Adventures Abound

I felt slightly more rested this morning, and not because I went to sleep earlier. Even when I'm in bed I have to wrestle with my husband's snoring. Some nights it's not bad, some nights it's like sleeping next to a chainsaw. Last night was just loud enough to be annoying. I had purchased a pair of ear plugs off Amazon but was disappointed in their lack of efficacy. If I can still hear the dog breathing heavily next to my bed, then clearly these ear plugs aren't muffling anything! I got better relief from pulling my flannel sheet, and two fleece blankets over my head.

After sucking down a bottle of chocolate Ensure High Protein (16 gms, lactose-free) with most of my vitamins, I went to the gym. It's still a Cardio Day, but perhaps I'll try something new. I'm leery of doing Intervals again only because I've just recovered from feeling totally exhausted. The exhausted feeling could also be due to my recent head cold, even though I've barely any symptoms now. The gym isn't very crowded. It's Friday after all, and there's an impending snow storm, according to the Weather channel and everyone else.

I get on the Life Fitness cross-trainer. Everything's great until the pedals suddenly feel heavy. Ugh. The stupid Hybrid mode has kicked in! I pause the machine while still pedaling. It takes almost a minute before the green light indicator turns off. I start pedaling again and the green Hybrid light turns on again. Ugh. I quit the machine at 28:28 and head to the stretch cage for some pull ups. I see Gym Owner at the front desk. He's not usually here on Fridays so I take this as an opportunity to explore the Expresso bikes. Luckily the short gal at the front desk is also here today. I can call her short because I've got 2 inches on her! It's rare I can call anyone short.

The bikes are all different. There are 4, with 3 up front next to the 2 Nexersys machines. The newest one is in back, next to the back of the cable machine that faces the tiny Cross-Fit area. It turns out that the newest version has the most adjustable seat as well, and it slides forward so I can actually rest my palms on the handle bars! Gym Owner has me create an account and log in so the machine can track my progress. When it asks for my age and email, I ask suspiciously if it's going to send me sales notices for hearing aids, chair lifts and funeral plots. He says that it hasn't happened to him so probably not. I suspect he's a little younger than I am. I'm always surprised when people tell me they're 50. I don't volunteer my age because I'm afraid it might make them feel bad. Seriously.

I'm not really comfortable pedaling the Expresso bike even though it's fun to run over other bicyclists, and look at the passing scenery. Gym Owner logs me into Fruitdale because it's a fairly level ride. I play with the gear shifters, but my knees aren't very happy when I shift up, and being in a low gear means I don't get very far for all the pedaling. At the end of 25+ minutes, I'm sweaty and feel pretty good. Except my butt hurts a little. And I'm wondering how my knees will feel later.

Because I'm not quite feeling done, I do some push ups and core, then head to the Step Mill for 15 minutes. I like to alternate my steps with side steps and other variations to alleviate the boredom of trudging up the stairs. I finish with a Mat Stretch. The gym has gotten some new merchandise in so I take a pretty blue tank into the locker room with me. It seems to fit okay so I buy it as a holiday gift for myself. Plus, I figure it supports the gym. Gold's has a new Challenge for 2018 to see, once again, who can effect the biggest change to their physique. We had a guy place 3rd overall, which is pretty spectacular, considering Gold's is a national chain.

I get home and make myself oatmeal and egg again. This time I add half a teaspoon of freshly pressed garlic and a half teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to the mix after it's nuked. It tastes great. Usually I spread the garlic/olive oil mix onto some toast, but the dog's eaten all the bread. It's his favorite treat since he can't really handle other doggie favorites like cheese. He doesn't handle fats well. Because he's old. Like me. Kidding. The gym scale says 110.4 lbs. At least it's headed in the right direction once again.

Friday
8.11 total miles

28:28 xtrainer
Calories 135
Miles 3.66
Average Heart Rate
Stupid hybrid kicks in 1 min

HGPU 26
Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Expresso bike
Fruitdale
Miles 4.45
Time 25:12
Calories 118

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

15 min Step Mill
Floors 46
Steps 743
Calories 110