Sunny Tuesday

My dermatologist doesn't believe that the odd rash on my leg is shingles. Whew! He suspects an allergic reaction to something, wrote a script for some stronger-than-OTC (over the counter) cortisone cream, and said that the toe looked good. It's been almost a year since I had that toenail biopsy and the nail still isn't quite 100%. I'm back to wondering if it's the OxiClean Tide vs. my perennial favorite, Febreze Sport Tide. It's too bad because I actually like the persistent fragrance of the OxiClean flavor. But maybe that's the problem -- it's persistent and my skin is sensitive. I have less definitive news from my GP's office. They tell me that I have arthritis. Well, everyone over the age of 30 has arthritis in some form or another so tell me something useful. But they don't. 

I'm left to ask Dr. Google about associations between sciatic pain and spinal arthritis. I do have some symptoms, like pain in the glute that extends down into the calf and sometimes the foot. But I don't have the typical grinding arthritis pain associated with joint decay. I'm going to ignore my worries about spinal stenosis for now although there might be a genetic component (isn't there for everything?) so it's still lurking in the back of my mind. The GP's office suggests physical therapy and tells me they'll email a script for it, but of course, they haven't yet and I'm still wondering what exactly it will say. Will it be any different that what my chiropractor has been doing? I guess I'll find out. 

I get to the gym at half past noon. It's over 70F in the sun. The first cardio session on the elliptical goes well and I feel okay. Once I start to cool down though, during core moves, I'm a lot more tired. I get on the ClimbMill, planning to do 15 minutes but can only bear 10. It's too hot, I'm too hot and my second mask is soaking through. I am at Level (speed) 6 and averaging 55 steps per minute. Ten minutes and all I want to do is stand in the shower. Standing is one of the most uncomfortable things to do with this sciatic pain. Any position where the leg is straight seems to aggravate the nerve until both the glute and my foot throb. Ugh. I really need to get this fixed. 

I do wonder about the fellow I see walking around with a canister tank on his back like he's going scuba diving. He takes it off before getting on the treadmill and lays it on the adjacent machine. I've never seen that before... 

10Nov2020
Summer Tuesday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 2
HR 83, 147, 191
Cal 320
Distance 2.87

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 41
Piriformis Stretches
Quick Mat Stretch

Matrix Step
Speed 6
Min 10
HR 136
Cal 80
Steps 543
Floors 33