In Spite Of

I took yesterday off to run errands, figuring I'd work out today, and Thursday, and maybe Friday. Tomorrow I promised a friend I'd take her to her colonoscopy appointment, and then pick her up later in recovery. She said she tested positive with Cologuard. That happened to me, and it was a false negative. She said it's been 14 years, so might as well do the exam. I'm not going to argue with her. I'll probably go to a local store and see if I can find something to get my kid for Christmas. At this age, he says he doesn't really want or need anything.

I'm pedaling away on the elliptical when text messages appear on my phone. I don't actually look at them until I switch from backward to forward in the program. The phone doesn't always recognize my red, sweaty face and I fumble with the phone while trying to maintain my speed. It's hard to type replies and not lose my balance. Finally, the 35 minutes are done and I'm pleasantly surprised that I'm still able to hit 2.9. I'm even happier to finish pull-ups immediately after! Yaaay me!

It turns out that my kid will need a ride home from school much sooner than we had planned. His last final is next Thursday and apparently the school policy is that students must vacate the premises within 24-hours after their last final. His friends (and potential carpool home) don't finish until the 19th, which means we'll have to go fetch him nearly a week sooner than expected. It's all good though. My pups miss him. We did have a scare when we heard a dog in the afternoon play group tested positive for giardia, a nasty parasite. I got my pups tested and they're negative, as are other pups who frequent the park. Whew!

The gym is more crowded than I expected for a Tuesday. The holiday lights atop the mirrored walls in the Aerobics Room are off so the room doesn't feel quite as festive. A woman is already there, doing some floor exercises. I do my own thing as usual. I don't miss crunches, especially since the 5 sets of Dead Bugs remains challenging. The only exercise more dreaded are Walking Lunges. I make the Wall Squats bearable by glancing at email as a distraction. I wonder if these will ever become easier? And when they do, what then?

Because I'm not sure whether I'll be at the gym for two or just one more day this week, I decide to add triceps today. I could do pull-ups Thursday and still be okay with DB Shoulders on Friday. It's a given that any day I come to the gym, I do cardio and core. It might not always be 35 minutes on the elliptical, but it's likely since the Expresso Bike or the Step Machine or even the Octane just isn't the same intensity, and I can only handle 25 minutes on the LF Cross-trainer before my feet go numb. Numbness is never a good thing so I avoid anything that's going to cause that.

5 December 2023 11:27-1:11
Chilly Tuesday w/ Interruptions

Precor elliptical #1
Program 3
Time: 30+5 (5810)
Distance: 2.90
Cal: 325
Avg Hr: 141, 194-83

HGPU 18

20 Hip Bridges
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
DeadBugs 20 x 5 alt/ss = 100
20 Hip Bridges & 10 one-leg 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 stretch w side bends & twists
Walking lunges 42 steps total
Neck stretch / Eye yoga
Wall Squat 90s

Skull crushers / RipSkulls
30 lbs x 12/12 reps x 3 sets