When the Bandage is Worse Than the Wound

No school today and I got to sleep in. My son was still in bed when I went to the gym. The parking lot was crowded so I was expecting a lot of kids inside but the gym wasn't very crowded. I was surprised. Perhaps everyone's gone to the movies next door instead? I do the dread HIIT cardio Norwegian 4 x 4 program and watch the monitor register my lowest heart rate at 70 bpm before rising into the 140s and higher. Warmed up, I knock out my pull ups and then head to the class room for push ups and core. A old guy with a knee brace is sitting on a mat, doing a move I recognize from tai chi. He holds one hand over the other, with six inches of space between as he rotates the top hand, as if spinning an invisible ball in the palm of the other hand. Meanwhile, I knock out push ups, crunches and planks before heading into the free weight area.

Someone has placed a 10 lb plate under the T-bar so that it doesn't sink between the foot platform. There are a few errant 45 lb plates against the mirrored wall. I have to refer back to my notes to see how I should progress my routine. It's a good thing I keep everything in my phone! I like the T-bar Rows because I can definitely feel my lats working. It's more murky when I switch to the Lat Pull Downs, even with the close grip neutral handle. With this exercise, I definitely need to focus as I pull down. When I don't, the effort seems weak and lazy, especially the last two reps of the last set when I'm approaching pulling my body weight. With the next plate, I'll have more difficulty since then the weight stack will outweigh me. But I'm not ready for that yet. Soon. When I don't focus, the pull downs are merely pull downs. Otherwise, the pull downs are more like a perverse sort of row that takes my lower back out of the equation, so I'm good with that.

It takes a lot of effort to finish my 3 sets of Seated One-Arm Cable Rows. It takes more effort to finish the Reverse Grip BB Curls. Sometimes I think I should toss actual curls into the mix, but I don't think my biceps will really respond beyond what they are now. I'm tired so only a quick stretch and then I'm off to shower.

My left thigh itches where the wound from the skin biopsy is still healing. It's been several weeks. The biopsy report came back totally normal so that's a relief. But the wound itself is healing slowly. Worse, I seem to be having a horrible allergic reaction to the bandage adhesive. Because the skin was removed and the edges cauterized, there was no scabbing. I'm not sure how skin heals when there's no scab to cover the wound.

I take a photo because the area is so inflamed. It didn't look like this on Friday when I replaced the bandage. Actually, this is the worst it's ever looked, as if the allergic reaction has intensified from previous weeks. My first thought is to slather it with antibiotic ointment, just in case this is an infection instead of allergic dermatitis. Afterwards, I use hydrocortisone cream to reduce the redness, swelling and itching. Ugh. I'm thinking maybe I don't need to protect the wound from chafing against my pant leg? Unless I can change brands of bandages (and hopefully a different adhesive), this is just going to worsen. Ugh.

Veterans Day Monday
Norwegian 4x4
5 min w/u (4 min on / 3 min off) x 4
5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30, 33
Calories 271
Miles 2.57
HR 140-170 (70)

HGPU 25
Push Ups 50
Crunches 30/30
Bicycles 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

T-Bar Rows
(w plate to make it higher)
Bar x 15
25 x 12
45 X 20 x 3

Lat Pull Downs (close neutral grip)
70lbs x 12
85 x 12
100 x 12 x 3 (very hard)

Seated 1-Arm Cable Rows
30lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets

RG BB Curls
30lbs x 25 reps x 3 sets

Stretch