ribs were lightly sauced and very tender. I ordered a baked sweet potato and the server asked if I wanted marshmallows and caramel with it. Seriously? It's already sweet! But my side order of veggies lacked seasoning and butter. The ones my hubs got were glossy. Weird. My son loved his BBQ chicken sandwich, but the steak fries were painfully salty. He didn't touch them. In spite of having half our meal in a To Go bag, we still looked at the the desserts. The calorie count next to each item convinced us to skip the items. When the lowest calorie item is the cheesecake at over 700, well, it's time to reconsider the need for sweets...

I get to the gym feeling the need to burn some calories. I do my cardio on the cross-trainer. The stupid green light comes on during the last 5 minutes. I only get it to turn off when I hit the Pause button for a few seconds. Then I hit resume. Meanwhile, I'm still pedaling. This happens at least 3 times in a 5 minutes "cool down" and it's annoying. Ugh. Again, I can't get on the Stretch Cage because the woman who's probably had a stroke (because one hand is curled up against her arm) is using it. I do a bunch of push ups and then claim the Smith machine for Inclined Benching. After warming up with the back nearly vertical, I drop the angle slightly for the remaining sets. I see some regulars. I can hear The Mayor. I turn up my tunes. Damn, I look pretty solid, but I'm partial... 

My routine is fairly simple. I don't rest a lot, but I do rest between sets. When I finish with Rip Skulls, I realize that I still haven't done any pull ups. My arms are tired though. I do a Mat Stretch, testing my hamstrings to see if doing splits is painful. Everything seems fine. Hammer grip pull ups are the last thing I do. The Mayor is on the treadmill with Square Jaw, and he's so loud I have to turn my iPod up even louder. Done! Tomorrow I'm probably going to whack the machine, if only because I use different footwear for that. The Rykas I have on today are the ones I use for Cardio Day, and I don't like to wear the shoes two days in a row. Shoes need time to air out and dry completely to maintain their internal cushioning. Or so I've read... I'm not planning to do an actual Pull Day until maybe next week. Maybe.

Monday

35 x-trainer
Miles 4.75
Calories 170
Average Heart Rate 152

Push Ups 60

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30lbs) x 15
50 x 13 adjust incline down
70 x 12
80 x 12
90 x 8 x 3
60 x 25
50 x 25

BB Front Raises s/s Upright Rows
20lbs x 15/15 reps
25lbs x 12/15 reps x 3 sets

DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flyes
20/25lbs x 12/15reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
40lbs x 12 reps
45lbs x 12, 8 reps

HGPU 26

Kickboxing Machine Repaired!

I was cold all morning so I put my sleeveless Jillian Michael sweatshirt on over my tank. I knew I'd wind up taking it off eventually. I just didn't know when. I still wore my blue hoodie to warm up on the elliptical for 10 minutes, but I always strip it off and drape it on the bench when I do my shoulder exercises: T, Y & I baby bell raises laying on my stomach on a flat bench. At least I don't have to rest my chin on the icky vinyl. I'm very gentle with my hamstring stretches. Band pulls feel okay as well.

I'm here a half hour earlier than normal for me. Just early enough to dodge the locker room rush. And it's Friday, so the gym isn't all that busy anyway. Still, I catch glimpses of Shaggy, PJ Pants and The Mayor. I also see other non-creepy regulars. Today is whack the machine day so I'm tucked away in the front by the Espresso bikes, kettle bells and two Cross Fit stations with racks of same-diameter plates of varying thicknesses. Both machines appear to be operational so I'm very excited. I move the arms of the machine to my left. Both appear to be responsive! I don't like the new Cross arm on the machine to the right because the upper pads are set too high, and at downward angles which deflect my blows in weird ways. My hands hurt much worse after smacking that machine.

I get set up on the left machine just in time. A big, boxy old guy hesitates for a moment before doing two rounds of Sparring on the machine to the right. It's Sparring because he does a combination of boxing blows, cross and jab, digs and upper cuts. But no kicks, sweeps or knee-ins. Then he's on the cross-trainer behind me for another 10 minutes before ambling on to the treadmill. After 7 rounds of Beginner, I'm warm and sweaty enough to pull off the sleeveless sweatshirt. I do another 7 rounds at Intermediate level. The machine registers most of my blows, but confounds me by occasionally stopping the action with a You Are Hitting Too Hard warning. Which is bizarre because my power stats don't even make it to 65% (of some normal range for adults, I assume). Worse, I've actually hit the Cross or Body in such a way as to cause the screen to go black for a few seconds. The program is still running though, so when the screen reappears, I'm in the middle of another combination. This happens at least a half dozen times, and I tell the gal at the front desk. She says that Gym Owner was watching part of my workout. I'm pretty sure the screen blacked out at least once, but I don't know if he caught it. It's probably some loose wire or connector.

I leave with time to go to the RiteAid in search of low percentage benzoyl peroxide. The new dermatologist seems much less likely to prescribe expensive medications. He recommended finding a 4-5% gel (any brand will do) to apply in conjunction with the clindamycin topical. However, what I've discovered is that all the brands are on the More Is Better kick. Everything has 10% bp, which is too strong. I find two packages of a clearance item that's marked down from $7.79 to $1.75, because it's being discontinued. Because it's only 5%. I buy both packages.

Two tree guys showed up. And then two more. Because only one of them is a climber. He's the most important guy. The rest of them are big and beefy, and pull at the rope attached to the middle of the tree that's coming down. But the tree gets tangled in the branches of its neighbor. So the climber must get up that tree to saw off a few more limbs. The work takes over an hour for two fairly small trees. They leave the wood in a pile, cut down to wood stove lengths. Good guys. I'm happy with them and will recommend them to anyone who needs local tree service.

Friday

10 min warm up elliptical
Calories 97
Miles 0.85

T, Y & I Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys Follow Me
7r Beginner
7r Intermediate

HGPU 26

It's the Shoes

I didn't get as much done yesterday as I'd liked, but maybe the forced rest was good for the sciatica. It's not nearly as painful now, but still noticeable depending on what I happen to be doing. Hamstring stretches are very iffy at the moment. I lay on my back and do some lower back movements. Those feel fine, but there's no sudden revelation. I've definitely got some sort of icky sinus thing, judging by the colored snot that occasionally stains my tissue. But I've had much worse head colds without the intermittent dizziness, so I'm just going to be patient. There's little else I can do.

Today's another Cardio and Core day but I put on my Ryka's instead. And even though my toes and forefoot go numb during the last 10 minutes of the first cardio session (on the cross-trainer), it passes quickly. My left foot, the one without any problems, also eventually starts to tingle in the toes by the time 30 minutes has passed. But nothing hurts. Yet. I still have some core stuff, and those push ups and pull ups to do next. I get on the elliptical later and my lower back doesn't really bother me, but I know it's there so it's not completely healed. But my feet don't hurt. Which means those Brooks have to go. There's a donation bin for used shoes inside the front doors of the gym. The Brooks are obviously not a good fit for me. Sigh.

I can't get on the Stretch Cage because I've gotten to the gym late and there are a lot of seniors now. I don't like to rush anyone. I do my push ups, but my shoulders miss the stretch warm up at the Cage, and the right shoulder creaks in protest. But it's not serious. Crunches, scissors and bicycles for the lower abs seem fine. The side planks are fine. I don't even try the Bird Dog though because once I feel it's not fine, well, the damage is done and the nerve is aggravated. Sigh.

In general, I don't mind the cold weather although my hands and feet get painfully cold if I'm not actively moving. (I guess that's the Raynaud's. I don't know why Medline classifies it as a rare disorder of the blood vessels. It seems pretty common to me.) I can't wash my hands too often. Something about how water is a great conductor of heat away from your body. Which is why I'd never last too long in a profession that required frequent hand washing. Cooking is bad enough because the thought of cross-contamination gives me the willies. I'm constantly washing my hands as I'm prepping food.

I even bought the jumbo pump bottle of Suave Advanced Therapy just to keep in the kitchen. But in spite of fleece gloves, lambswool mittens, salves, lotions and Bag Balm (lanolin, petrolatum and hydroxyquinoline sulfate), I've got a fissure in my thumb. Not only does it hurt and is prone to bleeding, it's nearly impossible to bandage or soothe. Some people swear by Liquid Skin, but I find it too drying. After all, I have ichthyosis vulgaris, which makes it nearly impossible for my skin to retain moisture. Which also means I'm expecting my other fingers, and heels to eventually succumb to fissures as well. Ugh. But first, let me file down the calluses on the palm side of my knuckles. No, I'm not kidding.

Well, tomorrow I'm going to whack the machine. Not sure if they're both working properly, but there's no Out of Order signage. I'll have to make it quick though. I have tree guys coming to take down two scrawny maples a few yards from the back of my house. The tops are white and barkless so at some point, probably during a storm, those things are going to fall and wreck my roof. The guys showed up early for the estimate. And their estimate was $200 cheaper than the last estimate. They were kind of weird though. They looked familiar and they said I looked familiar. Then they both joked a lot about wives always being the boss. Very chatty, very smiley guys. Weird because my county is predominantly white and fairly rural. They kind of look like everyone else. I'd notice other Asian people. I'm definitely Asian. If I look familiar to them, I can't imagine why. Unless we shop at the same store or go to the same gym?

Thursday
7.71 miles

35 xtrainer
Calories 170
Miles 4.75
Average Heart Rate 147

Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s

35 elliptical
Program 3
Calories 335
Miles 2.96
Average Heart Rate 147

HGPU 26

A Nation of Snowflakes

I just read an article reporting that some cancer risks directly correlate to obesity. In short, the more overweight you are, the greater your chance of dying from a fatal cancer (because there are apparently a lot of non-fatal cancers). Further in the article, physicians and policy makers bemoan the nation's snowflake tendency to walk away from insulting labels, no matter how aptly clinical they might be. As in, if your doctor labels you obese or morbidly obese, instead of formulating a plan to address this issue, you walk away and find another doctor. Seriously? Because your feelings got hurt? When I was pregnant with my son at 44, my doc stated I was of "advanced maternal age" because I was older than 35 years. Okay. I rolled my eyes at him because most of my friends had kids in their early 40s, but he's still the Ob/Gyn who delivered my son. He's still my Ob/Gyn now.

This ridiculous insistence on not having our feelings hurt is leading us down a path to ruin. Isn't this where Fat But Fit came from? No, we don't all need to starve ourselves to Twiggy-thinness so we can look Heroin Chic in our fab clothes, but lately the health news has come this close to stating as much. Futurity.org lists an article that states very low calorie diets can reverse diabetes. My first thought is, uh, that's called starvation. But I'm a wise-ass, and what do I know anyway? Calorie restriction has been promoted for years and is now trendy, and known as IF or Intermittent Fasting. Those of us who do it (no, I'm not one of them) can feel righteously pious. The rest of us try hard to ignore the beckoning call of marketers. Sometimes they're just blatant advertisements, other times they ply us on social media with photos, and discounts, promises of free shipping and "buy one, get one not free."

Okay, I'm done with my rant for now. I went to the gym and did cardio. Lots of cardio. And push ups and pull ups, and some core stuff. I still have sciatica, which didn't really bother me until the last 10 minutes of the 2nd cardio session when my lower back felt achy. But since my right foot, (the one with the bunion and hammer toes and sciatica) hurt more than my back, I focused on foot positioning more than anything else. My bunion got chafed, but the real issue was the amount of pressure on what appears to be the 4th and 5th metatarsal heads (the pinky toe side of the ball of the foot). I'm sure the hammertoes have something to do with this. Replacing the insoles of the trainers might be an option, but since I was wearing my oversized Brooks with the super cushiony liners, I'm not sure how much that will actually help. Next time I do a Cardio Day, I'll wear different trainers just to see if it's my footwear. I have a lot of shoes that don't work for me any more. Sometimes I wish I could just rent shoes for a few months, but that would be kind of icky.

I'm also toying with the idea of just doing cardio, pull ups, push ups and core as a regular routine just until my body recuperates... Hopefully I won't get too bored. I was expecting to be exhausted when I got home from the gym, but I was just a little tired and totally disfocused. I'd like to be more tired, but with better focus. I'm disappointed in how easily I get distracted. Every little physical thing eats into my time, and before I know it, my son is home from school needing help with a homework project, and then I'm working on dinner...

The vertigo isn't much of an issue except when it fools me into wondering why I'm getting carsick while driving. Sometimes I get that feeling when I'm not in the car! The vague nausea is very disconcerting and I have fleeting thoughts of food poisoning and stomach bugs. Until I realize that it's my head that's making my stomach queasy. Ugh. I forget to dose myself with fresh garlic and olive oil, which means I'll probably get sick now. I have a drippy nose, and my sinuses tell me that they're unhappy as well. Good grief. I feel like such a goddamn snowflake.

Taking Wednesday off to get stuff done around the house... Back on Thursday.

Tuesday
7.59 cardio miles

35 xtrainer
Calories 168
Miles 4.58
Average Heart Rate 146

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s

35 elliptical
Program 1
Miles 3.01
Calories 342
Average Heart Rate 147

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60

Is It the Season?

Walking around Bear Mountain Park with my son's class was a lot of fun last week, but I noticed my sciatica flared a bit on the uphill portion. Temps dropped into the teens on Friday and my son and I both stayed inside. Periodically I have trouble with my eyes in that they feel really stiff. I'm not sure if it's the side effects of the glaucoma medication I'm taking, or something else, but it's hard to focus on reading when eyeball movement seems strenuous. It's not eye strain as the muscles don't ache. Maybe it's super dry eye? I use some OTC eye lubricating drops, which helps a bit.

My reading glasses are a last resort for making faint gray type legible. (If I use them too long, I have a lot of trouble refocusing my eyes for distance, which is a big problem when I'm driving my son back from kung fu now that it's dark so early. I don't have as much trouble if I don't use the glasses. Weird, right?) But my nose is drippy and drat! I've got a mild case of vertigo. Again. Ugh. My ear plugs and pops repeatedly, then clears. I still have vertigo, but only when I bend over. Well, this is really inconvenient.

My drippy nose is irritated and I worry about the irregularity at the tip of one of my nostrils. The skin is just slightly thickened there and I keep mistaking it for snot I've got to remove. I dab it with a cotton swab dipped in tea tree oil. My nose is pink at the rim, but I don't think anyone notices except me. My son has an appointment with a new dermatologist this week, and I'm thinking of making an appointment for myself to get this skin in my nose checked out. I'm worried it's a wart or some other viral entity that might lead to something potentially disfiguring and lethal. Because I'm a hypochondriac. And if HPV can cause cervical and oral cancers as well as genital warts, then who knows what other viruses can do? It's bad enough that I have a dark spot that bloomed on my cheek a few years ago. And a skin tag that appeared this year in the crease of my eyelid. I'm prone to cold sores, and apparently shingles so maybe I'm not being silly.

When I get to the gym, I overhear some ladies, who are probably a tad older than me, discussing the fact that they get seasonal bouts of vertigo. I keep my mouth shut because I don't have anything to add. Maybe it's some sort of late season allergy? I've had vertigo during the summer months, but not this summer. I'm thinking it was February before that, but maybe my memory is faulty. Perhaps it's the sudden change in temperature? Regardless, there's not a lot I can do about it, except be really careful not to fall.

The cardio area is surprisingly empty for a Monday. I'm here a bit earlier than normal, and only creepy PJ Pants is on the treadmill. I do my cardio session and then pull ups and push ups. All the weight-training advice forums state to do cardio AFTER weights, but that doesn't work for me. I have to do the thing I hate most first or else I won't do it. And that's cardio. Plus, doing 10 reps at a light weight isn't a warm up. Not for me anyway. I'm just a contrarian.

The Smith looks abandoned except for the 25 lb plates on the bar. No one's been there for the past 10 minutes so I claim it by draping my hoodie over the inclined bench under it and stripping off the plates. I see the smaller flat bench, but I don't want to lay flat down, especially now that I'm prone to nasty dizzy spells. Ugh. The rest of my workout is routine. I do my Reverse Inclined Flyes inside the Smith because that's where the 2nd adjustable inclined bench is. The Mayor is on the one in the DB area, and I tend to avoid any place he's to be found chatting. He and LoudMouth are mind-numbingly loud. (I'm ordering some sleep ear plugs too, because the best sleep I've had in weeks was the one night my hubs was camping with my son. My hubs doesn't always snore, but after a few beers something gets loose and sloppy in his throat and the noise is ridiculous. I hope the ear plugs work.)

My sciatica seems stalled. Not better, not worse. At least it's not spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column that puts pressure on nerves. (Oh, hey, just like the sciatic nerve! Ugh.) My dad developed that as he got older. He'd been extremely active as a young man, and he had liked to walk a lot (he was a terrible driver). He wasn't one to complain much, but after he passed away, we discovered fentanyl patches in his nightstand. It didn't look like he had ever used them, and we tossed them in the trash. My dad was acutely uncomfortable being dependent on any sort of chemical or drugs. He liked to say he was too proud. It's probably where I get my stubbornness from. Luckily, there appear to be treatment options for this ailment, should it come to that. Of course, I'm seriously hoping that this is just me getting too ambitious with the RDLs. So, I'm taking it easy and laying off these types of stressors.

Tomorrow I'm planning a Cardio and Core day, even though, miraculously, the other Nexersys seems to be working. Perhaps Gym Owner got nervous when he saw me snap a few photos of the broken machine last week? I'm not sure that the Cross and Jab are working properly though, but I won't find out until I give it a whack. I hope I'm not disappointed.

Monday

35 x-trainer
Calories 168
Miles 4.62
Average Heart Rate 156

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
50 x 12
70 x 12
80 x 12
90 x 8 x 3 sets
60 x 26
50 x 25

BB Front Raises s/s Upright Rows
20 lbs x 12/15
25 x 12/15reps x 3 sets

DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flyes
20/25lbs x 12/15reps x 3 sets

Rip Skulls
40lbs x 12reps x 3sets

Everything is Hammie

It snowed last night although nothing stuck. My son and I did see a car pass by with snow on the back window. It's November, and not exactly temperate anymore. Still, the grass is really green even if the trees are partially bare. Tomorrow we'll be at the Bear Mountain park on a school trip, and we've been assured that the Zoo and Ft Montgomery will be accessible. It's also going to be cold and windy. Oh joy... At least I'm not hiking with the Scouts this weekend when temps are expected to drop below 20°F. This time the boys better not forget their sleeping bags, fleece liners and thermals! I went to bed with alpaca socks on last night and that was inside a heated house. But my son and husband don't get cold the way I do, so I'm sure they'll be fine.

I'm able to access the cross-trainer I like so I'm fairly happy. Sixteen minutes into the session and the power cuts out. I can still pedal, so I do. But the machine has to reset itself a few minutes later, once the power is restored. Well, that was aggravating, especially since I wasn't paying attention to my mileage. Ugh. I restart and do an additional 15 minutes and expect the machine to give me a 5 minute cool down. Instead, it gives me 3 minutes. Double ugh. So today I have a 34 minute session, and no idea how much mileage... Is it going to be one of those days?

There's someone in the stretch cage so I skip that and do some push ups. Then I go back for a stretch and pull ups. But how am I suppose to stretch without aggravating my sciatica. Virtually all of my post-cardio cage stretch involves my hamstrings, and I actually hadn't realized that until today. Ugh. Even bending forward and rotating my shoulders forward involves the leg biceps! The sciatica makes my leg throb slightly as I cross my ankles when I do my pull ups. Crossing my ankles keeps me from swinging too much. Swinging makes pull ups so much harder, but keeping your body straight also requires a lot of effort. Can't win!

I go back to the mat and do another set of push ups. I had thought to raise the rep count to 75, but doing sets of 60 might be better. Laying on the mat, I stretch my lower back and do a few of the piriformis stretches that I remember. I don't really feel any tightness in my glutes, which makes me think this is a more traditional sciatica, one that originates from a problem in my sacrum. Ugh. I've probably got a healed hairline fracture there from slipping on icy steps and landing on my tailbone some 25 years ago. That's when I learned that traditional hiking boots with Vibram® soles are lousy on ice, but of course, what isn't?

I do some crunches and variants for lower abs. I'm paranoid that my abdomen will become distended if I don't enforce some muscle control! And since I don't have much of a waist, it's doubly important if I want to fit into proper pants. I worry a little about the Bird Dogs and Side Planks exacerbating the sciatica, but it's only the Bird Dog that's a wee bit of an issue. More push ups. I see regulars like The Mayor, Big Mustache, Little R and I can hear LoudMouth from halfway across the gym, even with ambient music blaring, and my earbuds. Ugh. I looked up all the stretches that are NOT recommended for sciatica sufferers, and they include the cobra as well as crunches, and planks. I guess my sciatica isn't as bad as some because I can definitely still work out. I just hope I'm not prolonging the recovery period because I can't stay home and "rest." Naw...

I spend 35 minutes on the elliptical, bopping along happily to my tunes. There's no one else immediately next to me so I'm very relaxed, and drenched. I can't imagine not showering afterwards. Some women just blow dry their hair and leave. I catch a whiff of myself while doing my second set of pull ups, and yes, I need a shower and the clothes need to be laundered!

I probably also stink of garlic. I've been eating a few raw cloves every day (along with zinc as a cold & flu preventative), smashed with the most wonderful garlic press ever (Joseph Joseph brand), and then mixed with olive oil and smeared on bread. Yesterday I mixed garlic into canned sardines in olive oil and ate that with some pear slices. For me, it's so much less troublesome than taking the tablespoon of apple cider vinegar! Of course, in stews I prefer to drop the cloves in whole—they're so sweet when cooked.

Back at the gym on Friday. It'll probably be another Cardio Day. I think I've done 7+ miles today.

Wednesday

35 min x-trainer
Power out at 16+ min / restart
17 min = 2.82 miles

Push Ups 60
HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Push Ups 60

35 elliptical
Program 1
Miles 2.97
Calories 335
Average Heart Rate 139

HGPU 26

Contrarian Woes

My sciatica seems to be intermittent. Sometimes it feels completely healed, and then I do something dumb, like stretch and the inflamed portion of the nerve running down my calf yells at me. I'm never quite sure what's going to set it off. I'd better study anatomy a bit more closely. This morning I feel pretty good and get a few things done before hitting the gym. Because it's Election Day, there's no school so I let my son sleep in. Last night he surprised me by telling me he finally figured out how to do pull ups. "I can do five," he said proudly. And he proceeded to do five at the pull up bar in the doorway that doubles as extra closet space in our tiny house. I'm so proud of him.

I get some chores done, vote and then the gym. I'm surprised the parking lot is so crowded. It's Tuesday, which means $5 movies next door, but I've lost track of what movies are playing. I'm sure Thor: Ragnorok is one of them. It's a move my whole family wants to see, and not just because I think Chris Hemsworth has an awesome bod—we haven't forgotten his dance moves from the Ghost Busters remake, have we?


I expect the gym to be crowded too because there's no school but it's the same. What's different is that there's a big Out of Order sign on the Nexersys to the left side, the one with the slightly wonky Cross and the Jab that doesn't register. However, what's hanging limp is the entire monitor display itself. I'm not quite sure exactly how one breaks the pins holding that part of the machine together, but it's seriously out of commission. I have no choice but to use the right machine, with the springy new arm set too high. I put extra thick moleskin across my pinky and ring finger knuckles. I don't like the extra thick moleskin actually. It's over 1/4" thick and feels like styrofoam. I do 7 rounds Beginner and an additional 5 rounds Intermediate. I can feel my knuckles sting under all the protection, which is weird because moleskin, white tape, cotton wraps and padded gloves should be enough. Maybe it's enough for normal people with meaty hands, but not me.

When I get all the padding off, I spot a new bruise between my pinky and ring finger. I'm not quite sure how you can bruise your hands when they're well-wrapped but I manage to do it. Maybe I'm punching too hard? Naw... It is gratifying to see the Nexersys tell me that I'm "overpower" for the Beginner rounds. It suggests I add rounds. I've already done 7, which is kind of the gym's limit. Of course, since no one else is waiting for the machine, I do another 5. Next time I'll do 7 rounds Intermediate, but I have to figure out how to prevent this knuckle injury. It's not serious, but it shouldn't be happening.

Belly shot

I look down at all I see is my slightly protruding belly. It reminds me of an insect abdomen, but I'm weird like that. Of course, what other people see is probably totally different, and more akin to the side mirror shot. I glance up at the mirrored wall by the Cross Fit station several yards away, and all I see are my arms and shoulders. Nice. That makes me happy.

Whacking the machine doesn't aggravate my sciatica. It's the lunge stretch that causes the most discomfort and makes the nerve ache through my foot. Ugh. Memo to self: stop doing that while I have this particular nerve affliction. Even pull ups are okay. Afterwards, I do a full Mat Stretch even though I did that yesterday. Tomorrow I just plan to do cardio. And core.

Tuesday

10 xtrainer
Calories 48
Miles 1.30
Average Heart Rate 148

T, Y & I DB Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys Follow Me
7r Beginner
5r Intermediate

HGPU 26

Working Around Sciatica

The weekend was wet, cold and dreary, the epitome of Autumn in the Northeast, especially in November. Perfect weather to sleep in, and make chili for supper. My lower back only made itself known when I'd been sitting for too long, or I needed to bend over. Just a little stiffness. However, today the reality of what's going on with the lower back has become more apparent: it's sciatica. I have the tell-tale pinky toe numbness and weird nerve sensation that runs along the sole of my foot, up my outer ankle and calf, disappears into the back of my thigh and emerges behind my hip. Yup, I'm familiar with that alright.

It doesn't stop me from doing my cardio warm up. I'm already used to having my feet go numb towards the end of a 35-minute "run" on the cross-trainer. Pull ups only ever bother my fingers and sometimes my left elbow, which is why I restrict myself to just 26 reps. Push ups feel okay. But bracing myself on the oversized inclined bench, while doing Smith Inclined Presses, causes a bit of discomfort. Because my feet don't really sit flat solid on the ground and the seat itself is not adjustable. I have short calves and that makes life difficult. I have to skew myself forward with my right leg extended to have my foot lay flat. My left foot is actually on tip toe. Maintaining this position for reps is painful because it puts a lot of pressure on my right butt. (And when you have sciatica, you don't want to sit on hard things, or press against hard things. Like toilet seats. Especially if you have short calves. I have long thighs, but the pivot point is the knees, so with short calves, I'm stuck not quite reaching the floor.) Back of the thigh pressure hits the sciatic nerve directly. Ugh.

Well, at least I get my sets in. The shorter flat bench is available but I'm leery of testing out my stability. To properly flat bench, both feet should be planted flat on the floor. I can plant my feet on the cross-bar foot of the bench because I don't quite reach the floor. My whole body tenses and I put a lot of downward pressure on my feet. Not ideal if you're trying to baby the sciatic nerve. The recommended therapy is ice and inflammation relief, which of course means something like ibuprofen. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) is a wonderful drug. Which I try really hard not to take because it's been associated with an increase in cardiac issues, interferes with bone and muscle regeneration, and is probably toxic to your liver but just not as bad as acetaminophen (Tylenol).

I grab the 20 lb solid barbell and a pair of magnetic disc weights to do the shoulder supersets: front raises and upright rows. The upright rows seem easier so I do more reps for them. Instructional videos for front raises state to keep arms straight in front of you, but I have to keep a slight bend at the elbows, otherwise they hurt. Small joints are weak joints, and mine are tiny. There's no strengthening joints, only the muscles surrounding them. I arch my back slightly when doing the upright rows to get a better range of motion. At this light weight, these seem okay.

My arms are also bent when I do DB Lateral raises. If the weight is light enough for me to do raises with my arms straight out, I'll be doing sets of 50 reps. So not productive. My arms from the elbows to my fingers are disproportionately, structurally smaller than my upper arms and shoulders. But there's nothing I can do about it, so I work around all these issues. I've done heavier weights with this super-set, but inevitably, my elbows start to complain. I can't make them stronger so I'll just do what I do until I find something else that might work better. Gotta work within your limitations!

Lastly, there's triceps. I did Rip Skulls last week. I could do them again, except that this movement puts a lot of stress on my hamstrings. As I drop the barbell past my forehead, I need to brace my body on the bench, which means my bent legs are rigidly clenched as well. It's hard to force yourself to relax your legs while tensing your core AND focusing on not dropping 40 lbs on your face. I opt to do V-bar cable press downs instead.

The sciatica really bothers me when I sit, not so much when I'm walking around. Laying down is okay too. Well, at least it's not shingles. But my throat feels a tad scratchy and it is flu & cold season. Ugh. As much as I like the idea of a flu & cold tonic, my body has had a negative reaction to the apple cider vinegar. It gives me massive heartburn in spite of chasing it with a glass of water. In spite of following it directly with food. In spite of taking it WITH food. The discomfort is such that I feel like I'm perpetually eating something to quell the nasty feeling. Not what I need. Today, I take some extra zinc. And I mash 3 cloves of garlic and mix it with olive oil to spread on a slice of ciabatta bread. Normally I'd make a 1/4 cup (dry) of oatmeal and mix in a scoop of whey powder. But I need to address this impending head cold. A scratchy throat is usually due to post-nasal drip and that could be allergies, or it could be a blossoming head cold. Ugh.

Today, I also get a preliminary jury duty questionnaire in the mail. Well, at least it looks like it's from the county court and not Federal court in NYC. I pass by the county court every day I drive to the gym. But with sciatica, the last thing I want to do is sit in one of those hard, uncomfortable wooden jury seats. I've done jury duty in Putnam County before, but it was before I was married with a school age kid. I'll fill out the paper, but I'm prepared to get myself disqualified....

Monday

35 x-trainer
Calories 171
Miles 4.80
Average Heart Rate 151

HGPU 26
Push Ups 50

Smith Inclined Press
Bar (30) x 15
50 x 12
70 x 13
90 x 8 x 3
60 x 25
50 x 25

BB Front Raises s/s Upright Rows
20lbs x 12/15reps
25lbs x 12/15reps x 3 sets

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flyes
20/25 lbs x 12/15reps x 3 sets

V-bar cable press down
40lbs x 12reps x 3 sets

A New Chapter

I've started a new blog entitled A Few Thoughts in Words because there are a lot of things that just don't seem appropriate to post in this particular site. I'm not sure how often I'll be posting here, but be assured that if I work out, I will post. It keeps me honest!

You can find the new blog at https://lindeswords.blogspot.com/

I'm still working on the medical writing/editing coursework. Still slogging through basic grammatical constructs. What I've learned about myself is that my knowledge is mostly internalized. I'm horrible at being able to label what part of the sentence specific phrase is, but I can correctly pick out and fix bad sentence structures. It feels intuitive, but I'm sure I've merely absorbed all the rules from a lifetime of reading and writing.

I have decided to apply to some local businesses for part-time work because financial anxiety is keeping me up at night. I'm not sure if anyone will actually hire me. But I've sent out a modified resumé to two places, one just 10 minutes from the house, and another two doors from the gym. Modified, because I'm grossly overqualified with a college degree, I also don't have any sort of professional licenses. Sooo, I've left the college degree off my resumé. Seriously. I'm also probably a lot older than most applicants, but I'm not telling them and I don't think they can actually ask me.

My hubs thinks I ought to hang out my shingle as a personal trainer. He just doesn't understand how uninterested I am in training other people, how much I don't like traveling or leading classes, or telling people what they should or should not be doing. I especially don't want to actually "handle" people. Yuck. And will I need liability insurance if someone hurts themself? And I'll need to take more courses and pass a few licensing exams because you need certifications to work. I know because I looked into this when I was first laid off.

I'm also looking at Craigslist for writing assignments. Online jury duty sounded like an interesting idea, but no one seems to have made any money with it. I guess everyone's watching too much Bull on TV (yes, based on Dr Phil's previous life). Most other work from home opportunities appear to be scams, or pyramid schemes that make you sign up for a bazillion things you're not interested in. And they ask for lots of personal information, no doubt to sell. Ugh.

The Cardio Cure

I'm stiff and a little sore all over when I get up, but it's not a surprise. I'm just glad that I'm not actually in any sort of pain. My fingers hurt sporadically, and I've developed another hairline cut on my ring finger. But this time on my right hand where I don't actually wear a ring. I put my wedding band back on because I keep forgetting to replace it after I work out. It's a sure way to lose it, and it'd be expensive to replace since it's custom and made of platinum. It was suppose to be entwined dragons but my finger's too small at size 3.25, so we settled on entwined serpents to celebrate the union of Chinese and Nordic heritages.

I stop off at the Halloween pop up store before heading to the gym. Everything is 50% off, and I have an additional 20% off coupon that I received via email. The store will disappear tomorrow and I hate buying online since I won't be able to examine the merchandise. I buy some steampunk items because my husband loves that genre, and I don't have anything to give him for Christmas. He won't have an excuse next Halloween when I want to go out dancing. This year it was " But I don't have a costume." And we spent last Friday night on the couch watching season 2 of Stranger Things. I'd never thought to watch the show until I saw the Hillywood parody of it. It's not as good as their Supernatural one. Or even Dr Who. But it was enough to make me curious. My husband is now a big fan of Stranger Things and claims it's the best show he's seen in years. Hmmmm.

I'm able to do 35 minutes on the cross-trainer that I like, but inexplicably the machine starts to feel difficult with 2 minutes left to go. Then I notice that the rectangle in the lower right corner of the console screen has gone from gray to green. Ugh. There's no way to turn the stupid "hybrid" setting off, and at the end of my workout, the machine proudly proclaims that I've pedaled enough to power the machine for two minutes. Well, duh...

I do a set of pull ups, and then routine push ups and core stuff. While I'm on the Mat, I see the gleaming bald head of Stinky Butt at one of the exercise machines. Ugh. There's no one on the ellipticals though, and I get on the one with the best console and glide motion. It's been a long time since I've done any of these programs and I've missed it. I see the Mayor on the treadmill. Odd. Oh, wait, he's chatting with SquareJaw. Of course. Because otherwise he'd never do cardio. I go down to the Stretch Cage again for my second stretch. I feel good enough to do another set of pull ups so I do. And then, before my Mat Stretch, I do another set of push ups. I'm sure I'll stiffen up as soon as I cool down, but while I'm active I feel pretty good.

Earlier in the locker room, I overheard B and V discussing how much they can't do more than 20 minutes on the cardio machines, because their feet get numb and things start to hurt. V mentions doing the espresso bike challenge earlier this summer, and how being on the bike for 2 hours was torture. (I can't even reach the handlebars so it's never been a consideration.) Well, I'm glad it's not just me whose toes fall asleep while pedaling...

The gym scale is encouraging today: 110.4 lbs. Still not where I want to be, but much better than earlier this week. Tomorrow I'm chaperoning my son's field trip to Bear Mountain. The gym will have to wait until Monday...

Thursday
7.71 miles cardio

35 xtrainer
Calories 169
Miles 4.70
Average Heart Rate 136

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60
Scissors 50
Bicycles 50
Crunches 50
Bird Dog 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s

35 elliptical
Program 1
Miles 3.01
Calories 343
Average Heart Rate 145

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60

Loss of Focus

I took my car to the Valvoline because not only was it sort of due for an oil change, but I figure they could check my tire pressures since the dashboard sensor light came on last night. I also asked them to flush the engine and use a cleaner before replacing the oil. I'd read in online forums that it might the gunky oil residue that causes the Check Engine warning. The tires are barely below pressure, but at least there are no obvious punctures. I normally don't take my car in for an oil change until close to 7000 miles. I'm barely at 3, because I don't drive a lot. But I'm not handy enough to do my own oil change and flush. And what would I do with all the refuse? I was in a relationship once where he insisted that I change my own oil. What a miserable experience trying to drive my car up onto ramps, then climbing underneath to unscrew the oil filter with a drain pan to catch the mess. No thanks!

I'm better off getting the grease monkeys to do this. But of course, they have to try to upsell me on a transmission flush as well. Uh no, it's not called for as per Subaru's service manual guidelines. The tech persists and I tell him 4 times "No, I don't want it." I do have a coupon that takes 10% off the bill, and $8 off the oil change so I leave the place relatively unscathed. If this works, then I've saved myself $717 for a complete crank case replacement, which is what the auto repair place quoted to me after resetting my Check Engine sensor. They also could've suggested doing an engine flush with a cleaner, but they didn't. And I noticed.

I get to the gym mid-morning. The cross-trainer is surprisingly smooth and QUIET. What? It wasn't like this yesterday when a lady on the treadmill upfront kept looking over her shoulder and giving my machine the evil eye. Something got fixed! I do pull ups and push ups and then head over to the Smith for RDLs. Everything goes according to schedule, except that I either wait too long between sets or lose focus, or both when I get to my heaviest set. On rep 3 I feel my lower back start to radiate little strings of distress. I tighten my body and finish two more reps. Because this makes me really nervous, but I don't want to just walk away defeated, I drop the weight slightly and do another minimal set. And again. These other reps don't feel bad, but I can already feel a disturbance echoing through my lower back and hip. Ugh.

I still knock out my RG BB Rows, but I'm very careful about how I position myself. The gym is getting really crowded, especially the DB area. I decide to skip DB Rows and opt to do some light One-Arm Seated Cable Rows. I make the mistake of approaching one of the seated rowing stations attached to the cable complex. It looked empty. Suddenly Napoleon comes running over, frantically yelling he's got one more set. I don't care. I tend not to be very expressive when I'm focused on getting my workout done. I wave him off and I drop my gear on the other rowing station. There's one particular handle that I like because it's lighter and smaller than all the others but I can't find it, so I use the one already attached to the 2nd station.

Toward the end of my first set, Napoleon materializes with the double handle that had been attached to the rowing station he was on. I'm in mid-row for godsakes. WTH? He's mouthing something about if I wanted to use it. But I don't. And I'm not in the mood to pull out my earbud and explain this to him. He stalks off defeated. I call him Napoleon because he's short. But he's not the only short guy at the gym. I call him Napoleon because he was the idiot who interrupted me while I was on the Stretch Cage some time ago. I was getting myself psyched to do some pull ups. He's trying to show off to some girl. He doesn't actually do anything at the Stretch Cage except dangle from one arm. As soon as he got done with whatever that was, I did my pull ups. He was surprised, and embarrassed. And I didn't see him at the gym for a good year. Now he's back. And I assume, trying to make up for being an ass. But if you want to apologize, then actually apologize! (Of course people don't know how to do that anymore. Just like they don't teach etiquette in school anymore.) Maybe he thinks I don't remember what a jerk he was? Or maybe, I'm at the gym to work out and when I focus on my workout, I'm not interested in chatting or hanging out. How about that?

Of course, there's probably a fine line between being rude and just being oblivious. I don't mean to be rude. I re-rack all my weights. I wipe down my bench. But I don't share. Because sharing means you have to have a conversation. Ugh. The gym is crowded with regulars. I see The Mayor, for the first time, warming up on the Arm Bicycle. Little R always does some 5lb plate shoulder rotation warm ups. I see a few other regulars do 10-15 minutes of cardio beforehand. I'm the only crazy doing a full sweaty 35 minutes of cardio before hitting the weights. My lats are sore even before I do weights today. Odd though, because yesterday was a Push Day. Except for the pull ups. Well, there's always pull ups... The gym scale says 111.4 lbs today. Still too much but so much better than yesterday. I'm not sure about tomorrow. It'll be either Cardio or Kickboxing. It's a coin toss...

Wednesday

35 xtrainer
Calories 169
Miles 4.65
Average Heart Rate 155

HGPU 26
Push Ups 60

Smith RDLs
Bar(30) x 15
80 x 12
120 x 12
140 x 12
160 x 6 (lower back rep 3!)
150 x 5 (cautious)
140 x 6

Smith RG BB Rows
80 x 25
100 x 25
120 x 25

Seated 1-Arm Cable Rows
45lbs x 12
Left arm twinges lower rt hip
52.5 lbs x 12 (elbows feel funky)
45 x 12