Post Wedding Weekend

I used gel to prevent dreaded 
flyaway hair

We went to my sister's wedding on Saturday. The day started out sunny and it was 81F when we left our house. On the 2+ hr drive up to the venue, the temps dropped 20 degrees, dark thick clouds rolled in, and then it poured so hard visibility was 5%. As in, we could see the flashers on cars in front of us, and cars passing us, but we came up on a vehicle and it was only in passing it that I realized it was a huge semi truck. It was totally invisible except for the rear bumper flashers. 

So, we were late to the wedding by 20 minutes and missed the actual ceremony, but were present for all the other festivities. My sis seemed genuinely happy to see us. 

My sister looked radiant, dressed in a very fancy semi-Victoria dress she found in a consignment store and had altered, and still spent so much more than I'd ever feel comfortable with. It was a small wedding but everyone looked to be having a great time. I've decided that my sister is a lot of fun because she's a "party person". (Apparently I'm the serious one.) Lots of socializing, decent food, free flowing beer and wine, DJ music so there was a lot of dancing. Even my hubs danced and didn't look too uncomfortable. He's actually looking good these days, having lost a lot of weight by sticking to his low/no carb diet. 

Deep down, my sister and I are complete antagonists in our world philosophies. We don't travel in the same circles, don't share the same concerns. Everything is fine with the world because she's doing fine. No reason to concern herself with other people, unless it's going to impact her. (I'm completely different, as you can probably tell.) Still, I'm glad we went. We took a lot of photos and posted them to the wedding website. And yes, with the exception of the toddler step grandchild, I was the smallest person there. 

All that meant it was important to make it to the gym today as I'd also missed Friday when the building inspector came late in the morning and did a 30-second quick look at the new oil tank. No leaks? Great. Perfect. Wind Breaker was already on elliptical #3 when I arrived. The gym was fairly empty. I can't blame anyone since it was literally a perfect day: sunny but not hot. Just crisp enough to be comfortable. The gym had both front and back doors open to let the building air out, and I was happy not to have flies pestering me. 

I decided to re-familiarize myself with the Life Fitness cross-trainer's programs. I remember the Cascade, which is gentle hills. I tap in 12 minutes and try to alternate between forward and backward every 3 minutes. The machine was not happy and appeared to be confused when I pedaled backwards. So, after the first 6 minutes, I just pedaled forward for the remainder of the program. Sometimes I used the handles. I was really tired by the time 15 minutes was done. In total though, my "all cardio day routine" equals an hour, which isn't a lot especially when that happens only twice a week.  

I'm not breaking any records, especially not my own. And I'm fine with that. I got my three sets of pull-ups, although that last set was really hard. I kept muttering to myself that I have to make it to a dozen. Okay, make it to 15. By this last set, my right shoulder was bothering me a lot. It gets sensitive sporadically for no apparent reason. The next time I go to the CVS with a coupon, I might buy a tube of Voltaren cream (diclofenac sodium) to see if that helps with my chronic sciatica and the intermittent shoulder twinge. It's an anti-inflammatory that's meant to penetrate the skin and muscle. I still use Penetrex when I remember. But I'd like to try something new that might be more effective. 

8 Sept 2025 12:18-2:22

Monday All Cardio

Crisp & Sunny post-weekend wedding

Precor elliptical #1

Program 2

Time: 30 + 5 (5332)

Distance: 2.76

Cal: 302

Avg Hr: 146, 188-94

New FB: 45-127

HGPU 18

Matrix StairMaster (R)  

Manual timer 8+2 cool down

Minimum 5 minutes

Speed 5 (48-45) / 2 (36) / 1 (29)

Steps 444

Floors 27

Cal 67

Hr 128

HGPU 17 w/ kip

Life Fitness X-Trainer #3

Program Cascades

Time: 12 (+3 min cool down) = 15

Distance: 1.14

Cal: 112

Avg Hr: 116-120

(reverse pedaling not registering)

HGPU 15 w/ kipping (rt shoulder)

20 Hip Bridges

20 Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch

DeadBugs 20 x 5

10 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 25 x 2

Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2

Push-Ups 25

Arm rotations 20

Air Squats 25

Stretch / eye yoga