Back At It

I actually got to the gym before 10 am today! Probably because there weren't a lot of dishes in the sink from last night, and I'd decided to save perusing the newspaper until kung fu this afternoon. I was still wondering about the dream my alarm interrupted this morning. It was so intense that it continued after I hit the 5-minute snooze button. Usually I'm out of bed before the 5 minutes is up, but not today. It's said that ZMA can give you vividly weird dreams. I've never had that experience until this morning: I was on the steps to a government building or temple, when I was suddenly informed of the Dalai Llama's death. Grief hit me hard, caused my chest to ache and tears to spill down my face. I staggered back and clutched at a big column for support. I've never felt pain in a dream before, but it happened this morning. Of course, I had to verify that His High Holiness is still very much alive. It was really just a dream.

I take a capsule of ZMA just about every night. Maybe it was the cup of matcha and green tea I had earlier, or the twig tea I had later? It's still a mystery. But I get to the gym and it's still a bit full from the morning crowd. However, I had no problems getting access to the equipment I want to use so my workout went well. I couldn't even hear The Mayor jabbering away! There were other regulars as well, people that I normally don't see because they're gone before I get in.

I stick to my new routine: 7 rounds Beginner with 3 rounds Sparring alternating with 4 rounds Follow Me; 7 rounds Intermediate Follow Me. I'm constantly brushing my hair out of my face even though I've braided and clipped my hair up. I also discovered some rare "no slip" barrettes and they do work because there's an epoxy or resin coating along one side. But not only do the barrettes not look like the photo on the package, there are no matching pairs. There are two "tortoise shell" barrettes but one is thick and one is thin. The photo shows the two remaining "metallic" barrettes. WTF? Do I have to buy two packages if I want a matching pair? Ugh.

Proof of ghost strikes

The Nexersys scores my blows haphazardly. For some rounds, I can't get the Lead Dig to register no matter where I hit the pad or how hard. It's frustrating. And it makes it very hard to score during Sparring since that one area remained green until the last 30 seconds. I'm wasting my strikes, tuckering myself out for no gain! Ugh. Sometimes the Lead Kick doesn't register either. And sometimes, there are ghost calls, when the avatar asks for a blow, but not really. I see that in the scoring where I've landed more strikes than the program called for. The machine also doesn't register any blow that stops the action "because I'm hitting too hard." Which is every cross or jab to block the avatar's own strike. So I score no blocks regardless. Double ugh. But I don't really care or else I wouldn't come back every week to do this. I know what I'm getting into with this machine.

I score all 100% but
only get 90% Accuracy?

It takes me a few minutes to recover, which is as long as it takes to remove my gloves, wraps, tape and moleskin. Then another stretch at the Cage, and some pull ups. It felt like I could probably do a few more than the basic 26 minimum, but I don't push myself. I'm hoping to be back tomorrow for a light Pull Day, and maybe some alternate cardio. Like Step Mill or Espresso Bike. Or even Program 3 on the elliptical? The weather's not promising and there's always the threat of another 2-hr school delay. Sigh.

The gym scale tells me 110.0 lbs even after I've sucked down all my water. Well, that makes me feel less fat even if my pants still feel too tight. Still, I'd be happier if the scale said 107 lbs. It's only 3 lbs, but damn, those 3 lbs are the most maddeningly stubborn 3 lbs ever. I look at recent selfies and realize that my normal RBF (resting bitch face) looks a lot different if I force a smile. Smiling puts weird wrinkles under my eyes. I think they're called "laugh lines" but they're not funny. At least I don't have frown lines. Yet. I am a little weirded out by my son's classmate's mom. It was her birthday and she's freaking out about turning 40. Forty? I didn't even have my son until I nearly 45. But of course, just as I'm getting used to my son towering over me, I'll get used to the idea that most parents of my son's friends are a lot younger than I am. Well, at least I think I can pass!

I get home, put groceries away, get laundry started and make myself lunch. Until I get sick of it, I'll be mashing half a small raw avocado, adding some red pepper flakes and 2 cloves of raw garlic. Liberally smear on ciabatta toast. (On most occasions, I have Classic or Olive Oil style. Today, the store only had Wheat, which is why the toast is brown. Not browned, but brown. Well, the store also had a multi-grain that contains sunflower seeds, which I can't digest.) Before "avocado toast," I would mash the garlic into a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and put that slurry on toast, but no need for oil with creamy avocado. Then pour soft-scramble eggs on top. Some people prefer fried eggs, or better yet, poached, with wonderful runny yokes.

I have no knife skills so thank goodness
for the Joseph Joseph garlic smasher!

The dog gets some toast and scrambled eggs too. His tum is still not right. I can tell from the gooey orange poo that signifies bile... I've read that I can feed him plain oatmeal. He gets bored with his food. I know because he'll turn down ciabatta, but will happily grab it once it's toasted. I'm tempted to put some eggs in oatmeal and mix his meds in that tomorrow morning. We'll see...

Thursday

10 min elliptical
Calories 97.4
Miles 0.86

T, Y & I Raises

3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15
Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys
7r Beginner 4FM 3Sp
7r Intermediate FM

HGPU 26