A Long Weekend

We drove to Buffalo on Friday, stopped for lunch halfway at a cute eclectic cafe/bar in Binghamton. After Saturday's tour of the Engineering and Applied Science Dept., we discovered a residence/dorm life tour. We had Sunday free so of course we went to Niagara Falls, visited the Caves of the Winds under the Bridal Falls that was surrounded by so many nesting seagulls that we thought we were in a David Attenborough documentary. 

There was an aquarium at the far end of the Niagara Falls State Park so we walked there. We decided not to walk the bridge to Canada. At the end of the day, steps totaled 13,246 for me. Monday we had a 10 AM tour of the Art Department, and then we drove home. Of course, we stopped again in Vestal NY for lunch, but most eateries are closed on Mondays. So we ate at a Mexican place that had huge portions and it was tasty, but not the best I've ever eaten. A recommended wings place in Buffalo was also disappointing with food being spicy, as promised, but with a dry and chewy mouthfeel. Wings back in my hometown are better.

My sciatica didn't bother me the entire trip, and I'm very pleased. But I don't think I'll ever be able to do rows, even Seated Cable Rows, again. Dead lifts are definitely out. As are most of the stretches I used to do easily. I could still do them, but there's no guarantee that it won't lead to a lot of sciatic pain because stressing my hamstrings and the posterior chain leads to a lot of inflammation.

I go to the gym after 4 days away. Cardio is still hard. And pull-ups are hard enough so that I only get to 20 reps. Core, on the other hand, is routine. Crunches, dead bugs and other movements aren't difficult. When I leave the Aerobics Room, I see that both stair machines are occupied with chatty women. I have no desire to tempt the fates with another round of pull-ups. Besides, I have errands to run and my annual exam later in the day.

My lab results are good with the problematic total cholesterol at 204 but all the rest of my numbers are good. Whew! Eating oatmeal and scrambled eggs every day at the hotel breakfast bar definitely works for me. I ask my GP about this weird discoloration under my arms and she immediately diagnosis a fungal infection. WTH? Candida. I think that means yeast. What's weirder is that this infection isn't actually in the creases and folds of armpit skin. It's lower, and as far as I know, not really prone to trapped moisture. The doc prescribes a cream and tells me twice a day for the next 3 weeks. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks if the cream works and the "rash" dissipates.

26 April 2023
Nearly A Week Wednesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5422)
Distance: 2.78
Cal: 306
Avg Hr: 141, 170-73

HGPU 20

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12x
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Child’s Pose / Cobra Pose
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Push-Ups 25
Air Squats 25
Upper body stretch
Eye yoga