Worser, Not Betterer

I'm having to rethink the approach to my sciatic problem since my standard exercises aren't helping. Some things might actually be making it worse. While standing and walking are almost always a relief, there's only so much of that you can do, and none of that's practical when trying to read or tap into a laptop. Right now I'm kneeling on a big foam stadium seat cushion in front of my computer. 

For the past two days, I've also found that doing the Cat/Camel back stretch to be painful instead of mitigating any discomfort. Yesterday, my left glute hurt when doing push-ups. Today, not so much. But today I'm also not in the Aerobics Room, having arrived at the gym much too late. Instead, I'm laying on the dusty floor mats of the Functional Gym area... Ugh.

Sciatica impacts everything you need to do while seated. Not just reading, or driving, but even morning routines can be thoroughly disrupted. Especially bathroom routines. Which means I'm sitting in morning rush hour traffic to get to the gym and come to a complete standstill, sandwiched between cars and construction vehicles. It's a two-lane state road that traverses the county, but there's no passing lanes, and no shoulders. Just a 1/4 mile up ahead, some car has smacked into another car trying to enter the roadway. There might be all sorts of reasons why car 1 hit car 2: staring at their phone; antihistamine haze; senior with poor eyesight and reflexes; just in too much of a hurry...

But I get to the gym and put my sneakers on while standing up because sitting in the car is absolutely the worst thing for my sciatica. It's making me limp. Pedaling feels better. Crunches only work if I keep my knees bent and my feet on the floor. I kneel instead of sitting cross-leg on the mat. And I'm probably going to delete the Cat/Camel stretch from the repertoire for now. 

The heavy rainfall has knocked several of my milkweeds to the ground, and although I've propped them up and tethered them to stakes, their wilting leaves tell me that they're mortally wounded and won't recover. I'm bummed because these plants had loads of "about to bloom" buds... I still have other milkweeds, shorter and hardier, also about to bloom. Now if I can just spot a few monarchs... Instead, I find a large, odd-shaped bug I almost mistake for a Stink Bug because it's vaguely shield-shaped. My phone gives me a hard time focusing on the insect perched atop a milkweed leaf. Google Images reverse search easily identifies it as a Leaf Footed Bug. I'd rather have the ladybugs... 

30 June 2023
Late Friday w sciatica

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5650)
Distance: 2.86
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: 138, 192-81


20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60 knees bent
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
    Sciatica 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

After the Rain, More Smoke

Yesterday's blinding downpour led to several traffic mishaps, none of them mine. I cursed every car without their headlamps on because even with wipers moving at full speed, it was nearly impossible to see the road. Turning onto the main strip felt like a dicey game of chance. But I had a doctor's appointment and was well on my way when rain suddenly became a monsoon that washed dirt, rocks and branches onto roadways. I made it to my destination just fine and then the sun came out. 

When I returned home, all sorts of emergency vehicles blocked different portions of the secondary road because some people just don't know how to drive prudently in bad weather on twisty windy roads. You drive slowly and steadily with your headlamps on, and you have enough foresight to keep decent tires on your auto, ones with actual tread and enough air pressure. I do need to replace my rear window wiper blade as it's shredded but that's not a critical item.

I get to the gym after 8 this morning and it's not very crowded. But the a/c isn't on either since the back door is open, presumably, to air the place out. I get cardio done and skip pull-ups just to hit the Aerobics Room before class starts at 9:30. There's no a/c on in there either, and sweat drips off my nose during planks. The weather alternates between blisteringly sunny and cool but hazy with a faint orange tint. Canadian wildfires have jumped the air quality index to unhealthy levels once again.

I've been skipping the first set of pull-ups just to have time in the Aerobics Room before classes start, but maybe that's a mistake. Because the later set of pull-ups have deteriorated. Today I only get to 15 before my hands and fingers go numb. I can't blame the sciatica for that, although sciatica is now causing the toes on my left foot to sporadically go numb while I'm driving. Ugh. It's not a good thing. 

I remembered to snap a pic of the shingles shot discoloration on my upper arm. It looks like a tiny paw print in pink, but there's no swelling or itching, just a weird mark. I wonder if it'll eventually fade, or if it'll still be there when I go for the second shot in a few months, like a target. Is it wise to hit the exact same spot twice? 

Meanwhile, my son got his first set of invisible braces that he swaps out on a weekly basis for the next 6 weeks. Then back to the orthodontist. Unlike regular metal braces that get tightened once a week, the entire plastic mouthpiece (uppers and lowers) are replaced with brand new ones. I never knew that, and I wonder if I should bother straightening my bottom front teeth. They used to be perfectly straight, but with age, mostly everyone's bottom teeth get pushed out of position by the tongue and the mechanical action of chewing. 

My mouth is already crowded because there are several mandibular tori under my tongue. I probably couldn't wear the invisible braces. And would braces impact the bridges I need to replace on each side? Ugh. I have more pressing things to worry about, like having a colonoscopy scheduled for the Monday that we're back from Canada... Oh, that's gonna be fun. (Just listen to Bill Engvall's comedy piece about that!)

29 June 2023
Post Downpour Thursday w Sciatica

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5622)
Distance: 2.84
Cal: 316
Avg Hr: 138, 186-88

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

HGPU 15 (numb hands)

Too Much Excitement

My son graduated HS last Thursday. The ceremony started at 7 pm and didn't end until nearly 9, almost too late to go to a restaurant and have a celebratory dinner. He had to be at the school at 5:30 and we parents were directed to bleachers on the football field. It was already 3/4 full! Had the cast of Jersey Shore wanna-be's sitting behind us; skank squad in skintight dresses with tattoos that made no sense; gangster ghetto boys; and then, finally, the capo with his 10-year old son who was channeling Don Corleone down to the whispery threats.

On Saturday, the new glass storm door panel arrived with instructions. My husband pulled the old panel with the remnants of broken glass out of the door, and then tried to install the replacement. He said it didn't quite fit and rather unwisely, he started hammering on the frame. Then, he pulled the panel out to set aside, and the moment it touched the floor, the panel shattered. Again. While I was on the phone with Anderson to get another new panel (under the 90-day warranty so totally covered), I get a call from a dog park friend who says he got a call from another dog park friend who had just seen one of my dogs run by her house along the road. WTF?!

I grab my remaining dog with a second leash in my hand and run down the street calling his name. It's 80F and humid. There's no shoulder to the road but I have to walk with my back to traffic because the dog was spotted on that side. People in their front yards tell me "He ran that way. You just missed him." Cars are stopped on the tiny shoulder with hazard lights blinking and I'm hoping they've caught him, however unlikely, but no. At least he didn't get hit! They stopped to try and catch him, but he's fast and runs into the woods behind houses... 

After an hour of walking down the road and calling out, I return home with my other dog. I text all my local friends with missing pup's pix, then start to post on Missing Pets of the Hudson Valley, when my dog starts barking. I look up and see through the kitchen window, four white legs running down my road. It's the runaway! He gingerly steps into the driveway, looks at the door and then backs into the road. I run after him but I don't have a leash or anything with me. 

He trots away looking warily over his shoulder. So I stop following and crouch down with my arms open, something I do in the park when I want to give him a hug (and some chicken jerky treats). It works! He comes running back to me for a big hug and I'm able to walk him into the house where he and his brother get lots of treats. This is 3 hours later. I'm sweaty and exhausted, but relieved.

Now I have a bird trapped in the chimney pipe leading to my wood stove. I can hear it fluttering and scratching but it hasn't fallen into the stove itself. If it had, then I'd be able to open the door and let it fly out of my house. Ugh. I have the damper open but it's stuck in the pipe. I don't want it to die there... I've had to call a wildlife rescue to pull apart my wood stove pipe since I'm unable to do it (I don't know how and I'm probably not strong enough nor do I have any height leverage). I also realize that I need a new chimney sweep since the old numbers don't work. Okay, it's the birds playing tricks on me. I had the wildlife people come and check my stove pipe. No bird in there. They're up top in the cap and the sound is carrying down the pipe into my living room. Whew! And the fellow was nice enough not to charge for the visit!

I did go to the gym today for cardio and core, and some pull-ups. The treadmills are packed when I arrive. Luckily, no one is on the ellipticals. My sciatica is okay but still really unhappy with driving. Car seats seem very hard and unforgiving! Well, at least the big H seems better although not gone. I do have an appt with a gastroenterologist but that's for the iffy colon report... I wish pull-ups had been better: my fingers went numb and I didn't make it to 20. Ugh. I've never had my fingers go numb doing this before.

26 June 2023
Crowded Monday w sciatica

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5420)
Distance: 2.78
Cal: 306
Avg Hr: 142, 180

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

HGPU 18 (numb hands)

600 mg Works Like Magic

Seated at a table at my son's last kung fu weapon's class, I suddenly remembered that I carry a small bottle of ibuprofen in my purse. My sciatica has been very painful for the past two days so I was surprised when after gulping down 3 tablets of ibuprofen with some water, I started to feel relief in 10 minutes. It's rare that I'm actually a witness to pain relief.

The recommended dosage is 2 tablets (400 mg). I pop 3 when the pain has been persistent and intense. I didn't know how well 3 tablets worked until one day over 30 years ago when I had super horrible menstrual cramps and an acquaintance gave me one of her magic pink pills. It was actually a 600 mg tablet of ibuprofen, specifically for menstrual cramps, and it worked like magic. And taking 3 regular dose tabs works much the same way. Just be careful not to take more than the daily total dosage. Inflammation is the root cause of so many ailments, and ibuprofen is a very effective anti-inflammatory.

Today my sciatica is much better and only really bothers me when I'm in the car. Car seats really suck for sciatic pain. Having to flex the foot to tap the brake and gas pedals doesn't help at all. I still don't want to stress my hamstrings and glutes since they're sore and just a hair trigger away from spasms. Hamstrings complained when pedaling backward, and I try to avoid sitting on the right glute when possible. Skipping the step machine as well as pull-ups since both involve flexing glutes and hamstrings, something sciatica advises against. 

It's also the Summer Solstice, which happened at 10:57 this morning. Happy Summer! I've been sampling Smirnoff Ice beverages since trying a lemon flavored one. The pure lemons aren't available anymore though, and the Pink Lemonade is a tad too sweet. Today, I buy a lemon/lime flavor and the checkout cashier chuckles that one bottle is overly full, like up to the cap instead of at the shoulder. Maybe things are looking up after all...

21 June 2023
Summer Solstice Wednesday
(Sciatica better after 2x ibuprofen)

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5634)
Distance: 2.85
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: 148, 200-79

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

Sciatica Makes A Comeback

I woke up yesterday to a bad case of sciatica after having spent a pleasant weekend not doing anything physically strenuous at all. Could this be a side effect from the Shingrix vaccine I got last Wednesday? Seems far-fetched. On the other hand, it's a vaccine that targets the virus living in nerve cells, and sciatica is inflammation of the biggest bundle of nerves. While this is probably unlikely, it might still be possible. The hemorrhoids, however, are definitely due to stress, regardless of what's published online.

I had a disappointing visit to my glaucoma doc on top of the discomfort of driving with an inflamed right sciatic nerve. While my vision is still 20/20, and the VF tests show some progression in vision loss, the IOP readings were alarming. From a usual 13/14 points they've jumped to 16/17, an increase of 3-4 points in just a few months. The doc advised me that recent studies have shown blood flow to the eyes decreases during sleep at night and told me to ditch my elevated pillow. She'd like me to have high blood pressure to ensure proper oxygenation to the optic nerves. (My GP won't be happy to hear this.) She also wants my feet higher than my head at night, to increase perfusion. I think this is also going to increase my IOPs even more though!

So what's good for most of my body is having a detrimental effect on my eyes. I'm definitely cutting out the beet root drink mix. And now I have to consider nixxing the DB shoulder workout that I've really come to enjoy. Also, I'm scheduled for SLTs next month, so that makes 3 different variables that could account for lower IOPs the next time they get measured, ostensibly, in 3 months. Ugh. Maybe I'll keep the DB Shoulder and just stop drinking the beet root since I'm going to have SLT done anyway?

Today I do a quick 25 minute cardio session and just core in the Aerobics Room. No one has turned the a/c on yet and I leave there almost as sweaty as I entered. "Bob Paris" grunts doing shoulder presses. He's wearing shorts and while he has nice calves, they're nowhere near as developed as the upper body/mirror muscles.

20 June 2023
Sciatica Tuesday
(is this a Shingrix reaction?)

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 20 + 5 (3926)
Distance: 2.00
Cal: 221
Avg Hr: 142, 184-124

20 Hip Bridges
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

Another Abbreviated Workout

I woke up a tad late and had a few important errands before getting to the gym. Which meant I didn't have enough time to do a shoulder routine, not that I was going to anyway since I woke up today with one of those Shingrix side-effects: discolored irregular swelling at the injection site. Sorta like hives. 

Neither of my shoulders were sore though, but putting off weights until next week might be best. Plus, I have another eye doc appointment on Monday just to go over my latest VF (visual field test) results and check the IOPs before next month's scheduled SLT (selective laser trabeculoplasty) on the eye that's losing upper quadrant vision.

However, I did have time to do a full cardio routine and most of the core workout, skipping crunches and eye yoga only because I got to the Aerobics Room late and people were filing in for the 9:30 class by the time I got to Air Squats. The dogs got to the park and ran around for a bit, but they're 4 years old now and not really interested in playing with the younger pups. And at 71F, it's also too hot for them. They like the cold weather...

16 June 2023
Shingrix Shoulder Welt Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5548)
Distance: 2.82
Cal: 313
Avg Hr: 149, 189-78

20 Hip Bridges
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

So I Got the Shinges Vax

I got the Shingrix vax yesterday at CVS and boy is my shoulder sore. Still sore even today! I didn't have to make an appointment, and I didn't fill out any paperwork. I also didn't receive any paperwork afterward. No list of potential side effects, no info about the vaccine itself. So different from getting the flu shot! And the pharmacist who prepared and administered the shot was someone I'd never seen before. He reminded me of a shrunken, elderly Boyer Coe. Well, maybe it was just the hair: jet black and ill-fitting. If you're a bodybuilding aficionado, you know who Boyer Coe is.

I get to the gym later than usual today. There's no school due to the Regents Exam schedule so I don't have that same urgency. I cut my cardio shorter today and only get in a set of pull-ups and core. Oddly, both my delts are sore even though I only got the shot in my left arm.

And why did I get the shingles vaccine? Because I've had shingles twice before and the last time was so painful that I had trouble walking across the parking lot to the doctor's office. My immune system gets depleted by stress and lately I've been stressed with lots of ridiculous little things: our glass storm door had a pane shatter for no apparent reason. It was purchased back in 2016 at HD but they're out of stock for the part I need. I spent 3 hours cleaning up tiny bits of shattered glass out of the door threshold and there's a 1" gap of air space where the rolling panel doesn't quite reach the bottom of the door frame. So mosquitoes and moths and flies can still get inside.

The manufacturer of the door, Anderson, can ship me the correct panel but it might take 30 days. Ugh. I still need to get the bearing replaced on my car but how will I get the dogs to the park without a car? Our Student Orientation trip to Buffalo got extended so we can visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and theoretically, that's like a vacation. But I'm hesitant to plan travel because my husband's alcoholism makes him unpredictable, and a nightmare when he's on a bender. 

The dog wash place closed with a sign stating under new management and hopes to reopen next month. So, now the dog boarding place will bathe the dogs, at a much higher cost. I was hoping to bathe the pups myself before their annual exam and shots. And of course, one of my pups will require a needle biopsy of the growing bump on his shoulder and maybe the tiny one on his "wrist." Plus I have a consult with the gastroenterologist about my Cologuard test, which probably necessitates a colonoscopy. Ugh. And my son wants to get his under bite fixed, so now we have orthodontist appointments as well... 

Going to the gym is supposed to bring stress-relief. Mentally, it does. But physically, exercising a lot is so stressful to my body that my immune system breaks down. I've watched it happen before. Internalizing stress also means internal structures aren't happy. For no dietary reason, hemorrhoids are making themselves known. It's stress in spite of what everyone says online. It's not a lack of fiber. I had this happen to me right before my wedding as well. It's definitely stress...

15 June 2023
Shingrix Sore Shoulder Thursday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 20 + 5 (3912)
Distance: 2.00
Cal: 221
Avg Hr: 144, 176-92

HGPU 18

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

Short-time Tuesday

At the Bark Park today

Today is the last day of actual classes at my son's HS. The next week and a half are devoted to NYS Regents exams. I'm not sure why they need to close the entire school for this. When I was in HS, a few rooms got cordoned off from the rest of the students and that was it. The Regents exams are specific to NYS, but honestly, if you can't pass the Regents in whatever subject (math, chemistry, etc.) then maybe you shouldn't be getting that diploma either. 

My son complained of a sore throat this morning so I've got him scheduled for a doctor appointment this afternoon. Friends at the Bark Park are amazed that I can get a same-day doc appointment. But that's the difference between adults and kids. Pediatricians realize that kids can't really wait, even if they're 18 years old. He might have strep. Or Covid. Or something else. Better to test early and treat if possible. (He tests negative for strep and doesn't have a fever at the docs so perhaps he's just tired and on the verge of getting sick?)

I do a quick workout, hitting only the important things today: cardio, core, pull-ups. I'm disappointed that my 3-days off haven't allowed me to regain all my pull-up reps; they're just slightly better than last week but at least my forearms don't hurt. Tomorrow I'll do cardio, core and then a version of the DB Shoulder routine. Just probably no more AMRAPs for the DB lateral raises... Well, I had to try.

Last week, I started to feel some discomfort on the back of my lower shoulder caps. It was a weird sensation: slight burning like maybe the skin was stretching. And then I discovered unusual dryness (I have painfully dry skin but not uniformly distributed). So were those patches of skin becoming so dry that they were suffering from micro tears? Or is this somehow related to the medicated cream I've been applying under my arms twice a day for the candida. The dark areas are fading, they've never itched, but now there's a weird dry scaliness to the back of my underarms. Ugh. WTF? Is this eczema? I've never truly had eczema before, regardless of the diagnosis determined from the biopsy sample from the cold urticaria (hives) I get every year on my outer thighs. Now that temps have risen, that rash is gone.

Normal back skin doesn't usually get that dry. I don't have normal skin so I find myself using the Aquaphor body spray a lot. I've also resorted to the "old tech sponge-on-a-stick" to apply soothing creams to my itchy, super dry back when I'm at home. Not quite like the old videos of bears scratching their backs on trees... On a lighter note, I saw this packaging at the grocery today and was amused. Next time I'll actually read the ingredient list to see how much salt and protein you get per serving and what the components are.

13 June 2023
Tired Tuesday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5564)
Distance: 2.83
Cal: 313
Avg Hr: 144, 179

HGPU 19

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
 

Sleep Gremlins

I woke up this morning with my right forearm feeling as if gremlins had played twister with it all night. It hurt to zip up my hoodie and pull on my boots, so there was little chance of me doing that DB Shoulder superset routine today. Also sore were the front of my thighs and I'm equally puzzled by that. Maybe I have too many pillows under my knees while I sleep?

The air is noticeably clearer without that campfire odor everywhere. Still, the gym parking lot is sparsely populated, as is the gym except for some diehard regulars. The fires are still burning in Canada but the smoke has shifted away from our area. No telling when the next massive smoke alert will be but this is just the start of Canadian wildfire season. And El Nino has started early... Summer's gonna be a scorcher. 

My son has asked me to pick him up from school before I take the dogs to the park, because today is a half-day for Seniors. Because tonight is Prom. This means I'm cutting my workout short anyway but I don't want to skip cardio or core. Instead, I do the Intervals program for a full 30+ minutes, and then core. It's not as many counted steps as a normal program (approx 4700 vs 5500) because I'm dropping my Steps Per Minute (SPMs) to 90-106 in the troughs and only maxing at 230 for a few brief seconds during the peaks. If I can keep my pace over 150 for the rest of the peaks, I feel like I'm doing an adequate job. My HR is all over the place, but nothing new there.

At the end of core in the Aerobics Room, my left knees complains a little. No step machine today. But just enough time to shower, change, and buy some donuts for tonight's troop Court of Honor (which will have no Senior scouts because they'll all be at Prom) later at the park. At least I'll get some prom photos of my son and his friends beforehand as all the moms have agreed that we need a few group shots of our fancy-dressed boys.

9 June 2023
Super Sore Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program Intervals
Time: 30 + 5 (4726)
Distance: 2.77
Cal: 294
Avg Hr: 144, 200-87, 91


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

Cooler and Smoggier

Uh oh!

The weather app on my phone tells me that today there are more micro particles in the air than yesterday, so the air quality is much worse. But the haze seems thinner and although the sky is overcast, there is less disturbing orange-gray hue. But we all smell like we've sat too close to a campfire. I've read that breathing this air is the equivalent to smoking 7 cigarettes daily. Still, the dogs need to go to the park, but I cut their time short. They don't understand why no one else is there, and once they romp a bit and empty their bowels and bladders, we're back at the house. Temps have been in the low 60s, cooler than normal, and possibly due to all the smog in the air. While wildfire smoke is destroying the ozone, it is shielding the earth from UV rays...

Air here looks good!

I skipped yesterday to do boring household chores, like changing the bed sheets, and doing countless loads of laundry. My forearms are sore, but not from that. They're so sore that they cause me to drop reps during pull-ups today at the gym. The gym is unusually empty with just a handful of regulars. The parking lot is also oddly empty. With bad air quality, people who would normally go for a run on one of the surrounding bike trails wind up running on the treadmill inside. But not today. Weird. 

We've been advised to wear masks if outdoors. I still have respirator masks that we weren't allowed to use during the pandemic but would be suitable for this week's crisis. But I'm not wearing a mask. Cloth masks won't do anything, and everyone's looking for those N95s. On the radio, it's been announced that the gov is making supplies available for people with health issues. 

I also haven't clipped my hair up, and decided to use elliptical #2 today. Of course, my hair is annoying me but not horribly. I got my wired earbuds to connect to the iPod so I'm much happier. But these sore forearms have me puzzled. I'm sure it's due to the high reps during my DB Shoulder routine, but I don't know how to relieve forearm stressors while keeping everything else. It might be the DB Lateral Raises... I guess I'll drop those back to 15.

Tight sleeves!

What's really annoying though, is when a store's suppliers decided to reign in costs by trimming the size, hoping that the consumer won't notice. Bought a new Land's End blue hoodie as my other two are literally shredding apart. Size XXL boys is plenty big everywhere EXCEPT the arms. The arms are snug! I'm a small person with big arms, but not bigger than any kid who's wearing XXL hoodies. The arms are for noodle arm people! Ugh. 

The LE hoodies used to be great. Now, they're substandard and I'm disappointed. (I don't buy women's hoodies because they're often cut for noodle arms, billowy chests and shallow pockets that don't hold anything. That's why my BSA shirt is an XL boys. It just fits better on someone with big arms and a small chest.) 

Pull-ups are great for back, shoulders, biceps and haven't caused any issues with my sciatica, while rowing and overhead movements like Rip Skulls seem to aggravated that part of my lower back. My left hamstring has finally stopped threatening to spasm when I cross my ankles and set my knees apart during pull-ups. That leg position keeps my body stable for the most part, until fatigue has me fighting to keep my knees from curling up to my chest. I don't want to give up pull-ups. And I'm reluctant to change the DB Shoulder routine yet again now that I've finally gotten to a point where I can feel a proper burn and pump. I gotta cut some reps. (Sigh) Former muscle heads don't go quietly...

8 June 2023

Wildfire Smog Thursday

(XXL hoodie w/ noodle sleeves)

Precor elliptical #2

Program 1

Time: 30 + 5 (5480)

Distance: 2.81

Cal: 310

Avg Hr: 144, 207-83 !?

HGPU 17 forearms sore!

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

StepMill (L)

Manual 10 min

Speed 6 (52-60)

Steps 533

Floors 33

Cal 78

Hr 133

Fog Atmospheric and Otherwise

I woke up feeling hung over, achy and disturbingly tired. I even hit the 5-minute snooze! Atmospheric pressure is in flux with rapidly changing weather forecasts and is wreaking havoc on my bodily systems: joints, sinuses and a sense of balance. There's fog inside and out this morning. The news will blame it on a high pollen count, and the smoke from Canadian wildfires. Apparently a lot of the forests surrounding Quebec are burning. And Nova Scotia, a place renowned for rocky coastlines and deep impenetrable forests has lost over 20,000 hectares. (Hectares? One hectare = 2.47+ acres.)

Once I get to the gym I find that my earbuds have disconnected from my iPod and I can't reconnect them. Luckily I have those backup AirPods. I just can't use the step machine like I had planned because they might fall out of my head and be lost. Again. The gym music is too loud and sounds like caterwauling. I can't increase the volume of my own music wearing AirPods and the iPod is set to max volume already.

I need a change so I choose the Intervals program for 20 minutes. And this time I actually "walk" during the troughs and run up the "hills". The HR monitor drops to the lowest I've seen it for me: 67. Of course, it also zooms up to just shy of 190, so everything's normal. My forearms and shoulders are slightly sore but the rest of me is fine. As I cross the free weight area to get to the Aerobics Room, I'm suddenly aware of a slim black tripod in front of one of the stations. Yep, "Bob Paris" filming himself on a machine... I've taken a hard look at him and sad to say, he seems all upper body. I don't think I've ever seen him work legs... Only working those "mirror muscles." Too bad.

The gym is crowded in waves. There's a lot of people in the DB free weight area. And then there's just me. And then three or four more people. Again. Maybe I'm just there a long time because my routine has 3 components and is extremely high rep. When you read high rep, you tend to think 12-15. I'm looking at 15-25, and then 25-50. Today I make a special effort to focus on counting reps, especially since my AirPods are doing such a bad job of keeping the "ambient" gym music out of my head. (It feels like women screaming and banging tin drums. Is that what they call singing!?)

I get a nice pump and feel good when I leave. I still wish I was 10 lbs lighter though, so my clothes would fit better. Short and stout isn't a good look, especially for a middle-aged woman. I call myself that since I'm not ready to consider myself old yet. I'm only claiming "Senior Discounts" when they're worth it and I actually qualify. Some places, like my local parks and recreation department, give it to anyone age 60 and older. Some places insist you be 65. And AARP wants you once you hit 50. Not even close to being old! 

Meanwhile, we've received this year's HS yearbook and of course I'm leafing through it to see all of my son's friends, current and former classmates, teachers, etc. My son is rather camera-shy so he's not in a lot of photos. What surprises me though is the spread showing the valedictorian and salutatorian, because on the opposite page are photos of all the students in the top 10% of this year's class. And my son is one of them! We had no idea!

In total, there are 24 girls and only 6 boys. Two more boys (identical twins) apparently made the list but didn't have photos taken, probably because of the cost. They don't appear in the graduating class section at all, as if they never existed! (Typical Chinese immigrant family not spending money on frivolous items. They probably didn't buy the yearbook either.) We have three sets of identical twins (all boys) and a set of fraternal (boy & girl) in this year's class. We're predominantly a Caucasian town with a lot of Latin American immigrants and a smattering of blacks and Asians. Four of the eight boys are Asian, and only my son is an Eagle Scout out of the entire 32 of them. Yes, I'm super proud of him.

6 June 2023
Disoriented Achy Tuesday
(and my earbuds won’t pair!)

Precor elliptical #1
Program Intervals
(4/1-10/4-7/1; 105-170 spm)
Time: 20 + 5 (3540)
Distance: 2.00
Cal: 217
Avg Hr: 132, 188-67

Skip 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

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up
15 lbs x 25/15/25
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 2
20/15/20 x 30/25/35!
15 lbs x 50/25/50 AMRAP! Yaaay

A UFO Festival

We didn't actually get to the annual UFO Festival in Pine Bush, NY. Vendor pop-up tents were all shutting down by the time we got there and parked. But we made it in time to listen to the featured speakers of Alien Abduction stories. Admittedly, three out of four seemed like grifters and showmen, but the last fellow Travis Walton, the one we all came to see, well, he was worth waiting for. The movie Fire in the Sky is supposed to be based on his story, but he tells us about scenes that were totally fabricated and other real events that got left out. The original book is out of print and hard to find but we're intrigued enough to do more than an Amazon search.

It's chilly this morning at 47F but heats up into the low 70s by the afternoon. The gym is moderately peopled with regulars as it's too early for the kids. Cardio felt normal although the HR monitor showed a weirdly lower rate than usual. Or perhaps it was actually showing a normal rate during exertion. Granted, 190 is really high and 77 is low for actual sweat-inducing aerobic exercise, but the average of 133 seemed very reasonable. Of course, these HR monitors are notoriously inaccurate and I still haven't pulled the trigger on an Apple Watch purchase.

I wish my pull-ups would improve but I guess I should be happy that my forearms aren't complaining too much by the 18th rep. I don't think I'm ever going to get to 25 reps. (It's good to have goals.) Everything else is routine with no surprises. Tomorrow I'll do it all over again, and back to the DB Shoulder supersets. I've missed feeling the burn and pump. Doing these high rep sets finally brings me back to that and that feels awesome. But still, I worry that even doing this is somehow counterproductive to my glaucoma treatment...

5 June 2023
Monday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5716)
Distance: 2.87
Cal: 321
Avg Hr: 133, 190-77

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

StepMill (R)
Manual 10 min
Speed 6 (52-60)
Steps 528
Floors 33
Cal 77
Hr 123

HGPU 20

Too Damn Hot

Temps in the low 60s feel perfect to me. Just cool enough to be comfortable in long sleeves and pants to keep the biting insects away. It was 59F at dawn and the day got hotter fast. By the time dogs went to the park, temps were broaching 90. Thank goodness a "backdoor" cool front is pushing its way east to drop temps to reasonable levels! There might be some rain. Or even hail.

The gym is comfortable when I start my workout but I'm quickly overheated and hot and sweaty. The back door is open which means I have to be wary of flying biting insects like flies. Flies love me, especially the biting ones. I think even the non-biting ones will actually bite me, because I'm just that irresistible. To insects at least.

My workout feel good and the gym isn't too crowded. There's just some regulars... I skipped yesterday so today I do pull-ups and DB shoulders. The shoulder workout feels great, except my forearms get a worrisome "twisty feeling" during the last few reps of the last few sets of Inclined Presses. I've never thought of Inclined DB Presses as a forearm stressor before.

I have an appointment to see my glaucoma doc in a few weeks to discuss my latest VF test results. Then the SLTs, which I'm hoping will do something beneficial. But there's a chance that it won't work. And then I have to consider more drastic options. I also have to get my car inspected, and I already know I need new bearings because my car sounds like a jet engine when it's in drive. Ugh. How many things can I worry about at once? 

Yesterday, the mailman put a letter from the IRS in my box that not only wasn't addressed to me, it was addressed to a likely bogus corporation since the street address is to a foreclosed, bank-owned property in New Jersey, and the zip code is for a neighborhood in the Bronx. So why is it in my mailbox? Why has the mail sorter coded a different zip code on the bottom of the envelope? Is this human error, or AI?
 

My son got his senior project (digital animation) completed last night and didn't sleep at all in order to work on the presentation he had to give today. Meanwhile, he still has final projects in Video Production and Digital Art to complete and submit. And what's he planning to study in college? Biomedical Engineering. 

Next week is Senior week as well, culminating in the Senior Prom. He plans to go with his friends, and then head to a beach house in NJ for the weekend. It's a tradition I'm just learning about. Some time this month, my son will have to help me take the pups for their annual exam and shots. One of the dogs has a shoulder bump which is probably a cyst but only a biopsy will tell. Pupper's not going to be happy about any of that.

2 June 2023
Friday Scorcher

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5528)
Distance: 2.82
Cal: 312
Avg Hr: 144, 186-81

HGPU 21

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

Incl DB Press s/s Lateral Raises s/s Rev Incline Flys
10 lbs x 25/15/25 warm up
15 lbs x 25/15/25
20/15/20 x 25/15/25 x 2
20/15/20 x 30/25/30-35?
15 lbs x 50/25/50 AMRAP!