Groundhog Tuesday

It's official: the marmot saw his shadow and forecast 6 more weeks of winter. I skipped yesterday at the gym, didn't nap as I had planned, and my sciatica is the worse for it. I did, however, manage to provide dumplings (frozen from the supermarket), egg rolls (also from the same grocery market), and "long noodles" although they were Japanese udon, they were "fresh" so they were nice and chewy. Not quite a replacement for "long life" noodles but it was the best I could do on a Tuesday when schedules are tightly packed with various obligations. 

It was also the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger. (I was surprised to learn that NYC schools were closed for the holiday! This never happened when I was a kid there.) Noodles for a long life, and dumplings (because they resemble coin purses) for prosperity. The egg roll was just because. We ended the meal with a piece of moon cake, a Chinese delicacy that is an acquired taste for some.

I feel sluggish this morning and it shows in the paltry mileage on the elliptical. But the pull-ups surprise me. Or should I say, I surprised myself. The second set was a tad more difficult, and once again, the Step Mill was plain out exhausting. This time the machine started at 57, hit 60 for a few seconds, and then dropped down to 52 (steps per minute) and remained there. It's a very capricious piece of equipment.

It's a balmy 41F and quite shocking. I'm thinking I ought to drag in more firewood before the next big storm (Winter Storm Landon) hits us. It might just be a glancing blow, but weather is fickle so who knows? I might start lifting again. It depends on how my back/sciatica behaves in the next few weeks. I'm not worried about losing strength, just about getting fatter and not even fitting into my fat clothes. I know, first world problems...

2 February 2021
Groundhog Tuesday

Precor elliptical
Program 3
Time: 30 min + 5 min cd (5522)
Distance: 2.82
Cal: 311
HR: 194-138, 118

HGPU 20

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Child’s Pose
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga

HGPU 17

Matrix StepMill
Manual 10 min
Speed 6 (52-60)
Step 528
Floors 33
Calories 77
HR: 134