Inspiring Others If Not Myself

I'll know by tomorrow but I suspect it's the shoes. Not that my foot doesn't have issues. Bunions and hammertoes are considered a cosmetic nuisance (for health insurance purposes) until they impede mobility. I've started massaging and stretching the tendons in my right foot. It might be a long time before I see results because of how tight and shortened those fibers have become. I rub original Blue-Emu into my foot as a massage cream to help alleviate friction. I read advice to wear shoes that allow a half-inch of space at the front, so my clown shoes are actually the right size after all! (I have two pairs of size 7s even though I usually wear a 6.5 Wide, a very hard size to find.)

I'm wearing the same New Balance size 7s that I wore on Friday. The sole is stiffer than my Skechers Go Walk with memory foam. The latter are extremely comfortable sneakers, but even with those, after a good 30 plus minutes of intense cardio, my pinky toe will go numb with the foot feeling unsupported and rolling slightly outward. The New Balance Response 1.0 has less cushioning and after the long run, isn't as comfortable. Nothing makes you feel old like needing pillow-soled shoes! I start searching for affordable wide women's sneakers with memory foam.

Online recommendations include the Brooks Ghost 11 and Altra's Torin 4 Plush Running Shoe. But I'm not about to drop $140 on a pair of kicks. If the Shoe Stretch spray doesn't widen my old leather sneakers, they'll go into the donation bin. Amazon's return policy makes it easy for me to order shoes and try them on at home. I just have to decide which pairs I want to pin my hopes on. Again. Before the holidays, I ordered two different pairs of trainers from Zappos, both purportedly in my size (6.5 W). Neither the Skechers Go Walk 5 nor the Ryka Sky Walk were big enough for my left foot, the smaller undamaged foot. Either shoe sizes are shrinking again (manufacturers skimming the cost of materials) or my feet are bigger. Hmmm.

Today's Push Day routine is just that. Routine. The big adjustable bench is seated in the Smith machine and I'm okay with that. It's actually easier to use for a short person like me because it has foot bars that I can actually reach. Instead of rushing through my high rep sets, I pace myself with more deliberation. When I rush, my elbows flare out and I risk shoulder and elbow pain. Because the big bench is at the Smith, it means the smaller adjustable bench is in the DB area. Which is perfect for me when doing Reverse Inclined Flys.

There are New Year newbies in the gym today and one of them ticks a lot of the boxes for bad gym etiquette: dropping your hoodie, phone and water bottle on a bench you aren't actually using; doing your sloppy sets right in front of the DB rack; putting your DBs back in any open spot, not the spot you got them from. Ugh. It doesn't help that he's old. Okay, maybe he's middle-aged. I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying "Stop being an asshat..." as he does BB curls standing in front of the BB rack while his gear is on a breaker bench several feet away. Instead, I bark at him (over the pulsing beat leaking out of the Aerobics Room) "Are you using that?" Breaker benches work better for me when I'm doing Rip Skulls since my short legs don't reach the floor on a regular bench. I need the stability of placing my feet flat and can use the spotting platform affixed to the Breaker bench to put my feet on.

Over the weekend, while grocery shopping with my husband, the cashier remarked about seeing me at the gym all the time. I don't recognize her. I tell my husband I think the only reason I'm memorable is that there are so few Asians where we live.

In the locker room, a woman greets me and tells me that I'm inspirational. Uh, thanks? (Is it because I'm there several days a week? or because I'm there for hours at a time? Or because when I'm there, I'm actually working out?) She tells me she wants to be like me. What? Why? I've got to practice my responses with these surprises. I tend to go blank instead of the proper "Oh thank you." At some point, I might discover a secret fan club. Kidding! 

Later, in the locker room, B comes up to me to chat about stretching. She seems surprised at how limber I am, which is odd because she and I have been going to the same gym for years. Of course, she spends half her time chatting. Her "gym husband" has been telling her to stretch after cardio. She wants to wait until she gets home but he tells her that'll be too late. "He's not wrong," I tell her. We'll see if she actually listens to him because she sure as hell doesn't listen to me.

Monday Push

30 elliptical + 5cd

Program 3

Miles 2.96

Calories 334

HR 161-200 (85, 91, 88)

Cage Stretch

HGPU 22

Elbow Plank 60s

Horizontal Scissors 60

Crunches 60/60

Bicycles 60

Side Planks 2 x 60s

Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Smith Inclined Press

Bar (30) x 15

50 x 15

70 x 25, 25, 25

DB Laterals s/s Rev Inclined Flys

20 lbs x 12/20 reps x 3 sets

20/25 lbs x 12/20 x 3

Rip Skulls

40 x 12, 10, 9

20 Step Mill

Level 4

Calories 125

Total steps 811

Floors 50

HR 143

Mat Stretch