A couple of YouTube weather channels have reported substantial temperature fluctuations in the next several days, courtesy of a very strong El Nino. Today my indoor/outdoor thermometer read 92F before I even got out the door to drive to the gym. It certainly was very warm, too warm at the dog park earlier in the day. Pups are happiest when temps hover in the brisk high 30s-low 40s. They are not going to be happy this blistering summer.
The gym wasn't too crowded so I was able to hop on my preferred elliptical machine. I was worried that it would be too warm but only the Aerobics Room seemed under cooled. I was hoping to do better at pull-ups but the shoulder started twinging toward the last few reps. Still, it wasn't horrible. It's also amazing how easy push-ups feel when you haven't pre-exhausted your triceps with weight lifting.
I got my steps in on the stair machine and then trudged off to do core and sciatic relief stretches. Popping three 200 mg tablets of ibuprofen each morning seems to work keeping the most egregious sciatic pain at bay. It worked Saturday morning when I convinced my husband to join me on the Salamander Stroll, which was more of a moderately strenuous hike through a model forest only a few minutes from where we live.
It was a very large group of over 30 people, including toddlers (one riding dad's shoulders and another in a backpack carrier), an infant (in a chest carrier), several seniors with hiking sticks, teenagers and middle aged adults. The weather was brisk and sunny, and if we weren't overheated from scrambling up boulders, then we were chilled by breezes coming off wetlands and vernal pools.
We were lucky enough to spy a few tiny salamanders under rocks and boards, where they normally hide. The woman with her infant strapped to her chest was the only person wearing leggings. But she was also wearing work boots. My FitBit says we racked up a lot of steps, but not quite as many as the day before, when I went to the gym and then did grocery shopping. Oh well...
It's April. Spring peepers are trilling in all the wet swampy spots behind our house. Last night, other frogs were making their way across the roadways. It's always a treacherous time for them. The eye gnats are awake and flit around me at the dog park, which means I have to protect myself with sunglasses. There are also biting insects so of course I'm wearing my hooded, long-sleeve bug jacket, long pants and boots, and I have a small bottle of picaridin in my pocket.
Meanwhile, I'm still having an allergic reaction to some of my eye drops. My eyes are teary and slightly swollen. OTC allergy drops aren't helping and I can only use steroid drops for a limited time as they have an adverse effect on glaucoma. One of the techs in my doc's office recommended switching to preservative-free latanoprost, but of course, my insurance company doesn't want to cover that. Which means they want to charge me close to $300/mos. Do you wonder why we cheer for Luigi Mangione?
14 April 2026 1:32-3:06
Blistering Heatwave Tuesday
Basics w sciatica & eye allergy
Precor elliptical #1 (2:09)
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5410)
Distance: 2.78
Cal: 305
Precor HR: 147, 178
Fitbit: 47-131
HGPU 17 (rt shoulder)
Matrix StairMaster (L) (2:22-2:33)
Manual timer 11 + 2:12
Speed 5 (49-45) / 2 (36) / 1 (29)
Steps 576
Floors 36
Cal: 87
Hr 90 (?!)
20 Piriformis/Hip flex (2:43)
10 Hamstring stretches
DeadBugs 20 x 5 (sciatica!!!)
10 Piriformis stretches
Child’s Pose
Cat/Cow stretch 12
Child’s Pose
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Bird Dog Planks 60s x 2
Arm rotations 20 (foot tingling)
Push-Ups 30 (lEZ cuz arms not tired)
Air Squats 25
Neck Stretch / eye yoga
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