First Winter Storm

I took advantage of the relatively nice weather yesterday to do grocery shopping, and then browse what remains at Kmart. The supermarket was in panic mode due to the forecast of snow, sleet, freezing rain and everything in-between. But not until much later this afternoon. School dismisses early to avoid having school buses on slippery roads. After-school activities are all cancelled. My son's class trip to West Point tomorrow has been moved to next week, which is just as well, since it will be rainy and cold. Not good weather for trekking all over the giant campus.

Kmart is in liquidation mode with most items 30% off tag price. There's still a lot of stock in the store, but everything is in disarray. There are temporary workers trying to make the shelves look presentable, but they are uninspired and move trance-like through their duties. I find a lined hoodie for my son. He wanted one for his birthday that wasn't plain athletic gray or royal blue, the two most common colors. He also didn't want camouflage patterns, another common theme here. So when I find a steel blue hoodie with a short silver slash pattern (that reminds me of a time-lapse night sky photograph), I buy it. Because there's only one left in that size and color. The store will be closed down by the time his birthday comes. And it's 30% off, plus I have points from my Lands' End purchase from a few weeks ago. So the hoodie and a set of red plaid flannel pajamas (also for my son) costs me about $20. I don't wait until Christmas or his birthday either. When I get home, I toss everything into the wash so he can use them immediately. Winter is here.

I don't break out my winter parkas yet. Instead, I wear my faux fleece coat over a hoodie and a thin microfiber vest. It's not really parka weather yet. And while I miss my dog and still catch myself tip-toeing around the house so as not to wake the sleeping pup, I'm not missing walking him 6 times a day. I'm not missing having to get up extra early just to clean up the mess in the kitchen, or prepare special food and medications. I do feel a little guilty. A sick pup, like any other member of the household, consumes a lot of time, focus, and emotional energy. I saw a big fluffy dog bed at Kmart yesterday and almost bought it. For the new pup, when I'm ready to pour myself into new commitments again. I may buy it anyway when the discount is even greater, say in a few weeks.

I get to the gym early and do my standard Whack the Machine routine, starting with 10 minutes on the elliptical. I still feel a little cold when I get off and head to the free weights. Those feel okay and I might resume doing two sets of 5 lbs by next week, but I'm a bit bummed that Snow Bird is in the Stretch Cage. Ugh. I wrap my band around a railing on the Cardio Platform and do two sets of band pulls. Snow Bird, a man in his late 70s is a gym regular, but he's usually in Florida for the winter months. He's certainly got the spotty skin to attest to that. Lately he's picked up some disturbing new exercises, such as propping himself up at the Dip Station, with his skinny bare legs draped over the elbow pads. That puts his crotch about face height. Uh, some things you can't unsee. Yuck.

I keep an eye on the clock since I'd like to get back to the house before my son gets home. I elect to do the same 7 plus 3 rounds I did last week. Again, I don't really feel warm until the 3rd round Beginner. But the Right Cross arm isn't as sensitive as it was last week, so that's a relief. However, I do blank the screen twice while barely touching the center Body pad. The Punching Too Hard warning only comes up once. Again, my lungs don't really burn until I do the Intermediate rounds. It's more the erratic combos and unreasonable speed of the sequences than the actual combinations themselves that cause this. I know this because I still remember doing rounds at the Advance Level, where the combos are more complicated, and in much quicker progression. I'm sure it's a glitch in the software chip, but there's no chance of fixing that. However, I still feel as if I could do a few more rounds, so next week I plan to add 2 more Intermediate rounds. Baby steps...

After I unwrap my hands I brace myself for pull ups. I manage to squeeze out 25, the last 3 I'm barely getting my upper lip past the bar though. My leg skin biopsy wound still looks awful. I've opted not to cover it with anything because my skin and adhesives seem to be mortal enemies. I'm lucky I don't have a reaction to the white tape I use to keep the moleskin patches secure under the cotton wraps before stuffing my hands into my kickboxing gloves! But of course, I think it's only prolonged contact that's causing my skin to react badly. A few hours is okay. A few days is apparently not. Ugh.

The sky is gray and ominous and the air is brisk. But there's no snow. Yet. I've salted my front steps as a precaution. I've refilled my bird feeder twice today with sunflower seeds. The lone fat squirrel has probably had something to do with how fast the seeds are being consumed. There's an entire flock of mourning doves on the ground. Normally I only see a pair. Cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, various finches, sparrows, juncos, nuthatches, tufted titmouse, downy woodpeckers... have I missed anyone? I put out more suet as well and wonder if the big Pileated woodpecker has moved on. I saw it, and heard it on a tree in my backyard wetlands. It definitely has an eerie call made for old jungle movies. Not quite Woody Woodpecker though...


Stormy Thursday
10 min elliptical
Calories 87
Miles 0.80
HR 144-194 (79)

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

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys FM
Beginner 7r
Intermediate 3r

HGPU 25

Stretch