Whacking Friday

The one major downside to leaving the house early is that I never get to have breakfast anymore. I'm lucky if I can scarf down a cup of coffee before I load all my stuff into the car, child included. It's much less stressful for my son if I drive him to school, so until the district fixes the bus schedule, it looks like I'm transportation, at least going to school. My son actually made it home at a reasonable hour after school yesterday, but today he wants to explore joining a Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) club at the library with a friend (and fellow Scout). He's never played before, but he's willing to check it out. The school has buses that drop off at the library, so if he decides to do that, I'll have to pick him up around 5 from there. He's starting to become a bit more independent, and I'm simultaneously proud and relieved, and yet, a bit wistful.

I'm ravenous by the time I pull into the gym parking lot, but I take a moment to make a few calls while I have the privacy of being inside my own car. I also take a swig of the Ensure Hi-Protein strawberry drink I tossed into my cooler. The rest will keep until I've returned to the car post-workout, and then I'll really be hungry!

The gym isn't really crowded until 9:30. At 9:00, all the early morning people have left and the equipment is mostly vacant. Yaaaay me! I get on the elliptical for a 10 minute warm up and watch the HR monitor go crazy. As I start pedaling, the screen reads 180 bpm, which is waaay over the suggested maximum heart rate (167.4) for a 58 year old. It stays high, peaking at 205. I'm not even pedaling all that hard, but once I do, my heart rate drops to 80. Uh, yes weird and extreme cardiac lag! I'm not going to worry about it.

I do my DB shoulder warm ups, including band pulls. I feel warm and slightly sweaty. I'm also tired because I went to bed after midnight and got up around 6. Last night was Meet The Teachers night, and that ran until 9:15 pm, right after kung fu. Last night was also pizza night because there was literally no time to make food. I had an online course from 1 to 3 pm. My son got home at 3:15 and told me he needed to bring boxes of tissues and disinfectant wipes to school the next day, so off to Kmart I went. You would think that a state that purports to put lottery money into the school systems, and has some of the highest paid teachers in the nation, would have enough money to pay for supplies like that, but No! WTF?!

I feel pretty good doing my 7 rounds Beginner Follow Me on the Nexersys, even though the glare and window reflections make reading the screen difficult. I see a lot of regulars, but of course, the most I might do is nod. Humidity is 99%, but it's not actually raining. Well, at least we're not suffering from Hurricane Florence. Yet. It's not long before I've got rivers of sweat streaming down my face. I remembered to bring a towel so I can blot myself between rounds! When I'm done with the Beginner round, I have to pause and think about whether I'm really up to doing another 5 rounds at the next level. It's so sad. There was a time, before I was forced to do only "light exercise" for nearly 2 months, that 7 rounds of Beginner and 7 rounds of Intermediate wasn't that big a deal. Now I have to think about it. Ugh. I decide to do 5. And 5 kicks my butt.

7 rounds Beginner

Not only are my lungs burning (which makes me feel totally unfit), but it's happening during the first round. And only 4 more rounds to go! I'm sure not getting enough sleep is contributing to my lack of fitness. It's not really impacting my power though, so at least there's that. My arms aren't tired from punching, it's just my lungs. Ugh. I imagine myself going into anaerobic mode during the last two rounds. That's why I've always preferred weights over cardio, and why I do cardio first: because I suck at it, and it's painful. Apparently, I still suck at it, and it's still painful. Sigh.

Taking 6-8 weeks to recuperate from eye stent surgery will completely negate all the progress I've made. Doctors are so specialized that all they see is results and recovery for their specialized item. My eye doc is only concerned that my eye heal properly with the new lens and micro-stent. My cardiac fitness etc is really of no concern to her. So, I get to do absolutely nothing fitness-wise for the next 6-8 weeks starting next Wednesday. You should know I'm so absolutely thrilled. Not.

5 rounds Intermediate

The only reason I'm going through with this, is to reduce my inter-ocular eye pressure, which has been creeping up in spite of 3 different prescription eye drops. I am a bit concerned that my left eye sees weird glowing floaters in my peripheral vision. Flashes of light are never a good sign. It's only in my left eye, the eye that's now got a fake lens and a micro-stent in it. I should probably mention this to my eye doc but I haven't actually spoken to her in a few weeks, only her staff, and I'm not sure they relay messages correctly. But I guess I should make the attempt. It is after all, my eyes.

Wacky Friday

10 elliptical
Calories 94
Miles 0.84
AHR 169/205!!!

T, Y & I Raises
5lbs x 15reps x 2 sets

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys FM 7r Beginner
5r Intermediate

Stretch