Rethinking the Routine

Since I knew that the big dog was coming to the park at 11 am, I needed to bring my pups much earlier so they could run around like crazy beasts without the threat of hostilities. Which meant going to the park at 9. Which means not going to the gym at 7:30 but instead, going after the park, which is literally half past noon by the time the pups are home and I get them fed. Because one of the dogs is literally a diva and must be hand-fed otherwise he just sits on the sofa staring into space. He's already a skinny pup so no, I'm not about to let his brother eat all his food. 

I'm ridiculously tired from staying up too late and getting up too early. So by the time noon rolls around, I have serious motivation issues. But my gym bag is already packed. Now I just need to change out of my "millions of layers of standing around the freezing cold dog park gear" and into skimpier gym clothes. At least the car is still warm. 

Once at the gym, it's a no-brainer to get on the elliptical and select Intervals. It's harder to keep up the breathless pace when my husband starts texting me about tomorrow's Scouting event and what do I want for lunch tomorrow? He has grand plans about making beef tips or chicken curry and doing the whole sous vide thing but we don't really have the time for that. Because that requires a big pot of boiling water for the meat and sauce and a separate one for the pre-cooked rice in its own sealed bag. We are not car camping. We are competing against other Scout troops at a district Klondike event. Plus, he's manning the Spam Cookoff event (worth 30 points) while I'll be trekking along with our Troop from station to station. Come lunchtime and I don't know what station we'll be at. We'll be fine with sandwiches and hot cocoa. 

I'm not disappointed with the mileage on the elliptical, all things considered. Trying not to rest too long in the Aerobic Room while lying on my back doing hip and piriformis stretches. The pace is better once I'm up doing planks and other core movements. Honestly, getting out of bed is the most painful time for those sciatic buggers. Once I'm upright and moving about, I barely even notice the discomfort. I haven't given any serious thought to going back to the chiropractor either. He's a chatty fellow and that's fine, but his physical therapist insists on wearing his mask under his nose while dealing with both HS athletes and frail seniors in the same room at the same time. That makes me supremely uncomfortable. 

I don't want to spend all afternoon at the gym so a quick 10 minutes on the ClimbMill to finish. At Speed 7, the machine trods along at 57 steps per minute. It occasionally accelerates to 62 but not for more than a few seconds. Still, I'm sweaty and breathless sooner than I'd like to admit. 

Monday I'll be at the gym in the morning because the school bus shows up at 7:00. It's scheduled to arrive at 6:54 and used to come at 6:49, but it's a new driver. A fellow at the dog park tells me that 20 school bus drivers called out sick today. Tuesday there's supposed to be snow. Maybe I can squeeze in some weightlifting Monday morning if I don't dawdle. 

22 January 2021
Sunny Friday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program Intervals
HR 78, 135-168 (198?!)
Cal 317
Distance 2.85

Crunches x 60 x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Bent Knee Glute Kickbacks 25 x 2
Plank 60s
Pushups 50
Quick Mat Stretch

Matrix Step
Speed 7 (57-62 spm)
Min 10
HR 138
Cal 84
Steps 583 Floors 36