On The Fly

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled after my gym time. Normally I get an early afternoon slot, but since the office has moved to a more congested road, I decided to take the first available late morning appointment, figuring there'd be less traffic to wrestle with. That severely limits my normal workout routine, so I make today an Abbreviated Cardio Day. It's not as good as a normal Cardio Day, but it's definitely a decent workout. I can't complain!

Last night's wintry mix was evident on my windshield this morning. My hubs had to drive to Boston to be there before 8 so he left at 4 am. At least he didn't have to actually go to Houston this weekend. He was already at the airport Saturday morning when he got the call not to get on the flight because Houston wasn't ready. Then he drove home and went right back to bed. We did enjoy a great meal last night though. A friend took down two bucks and offered us some venison. I made the back strap pan-fried in bacon grease, with sauteed mushrooms and a rice pilaf. It tasted amazing!

Of course, I'm paying for my indulgences today when I get on the gym scale later (112.2). The Norwegian 4 x 4 seems easier, but I'm sure that's just an illusion. At least I'm still amused by the HR monitor where the lowest BPM reading is 87 immediately after the 3rd peak in the HIIT program. My heart rate is already at 145 when I first get on the elliptical and start pedaling for the warm up. Go figure. Admittedly, I have been extremely anxious and stressed about my lack of employment and looming bills. The dryer works okay, but I know the kitchen faucet really needs to be replaced since it leaks every time I open the hot water. It's also 25 years old and Moen doesn't make this style anymore (3-hole, single lever with soap dispenser on an above sink base). I'm looking at other brands now. And our plumber has a two-month wait list.

After the HIIT cardio, I do my Cage Stretch and then hammer grip pull ups. It's early enough that I can use the classroom to do push ups and core stuff. There's still time to add a shorter cardio session so I hop on the Octane for 15 minutes. This time I'm better prepared and take several quick photos of the screen during cool down so I can get accurate stats, not that it matters to anyone except me. Just for fun, I go back to the Cage and do another set of pull ups. These are actually easier than the first set! I stop at 20 although I'm pretty sure I could've muscled through another 2 or 3 more. When I drop down, I see a small Latina staring at me from the standing hamstring kickback machine. Her eyes are wide, like she can't believe what she's seeing. I'm guessing so few people do pull ups that seeing a woman doing any is just amazing. Really, I wish more women availed themselves of actual strength building movements besides squatting in the Smith.

hamstring kickback

The doctor's appointment is uneventful. Her office is full of new trainee staffers. One takes my IOPs and doesn't understand that if you catch my eyelashes between the device and my eye, the readings are going to be way off. And they are. I try not to freak out when he tells me that he shouldn't tell me but his readings say 22 and 28. That would be the highest readings I've have ever had in my life. He also screws up the standard vision test. The one where you read letters at a distance and then the letters get progressively smaller. He uses one vertical strip of letters. The same strip of letters for both eyes. Testing like that is worthless. I tell the senior staff that the newbies need more training. My doc takes new IOPs: 14 and 16. The 16 is a bit high, but she can't tell anything from the readings because as we all know, my numbers are all over the place. I need to have a Visual Field test to determine whether my vision is stable or degrading, whether these numbers are okay or if I need to do something more drastic. Ugh. This does not help my anxiety.

I ask her if I should cut back on my exercise? If push ups are okay? She says as long as my heart is not above my head, anything I do is fine. No decline push ups. No downward dog. No headstands. Not a problem. Tomorrow I'm going to try to do a Push Day since I'd like to put a Pull Day between Pushing and Whacking the Machine. I consider punching and kicking to be on par with a cardio push day, since even a Hook is an outward movement. Really, these are the only things I look forward to.

Pre Doc 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 266
Miles 2.53
AHR 142 / max 176 (low 87-111)

HGPU 20

Push-ups 50
Crunches 30/30
Bicycles 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

15 Octane + 2 cd
Total steps 1770
Floors 28
Miles 1.29
Calories 95
AHR 127 / max 147

HGPU 20