Seams Are Killing Me

I awoke yesterday to a huge angry red welt on my inner thigh, courtesy of a several-days old insect bite that I got at the Bark Park. And it was through a pair of heavy knit pants! Seams inside all my shorts and pants have been irritating the bite for days regardless of how much itch cream (hydrocortisone 2% and/or menthol & pramoxine hydrochloride 1%) I slather. Yesterday I could measure the welt from my thumb to the pinky of my outstretched hand, and yet I didn't know exactly what that measurement was because I'd only ever measured the tip of my thumb to the first joint (1") and thumb to pointer (7"). Thumb to pinky adds only an inch (8") but I have really small hands. This is one big-ass angry red welt. 

Should've brought pup shampoo

I spent the day sorting and organizing the bulk of my son's "playroom" upstairs because I've discovered someone willing to take donated toys for her classroom of 7-8 year old boys. And my son has piles of mismatched Playmobile sets, Legos, Transformers, Bakugans, plastic farm & zoo animals, plastic bugs, military style action figures (dolls)... all the toys little boys liked to play with a decade ago. And hopefully, still want to play with. I also donate a bunch of oversized "icky bug books" that also has tremendous boy or budding naturalist appeal. The teacher arrives this morning, before I take my dogs to the park. She's just in time to get her car loaded because the skies open up and there's a good soaking downpour for the next 2 hours. The dogs love going to the park but aren't thrilled about being wet, and don't mind that we only stay 20 minutes. 

By the time I get to the gym, the skies have cleared to reveal a blistering hot day. The gym is surprisingly crowded with a lot of vaguely familiar senior faces. And a bunch of new teenagers. I'm wearing the softest exercise pants I own because pedaling the elliptical won't be any fun otherwise. I've also got on one of the new scoop-neck tanks I mail-ordered. The neckline doesn't strangle me and although the armholes look snug, the fabric is soft with enough flex so there's no chafing under my tender upper arms. Whew. My extremely rough, dry skin is also super sensitive.

I need to be home for a package delivery tomorrow, so today and Friday will be combo days: cardio, core, weights. I get an extra rep of pull-ups but only one set. Core is standard. I had a thought to do DB Shoulders but also maybe a few sets of Skull Crushers. And if I'm doing Skull Crushers, then how about a few sets of Rip Skulls? This is triggered by an article I read suggesting that people tend to work the front more than the back when modern life requires us to work the back twice as much as the front to counter our smart phone, tablet, laptop use where we all hunch forward. DB Pullovers is one of the exercises listed for the back. I'm surprised. (Of course, the article doesn't list pull-ups because most people can't do those.) 

Rip Skulls are basically pull-overs with a skull crusher tossed in, right? So, DB Shoulders for Friday. And I skipped Wall Squats today so I should do them again before the week's over because I really worry about my rising blood pressure. This one exercise is supposed to be great for lowering that. My brother tells me he's on meds for BP that's skyrocketed but it's interacting with meds for an enlarged prostate, resulting in dizziness and feeling faint. Does that mean his BP is now too low? My bug bite is still bothersome, but not nearly as inflamed as it was yesterday. Still, it's August, and there are lots of biting insects who want a piece of me.

30 Aug 2023 11:00-12:32
Wednesday Combo, Just Not the One I Planned
(Chafe free pants)

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5642)
Distance: 2.85
Cal: 318
Avg Hr: 151, 191

HGPU 16

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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


Rip Skulls / Skull Crushers
30 lbs x 12/12 x 3 sets

Monday After 18 Years

I've spent the last two days sorting through my son's room. After 18 years, my kid is away at college and it's just me and the dogs at home. Work is crazy for my hubs so he's was home only to help move our son into his dorm, and then he was back at work. Like a lot of my kid's friends' moms, I find myself cleaning and sorting. One bedroom down and the rest of the house to go. We all agree that there's something soothing about cleaning and organizing our kids' rooms, like that nesting phase pregnant women are fabled to succumb to by the third trimester. It happened to me and boy was I surprised to find myself scrubbing my son's room days before his birth.

I haven't been to the gym since last Tuesday; that's 5 days. Which means I have little expectations of anything good. So, I'm surprised when I squeak past 2.8 on the elliptical and get two sets of pull-ups. I even get 90 seconds for Wall Squats and truthfully, it wasn't bad. I probably could've gone longer, maybe even the full 2 minutes, but I was more concerned about getting that last set of pull-ups done. It's like I've been on a stressful vacation for the past 5 days...

I haven't been sleeping enough, staying up (unintentionally) until 1 AM and then waking between 5 and 7, which isn't enough rest. I even tried melatonin again, but it didn't prime me for bed at 11 like I'd hoped. Instead, I was groggy at 7:30 this morning and that's not at all what I want from a sleep aid. 

Insect bites on my thighs make me sensitive to chafing pants so I put on another pair of joggers I bought years ago and never wore (not black and not dog-hair resistant). They're loose in the thighs and don't need to be hemmed. And they have pockets, and an unfortunate shoelace string tie front that I tuck back into the waistband. It's fairly non-functional and I'm tempted to just yank it out completely. I have some new sport V-neck T-shirts. I don't usually wear T-shirts because my big arms can chafe with the armpit seams. But this fabric is soft enough and I like the burnout print. It was impossible to get V-necks sleeveless. The new tanks are crew necks and not my favorite. And I'll never wear turtlenecks, mock or otherwise, because they give me a strangling sensation.

Back at home, the house feels emptier even though it's the same: me and the dogs. I suspect the dogs expect my son to be coming home at any moment. The hubs will be home just for the weekend even though it'll be the Labor Day holiday, because there's deadlines to be met. I've been settling into this routine for a few weeks, anticipating these changes... I hate surprises. But maybe I'll take advantage of $5 Tuesday at the local cinema and take myself to see Oppenheimer after the gym tomorrow. Or maybe the Barbie movie. Or maybe both?

28 Aug 2023 10:56-12:40
Monday Same but Totally Different
(Testing new workout clothes again)

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5544)
Distance: 2.82
Cal: 312
Avg Hr: 142, 175-122

HGPU 15

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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
Wall Squats 90s

HGPU 15

Getting Comfortable with Dumpy

I was looking for some bar soap I had stashed when I found two pairs of GAP joggers that I had bought a few years ago, ostensibly as dog park pants. However, the fabric of both pairs were dog hair magnets, so not very practical. They also seemed large in the waist, although the leg length and snug cuffed ankles meant that I didn't need to hem. Plus, they both had pockets. I promptly forgot about them. Until they were rediscovered and I realized I could try them as gym pants. Neither pair is black, but it's not like I'd wear these anywhere else anyway.

I also put on one of the new "sports" bras. This one is a NB and relatively comfortable (not binding since I'm very sensitive to pressure). The new tanks haven't arrived, so I put on one of the "cropped" tanks I got last month. Not happy with how short it is, but I like the pattern and fabric. The dogs and I stayed a bit later at the Bark Park so they could play with a pup they haven't seen in a long time. Then I had a few errands before I got to the gym. There's also a lot of overdue roadwork happening which slows everyone down because lanes are closed for tree trimming, guardrail replacement, paving. 

The gym seems busy but I can use the elliptical and I'm happy with it. Pull-ups always surprises anyone paying attention. I manage two sets today before and after Core in the Aerobics Room. There are other people exercising there and thankfully the a/c is running. The pants don't bind and are very comfortable. Actually, all my clothes are comfortable. It's only me that's unhappy with the way I look. Losing 10 lbs would really help, but that's going to take a bit of planning. Meanwhile, I survive the painful 90 seconds for elbow planks, and another 90 seconds of torturous Wall Planks. 

I'll probably do the DB Shoulder routine tomorrow. I won't lie: I started to get sore and stiff a few hours after I finished on Friday. That's a good thing. It didn't last long and it wasn't debilitating, so even better. Maybe I'll actually finish that 3rd set. No gym for the rest of the week as we're driving my son to college. It feels a bit unreal, but not at all unexpected. The dogs will be totally confused though. I hope they understand FaceTime...

16 Aug 2023 11:45-
Unenthusiastic Monday
(Testing new workout clothes)

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5714)
Distance: 2.87
Cal: 321
Avg Hr: 148, 186-87

HGPU 15

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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
Wall Squats 90s

HGPU 14

Combo Friday

It was a do-it-all kind of day: started off with thunderstorms and a pre-dawn downpour where one of my pups was apparently having a panic attack (my son told me), but we went to the park and the rain stopped and the blazing sun (and all the biting insects) came out. That pup is also suffering from some gastric distress so 2 generic Pepto (bismuth subsalicylate) pills for him (he got 2 last night and some boiled chicken) and a half can of chicken & rice, then off to the gym. It's Friday and I never know if this means it's going to be crowded or deserted.

I'm wearing new sport pants that I bought yesterday. I tried on 4 different pairs (4 different brands and styles but all of them black) and this was the only one that wasn't uncomfortably binding nor did I need to hem them. As a bonus, it also has pockets! But it is not the most flattering pants I own since it has a thick waist band and billowy pleats around the hips. I'm a short, boxy person with no waist and no chest and I think I just look boxier. I also bought a half dozen "sports" bras for reasonable cost, although the lovely, silky Danskin ones don't really appear to be sport bras. But they are sized like sport bras and they were in the Active Wear section of the store.

What's totally ridiculous is that I'm comfortable in an XL sports bra because the they're not made with cup sizes (I only buy ones with removable pads), and I have a big (powerful) back. But I'm too small a person to wear a medium sport tank. And there are no sport tanks on the rack. Well, there's one set of Medium yoga tanks, but I try it on and it's too big and looks like I'm wearing hand-me down clothes. For sport tanks I have to shop online and hope that they fit. I want a full tank that comes down to my butt, none of this cropped stuff where your belly hangs out. I'm too self-conscious to wear that. And having put on 10 lbs in the past few years has made me not like the look of a lot of my old athletic tanks. 

I can do the elliptical today but I seem to be lagging a bit, probably because I was up until 2 AM and then I heard the dog whining at 5:30 and I got up at 7:30 so that's maybe 5 hours of sleep. I only do one set of pull-ups, and wish the a/c was still on in the Aerobics Room because sweat is running down my nose when doing push-ups. I skip the Wall Squats and the second set of pull-ups because I plan to finally get back to the DB Shoulder routine. Yeah, it's a combo day!

camera distortion gives me
Popeye arms

It's not too crowded in the free weight area and I get to use the inclined breaker bench. There's always one bench missing the Olympic bar and that works for me since I don't have to worry about hitting my head on it. It's been a while so I don't have the same stamina, which is apparent during the last set when I simply couldn't get more than 21 reps for the DB Inclined Press. I was absolutely worried about dropping the DB on my face, and nothing is worth that risk. 

Even though I'm extra careful to breathe through each rep, I still wonder if pushing even these light weights is having a detrimental effect on my eye pressure and peripheral vision. For a moment I was worried, seeing irregular shadows at the top of my visual field, and then I realized that I was seeing my eyelashes. And I have relatively short lashes! Ugh. How do people with long lashes even deal with this?

16 Aug 2023 11:24-1:07 pm
Combo Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5430)
Distance: 2.79
Cal: 307
Avg Hr: 135, 188

HGPU 15

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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
Failure set 20/15/20 x 21/25/25

Raining All Week

I got to the gym too late to get on my favorite elliptical and the cross-trainers were vacant. I don't like these machines much and 20 minutes is probably my limit. It does give me the option of using arms or no arms but there's no backward pedaling for me. (That gives me horrible shin splints.) I cut my cardio time down 10 minutes and wrangle in my two sets of pull-ups today. Flex time! Kidding. But any pull-up past a dozen is awesome. Nowhere near the 20 I used to get, but not so bad. 

I could do DB Shoulders today. But I also need to go to the grocery afterward. And I also want to shop for exercise clothes at the discount store Marshall's because they usually have a decent selection that, here is the important part, you can try on in the fitting room to see if it really fits instead of having to go home, try it on and then bring it back. I'd go today but I can't leave milk sitting inside a hot car, and the grocery is in the same shopping plaza as the gym, whereas Marshall's is actually across from the highway in the next town... I guess I'll get milk today and look for clothes tomorrow. Meanwhile, I decide to add the Wall Squats back to the routine. But just for today.

While pedaling away, I see the tall brunette who'd been chatting with Square Jaw the other day. It's definitely not the Mayor! There are a lot of Latino kids here today, boys trying to chat up girls in skinny strap tanks and shorts. There are also seniors, a lot whom I recognize by sight. I'm glad they're not dead from the pandemic. 

Next week we're driving to Buffalo to move my son into his dorm room. He found out last night that he and his friend now have a temporary third roommate. This boy either didn't get his housing application in on time or was accepted late off the wait list. Apparently we'll get a housing discount credited to our account for every day that he stays. I phoned to ask where the additional housing will come from and the Campus Living department said that students graduate early, or unenroll, or move off campus, and then housing becomes available. Sounds very arbitrary. Meanwhile I'm wondering how they're going to squeeze another bed (bunk beds?), chair and desk into a room meant for two students. 

Yesterday I read an interesting article about a subset of glaucoma that is caused by an immunity issue. The cells normally can't enter the eye but are transformed in the gut with the help of a protein, mechanism unknown, that gives the T-cells the ability to enter the retina and cause inflammation. While that's fascinating, it's also scary...

16 Aug 2023
Wednesday Rainy Morning Blazing Afternoon Then Rain Again

LF cross-trainer #3
Program 1 manual
Time: 20 + 5
Distance: 2.75
Cal: 201
Avg Hr: 134-146

HGPU 14

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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
Wall Squats 90s

HGPU 14

I Forgot About Lysine Until Yesterday

The shoulder routine on Friday left no soreness at all in spite of having not performed those exercises in two months. Which means that tomorrow, when I don't need to rush anywhere afterward, I can do the full routine and not expect any repercussions. I got to the gym a bit after noon time, so much later than I had planned, but there were errands I needed to get out of the way. Otherwise they'd be a constant distraction of all the things I needed to do and hadn't gotten done yet. I have a bit of OCD when it comes to certain things...

It was a very pleasant weekend except the dogs didn't have many pups to play with. Few people and dogs arrived on Saturday, and because we had plans to go to Mystic Aquarium on Sunday (a 2+ hour drive each way), the dogs went to the park early when no one is ever around. My sciatica was very well-behaved, so non-existent for the entire trip. Next month I'll test my theory as to whether vaccinations are causing me nerve inflammation. I just have to space out the flu shot, the updated Covid shot, and then, the dreaded Shingrix shot. I really think the shingles vaccination triggered a sciatic flare-up, and I've saved my Rx for physical therapy for just before I get vaccinated. 

My dogs look giant!

Meanwhile, I'm still taking amoxicillan for gum inflammation, but I haven't needed the ibuprofen today. Two days ago, I discovered when applying oral anesthetic (20% lidocaine) with a cotton swab, that the roof of my mouth near the inflammation was in fact bleeding. WTH? I believe it's an opportunistic viral infection that takes advantage of stress. Or if I eat the wrong thing, like crushed red peppers. I used to love sprinkling that on pizza, but it always led to painful sores (aphthous ulcers) on the roof of my mouth the next day. So, no more crushed red peppers. 

Since those sorts of lesions are usually related to canker sores, cold sores, Chicken Pox and shingles, I wondered about getting some acyclovir. This is an anti-viral that works well against this type of virus. But you need a doctor to prescribe it and I'm not sure about going back to the dentist for this. However, I was reminded by online research that L-Lysine, available over-the-counter, also works well against this family of viruses. And I have a bottle of L-Lysine in my kitchen. The recommended dose is 500 mg 3x a day for a few days. I started taking it with the amoxicillan yesterday and overnight I can feel that my mouth is less painful!

The music at the gym is aggressively loud and annoying. Thank goodness I've charged my wired earbuds and can drown out the cacophony. While I'm blissfully pedaling away and mouthing the words to my favorite songs, I catch a glance of some regulars on the treadmill. Square Jaw is moving at a brisk pace, but his companion is ambling, mostly because he's talking so loud. I think it's The Mayor, but I can't be certain from the back because he seems taller, thinner and his hair seems darker... probably dyed. I'm really happy that they've vacated the cardio section by the time I get to the Stretch Cage because that's situated directly in front of the treadmills they were using. Even better is that I get 15 reps today.

I read an article over the weekend about how doing a pull-up has become quite the "mid-life flex" for women as per the WSJ. Unfortunately, when I went back to reference the article, it was behind a paywall. But it's true that it's rare to see a gal knocking out pull-ups. (I don't even see them try. And as I've said before, the "assisted pull-up" machine doesn't give you the muscle training to do an actual pull-up.) Actually, I don't see a lot of guys doing it either, but there's always one who's very gifted. And then I never see them again. Granted, there's something to be said in finding the proper grip and not destroying your elbows and forearms with tendonitis. I can only do a dozen the second go-round, but still better than none at all. Planks are stuck at 90 seconds, and Wall Squats for 90 seconds seems like an eternity. Maybe I should go back to a few minutes on the stair climber now that my sciatica is at bay?

14 Aug 2023 12:19-1:50
Monday and the gym music is blasting

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5630)
Distance: 2.84
Cal: 316
Avg Hr: 150, 200-88

HGPU 15

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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
Wall Squats 90s

HGPU 13

In Spite of Myself

I couldn't get my wired earbuds to pair with my iPod today. Most likely it's that they need to be charged, so I dig out the backup pair of AirPods and those connect instantly. Unfortunately, as I've mentioned several times before, there's no way to increase the volume beyond what the iPod is set at. And it's no match for the pounding, caterwauling "ambient" music pulsing through the gym. I'm able to pedal the elliptical, but I'm also distracted by the footage of the west Maui inferno on the TV. 

We've been to Hawaii several times, with Maui being our favorite island. We went there on our honeymoon and stayed at the Royal Lahaina, ate at Mama's Fish House, took a tour bus trip Road to Hana, visited the rain forest and waterfall nestled deep in East Maui, saw a misty sunrise atop Haleakala, fell in love with the Maui Ocean Center in Kihei. Back then, in October of 2001, just a month after the tragedy of 9/11, our only real worry had been contracting dengue fever from the voracious mosquitoes. (Recent posts confirm that the Royal Lahaina has not been affected by the fire because they're actually in Kaanapali a few miles north. However, they have no power and communication is only by satellite phone. Mama's Fish House also confirms that they are okay.)

I normally do better than 2.8 on Program 3 but I'm tired and it's taking a lot of concentration to focus on my workout in spite of the fact that there aren't many people at the gym today. I do better with Elbow Planks (90 seconds), skip Crunches, but add the Wall Squats back for 90 seconds that start off ho-hum and end with my quads squealing a bit. The sciatica is gone, or perhaps I'm just more distracted by the discomfort in my mouth.

A grip that never releases

While I'm taking my antibiotics every 8 hours, sometimes I skip the ibuprofen or just take one tablet (200 mg) which ultimately leads to a lot of pain around my upper molars. It's gotten to the point where I'm wondering if I haven't developed an oral viral infection (I seem to be prone to the ones that children get) that makes the gums around my teeth sore and tender. So, if I'm going to take anti-inflammatories, it's got to be 2 or more tabs (400 mg plus) otherwise I'm wasting my time.

The favorite clip (left) vs standard (right)

My hair clip is also annoying and distracting. While it works well to hold baby fine hair, it's working a bit too well in that when I go to remove it to lay down on the mat or on an inclined bench, it gets caught in my hair and takes an extra minute or two to untangle. Ugh. I prefer the low profile small clip that I only have one of and can't find any more. Instead, every clip on the market now has a godawful huge butterfly expanse on the backside that takes up so much room it pushes your head forward when you're driving. No one needs that huge handle on the back of the skull! 

There are two young men in the DB area, both on benches, both staring intently on their phones. Neither is actually pushing any weights. I'll be happy when these kids go back to school. But I'll also be sad, because my own will be at school too and I'm going to miss driving him to the school bus stop and the little chats we have when we walk the dogs at night, or doing other mundane things. 

I decide to do just a few beginner sets of the DB Shoulder Routine. I'm so annoyed with my hair claw that I just leave it clipped to my gear bag and hope my braid doesn't fall into my face. I figure I might be sore tomorrow, but honestly, probably not because the one thing that I don't lose very much of is strength even though it's been several weeks since I last did sets ending in AMRAP (as many reps as possible). And as usual, the hardest set is the first light one, i.e., 10 lbs for reverse inclined DB flys. They burn and make me gasp, but like a good warm up everything is so much better afterward. I probably could've done the full routine today, but I'm all for easing back in, especially since I don't want to jinx myself now that the sciatica has been abated. 

If not a bite, then what is it?

In the locker room, I look down and notice a big red mark on my thigh. It doesn't itch. It's not swollen. So is it a bug bite? It looks like it should be a bug bite, but I have no idea what it is. Bugs bite me through my clothes all the time. Another mystery...

11 Aug 2023 11:02- 12:31
Ornery Earbud Friday (backup AirPods can’t drown out gym noise)

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5472)
Distance: 2.80
Cal: 309
Avg Hr: 129, 188-114

20 Hip Bridges
Skip Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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
Wall Squats 90s

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

Now I Have a Toothache

I had planned to go to the gym on Tuesday but instead managed to get an emergency dental appointment. Actually, the dentist and his office were on vacation for the week and his answering service said they'd call whoever was covering. It turns out to be the dentist himself ("Mr. Rogers") who drove up from his house and met me at noon. Very often I get food stuck painfully between my teeth. Usually persistent flossing solves the issue, but not this time. And the affected tooth (teeth?) are capped, which usually means they're rootless. The dentist said that wasn't always the case. 

With the help of some local anesthesia, he determines that symptoms are indicative of either a gum infection or a damaged (and thus sensitive) root. He cleans the area, doesn't find any errant food and prescribes amoxicillan, a standard antibiotic for oral infections. I'm also taking ibuprofen for the inflammation and pain.

My mouth is better and yet worse on Wednesday (it only hurts when I chew but then it stays painful) when I have a scheduled appointment to take my car to the shop. I passed the NYS Safety Inspection but desperately need rotors, and that roaring jet engine noise is also worrisome. Dogs go to the park and back. Then I make myself comfy at the dealership service center. So, it turns out not to be bearings that need to be replaced, but instead, I have a frozen rear brake caliper and the service people tell me that they don't think the car is safe to drive. They can't even change the rotors without replacing the caliper, and they don't have any in stock. (Remember, my car is a 2010.) They'll get the part in the next day and give me a loaner to go home. I tell them I have dogs but that I also have a dog hammock to keep the dog hair to a minimum. (Usually having dogs in the car is a total deal breaker.) They give me the fob to a 2020 Forester. I hate it.

the 2020 loaner

 

It takes me a really long time to figure out how to adjust the seat properly just so I can reach the pedals and see past the steering wheel but not be so close that my elbows are bent. In order to recline the seat back so I can straighten my arms, I literally have to open the driver side door so I can adjust the levers and knobs. This car feels smaller and more constrictive than my old gas engine 2010 Forester. On the outside, it looks just as big though. 

I finally figure out that I need to push the Start button 3 times to get moving. The first time just starts the radio. The second time and I can actually get the windows to open, and adjust the a/c. The third time I have my foot on the brake and I hear the engine start up. Ugh. Well, at least the radio is digital and actually maintains the station I tune to. I'm also surprised that I have absolutely no issue backing into my driveway although I don't make use of the backup camera, preferring to stick my head out the window.

Today, I take the dogs to the park in the loaner car. Just me getting in the driver side puts dog hair in the car! There's no one else at the park, and for the first time, the dogs actually meet me at the exit gate to go home (instead of me chasing them around trying to convince them that park time is over). I take the loaner to the gym. The parking lot says the gym is empty. It's not really, but the "ambient" music is really really loud. Ugh. I do cardio and manage a dozen pull-ups. My fingers go number. Then I see my phone has a message from the auto shop. My car is ready. But I'm not. My son has an appointment with the orthodontist to get another bag of aligners to take with him when he goes away to school. 

I cut my gym routine short (elbow plank is only 60 seconds and ditch the Wall Squats). But I attempt another set of pull-ups and barely manage those dozen. Tomorrow I might do some basic light DBs for the shoulders. I don't know exactly when, but I got bit either at the gym or on my way to the gym. Right on the chest! I notice it when I go to shower and slather the welt with itch cream. It's summer so I always have itch cream!

Later, I pick up my car and I'm very happy that it no longer makes any weird rattling or jet plane noises. It did cost me a lot of money though, mostly in labor! I think it's up to $255/hr or something like that. I still need to get an oil change, and maybe replace the air filter. It's been a while, and we've had a lot of smokey Canadian days... My son took his first driving lesson yesterday. That also cost me a lot of money. I wasn't there for it so I asked him how it went. He said, "Well, I didn't crash the car." Indeed. It'll be cheaper if he signs up for a driving package at school. I just have to convince him that he can do it...

10 Aug 2023 11:02 - 12:14
Overcast Loaner Car Thursday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5506)
Distance: 2.81
Cal: 311
Avg Hr: 136, 179-120?

HGPU 12 fingers!

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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 12

Regression

It was raining and hot this morning but the pups and I went to the park. They ran around, did their business and then wondered why no one else was there. Even summer camp appears to have been canceled. I had a few errands to do before getting to the gym. The gym is crowded with teens and seniors. While I'm pedaling on the elliptical, I glance past the other equipment to see two men on ladders fussing with one of the ceiling fans. The stretch cage is directly behind one of the ladders, which means I'm not doing pull-ups after cardio.

I actually don't get to do cardio after core either, because while the ladders have moved, there's someone else in the stretch cage. I recognize her as a very senior lady (maybe in her late 80s or early 90s?) and I'm glad she survived the pandemic. But I'm also not going to sit around waiting for her to be done. Plus, the gym is really crowded with teens now.

Everything was good, except for those blasted wall squats. I had trouble making it to 60 seconds mostly because I was fighting the urge to reposition my feet. But finally, I succumb and shift my feet forward a tiny bit. So while I do finally have 90 seconds, it's not continuous and it's a far cry from the recommended 120 seconds. I fare better with the elbow plank. I'll try again tomorrow. My sciatica is barely noticeable, and it's the left glute that feels bruised when doing hip bridges. Otherwise, everything feels routine. 

My son leaves for college in a few short weeks. He finally got his learner's permit this past Friday. Yaaay. Now I'm arranging for a few quick intensive driving lessons from a driving school where the instructor comes to pick up the student, and the car has 2 sets of brakes. Yep, "old school" is what I was looking for. I don't expect him to learn to drive in just two lessons. I just want him to become familiar with the basics of driving. Then I'll schedule a few more lessons during holiday breaks, and eventually, maybe he'll be a bit more excited to learn this skill. Maybe. 

I recently read an interesting article about people exuding such an offensive odor that others have claimed to be allergic. I wonder if this is anything like the stink that surrounded my husband when he was drinking constantly. It's been a few weeks and that nasty monkey-cage stench has finally gone. My fingers are crossed that this time his vanity will be enough to keep him sober. Usually, I don't bother arguing with him when he's been drinking because reasoning abilities are impaired. Or he'll claim not to remember anything we discussed. 

I told him that I hated being with him because he literally, physically stank all the time and that nastiness permeated his clothes, the bedding, the entire bedroom. His breath was eye-wateringly nauseating and this rank odor surrounded him like swamp gas. (Because he's in the field where everyone else stinks as well, no one has ever complained. I'm sure if he worked in a cubicle, things would be different.) I suspect it's how his body processes excessive alcohol intake. Mine doesn't process it very well, lacking certain key enzymes. But his genetic makeup includes a lot of northern European stock, known for high alcohol intake and tolerance. 

Not long after that heated "discussion," he tossed all his synthetic polo shirts because they seem to make body odor worse. (I had that same problem with some sports hoodies that not only weren't absorbent but stank even after laundering. No amount of detergent could make the hoodies smell fresh.) He also stopped drinking. I don't know how long this will last but staying sober makes him so much easier to deal with. This means I'm not angry with him all the time. He might also be seeing better results from his keto-dieting efforts. 

Of course, I still want to have an adult beverage every now and then, but I'm fearful of stoking envy or a relapse due to "nostalgia" on his part. I find myself in the ironic position of hiding alcoholic beverages just so I can have a hard cider or Campari & soda with dinner when he's not home. Sneaking around, like I'm the one with the problem.  

7 Aug 2023 11:12-12:38 pm
Rainy Monday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5570)
Distance: 2.83
Cal: 313
Avg Hr: 141, 173-79

   Skip HGPU 16 (FAN REPAIR LADDER NEXT TO STRETCH CAGE)

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Sciatica Cat stretch 12
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
Wall Squats 50s; 20s; 20s

   Skip HGPU 16 (occupied)

Bittersweet Battle Ropes

I was really sore when I got out of bed this morning. Some folks might be inclined to do less, feeling as if they'd over done it the day before. My feelings are that I haven't done it enough, else why would I be so sore? Better go do some more! As long as I'm not doing any long term damage... my forearms get progressively worse as the morning wears on, until my grip on a coffee mug seems tenuous. Today's not a day to give myself carpal tunnel, or tennis or golfer's elbow, i.e., tendonitis of the forearms and wrist. So no pull-ups. And because my grip is a bit iffy, I have to reconsider the idea to ease back into the DB Shoulder routine, 'cuz you need to hang on to DBs to make them work.

Still, I couldn't help myself when I saw more Oriental bittersweet leaves and their unripe green berries nestled in the backside of the road hedges. I have a compulsion to rip them out of the ground, or at least, out of the privets. I manage a small armful before scolding myself for getting distracted. Dogs need their run time at the park! At home, sparrows perched on my chimney's cap make chirping and scratching noises that travel down to the wood stove, worrying one of the dogs who stares at the area intently with a cocked head. 

My forearms are really tender now and the rest of me is also sore, but not enough to impede my activities. After a good sweaty cardio session, it's the Aerobics Room, which has one person exercising in a corner. I grab a mat and do my routine in the other corner. In the 20 minutes that I'm there, a fellow comes in to do a few odd floor stretches, another fellow comes in for core movements, and a big fellow wrangles the battle ropes by the front door. My forearms feel like I've been wrestling battle ropes too, but it's just stubborn bittersweet vines that are tangled in the hedges and anchored by thick root stock.

I increase the elbow plank time by half for a full 90 seconds. Maybe by next week I can get it up to 120? Of course, this is after doing crunches and dead bugs, and my abs are actually still tender from yesterday. The wall squat goes better and worse. I'm wearing my new NB 840 sneakers and that definitely helps. So instead of my toes screaming about being squashed, it's my quads that are upset. They're burning with lactic acid. What a surprise! I barely make it to 90 seconds. Yes, this is after I've done 25 deep, butt-to-the-ground air squats, but that shouldn't matter since I did that yesterday too, and the quads were fine, or maybe I just couldn't hear them 'cuz toes squeal louder?

4 Aug 2023 11:05-12:22
Before the Storm Friday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30 + 5 (5708)
Distance: 2.87
Cal: 320
Avg Hr: 148, 188-87?

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 90s
Quick Child’s Pose
Cat stretch 12
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
Wall Squats 90s (quads!)

 

Stress Not Where I Expect

I skipped the gym yesterday to do yard work but didn't get very far snipping the overgrown grass near my second stand of milkweed plants. Covered in a bug jacket with long pants, boots and gloves, the biting insects made a beeline for my face and I got 3 nasty bites immediately. My forearms were so sore from the manual hedge clippers that I had trouble holding a mug of water later at dinner. Which means I'm not doing pull-ups today. Not sure if I'll be able to do them tomorrow either since I spent 90 minutes today wrestling with the Oriental bittersweet vines in my hedges after I got home from the gym. 

Wrestling, yanking, and finally doing a lot of snipping with parrot beak loppers (pruning shears). The damn vines are climbing the power lines to reach my roof! I spend a lot of time under masses of vegetation, severing vines near the ground amidst a tangle of woody stems and a jungle of various leaves. Not everything's a bittersweet plant.

A vicious killer of trees!

I get to the gym later than I'd like and the parking lot is crowded. There's a lot of teens at the gym! I see a few regulars as well, but since I'm not interested in interacting, none of this matters as long as I can stick to my routine. After cardio, I go to the Aerobics Room which feels warmer than I'd like. There's only one other person there and she's doing a series of floor exercises and light dumbbells.

I've decided to do my normal routine and then add Wall Squats at the end just to see how I feel about it. Hey, anything to lower my blood pressure, right? My brother is on meds for high BP but he's under a lot of job pressure since he works in cyber security for a big telecom. (And that company tends to lay off staff on a regular basis to cut costs, especially with lawsuits pending about ancient, buried lead-covered power lines leaching into aquifers and water supplies.) His meds have dropped the 160-190/90 down to 120/80. I'm hoping to avoid meds but it's not good that my last annual showed BP at 142/74 when it should be under 130 for the diastolic (top) number. Maybe that daily cup of tomato product has lost it's punch? Of course, I drink a cup of low sodium vegetable juice almost every day. It's just a bit more flavorful than plain tomato juice.

The wall squat itself isn't hard. I do it after I'm done with everything else. My quads feel a little stress, but what keeps me from completing a full two-minutes are my toes. I have flat feet and the sneakers have a slight heel, which means my toes seem to be bearing the brunt of all my weight and are squashed against the front of my shoes! Oddly, the toes of the left foot feel more crushed than the right, but the right has its own problems (bunion, hammer toes, tender pinky toe). I wonder if doing this exercise barefoot (shudder, I hate being barefoot) or just in stocking feet would make it easier (on my toes). Because it's not hard on the rest of me, just my toes, which isn't the body part that should be affected. I'll try again tomorrow but wearing the NB 840s instead of the Fresh Foams. I'll do stocking feet only as a last resort!

3 Aug 2023 11:40-1:00
Crowded w/ Teens Thursday

Precor elliptical #1
Program 2
Time: 30 + 5 (5494)
Distance: 2.81
Cal: 311
Avg Hr: 139, 182-79

20 Hip Bridges
Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
20 Hip Bridges
Elbow Plank 60s
Quick Child’s Pose
Sciatica Cat stretch 12
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

Wall Squats 60s (squished toes!)

Doing Everything All At Once

The past 4 days have been rather stressful, starting with Friday's glaucoma doc appointment to have a SLT (laser therapy) procedure on my left eye. My eye socket aches as if I've been punched. The eyeball itself aches a little as well from being zapped with over a dozen tiny laser blasts. The IOPs are still high (for me) at 17 instead of my usual 13-14. It's feeling as if drinking beet juice and doing high reps may not have caused this burst of higher pressure since I've discontinued both, and my pressures are still high. 

I'll have a new pressure check in 6 weeks to see if the SLTs worked. Otherwise we'll have to consider more drastic treatment. Meanwhile, my health insurance, which has been giving me a really hard time about one of my eye drops, suddenly relented and stated they'd cover the medication again. Yes, I'm relieved, but WTF? And even though it's now "covered" is still really expensive compared to my other eye drops.

After the SLT, I had enough time to make my appointment to get my car inspected for the annual NYS sticker. The tech tells me he passed the car but that I need rotors. Ugh. Last year, I had a different shop do the inspection and they told me my brake pads were bad and changed them. But I didn't realize that I also needed rotors and just assumed that the shop had replaced both components. Oh, and that rattling is a loose heat shield under the car which could be removed. But the Valvoline that does the inspection can't do any major repair work. Which means I need to make an appointment with the dealership repair shop 'cuz while they're at it, they can replace the broken bearings that make my car sound like an airplane. I just don't know if it's one or more bearings that need replacing.

On Sunday, I started prep for the "routine" colonoscopy initiated by the Cologuard's report of a positive result. Of course, Cologuard's proprietary formula means no one really knows what a positive result means. Prep means fasting, drinking clear liquids (no red or purple), maybe eating green or yellow jello, and taking a lot of laxatives. Unfortunately, the magnesium citrate is in a saline solution and the salt causes my blood pressure to rise a lot and I develop a bad headache and an upset stomach. I have to repeat the laxatives Monday morning and then not drink any fluids 3 hours prior to the procedure. I don't stray far from the bathroom! (But the dogs still go to the park every morning.)

On Monday, my blood pressure is a whopping 174/80 when I get to the procedure location, just around the corner from the gastroenterologist's office. While my O2 stats and pulse are excellent, the BP fluctuates. It's the magnesium citrate. The label says there's only 36 mg per ounce and you drink all 10 ounces at once. That's only 360 mg of sodium, which isn't a lot, but I have the worst headache and heartburn from it. Next time (in 10 years), I'll try the Miralax instead. Unless I have kidney problems. At my annual a few months ago, my BP was high at 142/80. My glaucoma doc would be happy with that since she thinks higher BP would help the blood flow to my optic nerves. But a higher BP is bad for everything else. So, do I have to choose between retaining vision or potentially stroking out?

My procedure was quick and uneventful as there were no polyps or other abnormalities, except I have a redundant colon, which means it's longer than usual and susceptible to twisting. I've always been convinced that part of me was meant to be a different, much larger person, and this little fact supports that. Cologuard had delivered a false positive result and I'm good with not doing this procedure for another 10 years.

I go to the gym and it's not very crowded. I see a few regulars. I get cardio done and a few pull-ups. The Aerobics Room has several people laying on mats, all doing their own thing. So happy I'm plugged into my own tunes. My sciatica barely bothers me and I'm surprised at how effortless push-ups are today. Seriously. I wish my pull-ups were this easy! Even the air squats feel decent. 

The only time my glute/lower back bothers me is when I do the Cat/Cow stretch, but it's my left side that aches. So weird. I have a 'script to go to physical therapy 3x a week for a few months. It's only after I do this (at $25/visit so $75 a week) that I'll get approval for an MRI of my back. I might wait until my 2nd Shingrix shot in September since I have a vague suspicion that there might be nerve inflammation from the vaccination. We all know that the sciatic nerve is the biggest nerve in the human body. My only concern is whether I should get the flu shot before or after, because I'm the one person who'll come down with the flu if I don't, even if it's a mild flu season. 

I wear new sneakers to the gym and I'm very pleased. This time I bought "expensive" NB 840 sneakers (EE) and they have a wide, comfy toe box and a snug heel. So snug that I really don't need to lace my trainers and the shoes will stay on. But I double-knot the laces anyway. And the laces are shorter than I'm used to, because everyone is cutting costs. These shoes are much better than my last pair of NB, which were "fresh foam" but seem to be cut tighter and don't fit as well. I have three pairs of "fresh foam" NBs of varying ages and all for under $100. Lately, though, they've been making my feet sore, and if your feet hurt and you can't walk, then life is absolutely miserable. Always invest in comfortable, well-fitting shoes!

1 Aug 2023 10:52-12:11
Tuesday post-everything

Precor elliptical #1
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5522)
Distance: 2.81
Cal: 311
Avg Hr: 144, 183-74

HGPU 16

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

HGPU 16?