 |
| My pants match my socks! |
My sciatica has not given me any relief so I complain about it a lot. Thursday I went to see my periodontist for a semiannual cleaning and check up. The hygienist told me both her parents had the same issue with a diagnosis of spinal stenosis leading to sciatic pain. She highly recommended a neurosurgeon in Connecticut who performed micro surgery on both her parents and actually fixed their spinal stenosis issues. No more sciatic pain! I took this miracle doc's info for future reference. Meanwhile, my periodontist complimented me on my ugly cool footwear: Keene sandals with alpaca socks (inside out cuz toe seams). Seems like that's making a comeback and I don't have to compete with German tourists anymore.
I did go to the gym on Friday. It hurt like hell. The only thing that made the workout bearable was my marveling at songs on my iPod. I have several playlists and tend to use the "short quick playlist" which is comprised of 40 songs. The total list is closer to 300 songs, most of which I haven't listened to in a long time because they didn't translate well from CD to iPod. But, maybe it was the earbuds! Because the last time I listened to the full set, I had wired earbuds that weren't exactly the best quality. Years later and I'm using old Apple AirBuds with a tether so they don't go far should they pop out of my head.
Which means I haven't actually listened to most of these tunes with the best quality earbuds. Imagine my surprise as I'm trudging up the step machine, my sciatica burning a line up my calf and down my foot, and all I can think is "Wow, I don't remember these lyrics in the refrain, or this awesome chorus, or was there always a saxophone background?"
Songs that I pulled out of my Quick Playlist (because they sounded faint or tinny) were suddenly full and melodious. All because I'm using Apple AirPods instead of SONY or JVC earbuds! It's like hearing music for the first time! Granted, these AirPods are old. I just accidentally reset my iPod to play all my tunes instead of the limited selection under Quick Playlist. It was quite the happy accident.
On Friday, I got to the gym late enough that the Precor was occupied. The step machine was torturous. After 3 minutes, I saw the J-bent dude exit the elliptical machine and walk away. I could've jumped off the stair master at that point, forfeiting those 3 minutes, but I chose to ride out the full 15 min 26 seconds. Someone else could've hopped on the elliptical, but no one else did. I was already tired when I finally got there. My big toe all the way up my calf was on fire. Not a good fire. My glutes hurt like I'd been kicked. Even parts of my lower back were sore.
I had a hard time starting the Precor program. It got easier at minute 7, 30 seconds because in a 30 minute program, you switch directions every 7.5 minutes. Pedaling forward at first, then backward, then forward, then ending backward. Then 5 minutes for "cool down" that I split between forward and back. Afterward, I'm thoroughly red-faced sweaty but feel okay. Okay enough to attempt pull-ups. The first dozen are fine. The last 3 make my right leg simultaneously throb and go numb. It's not great.
I can lay down in the Aerobics Room and try to "fix" all the indignities" my right side complains about. At least until I do something thoroughly aggravating, like Dead Bugs. Everything is fine except I'm a bit winded after push-ups. Then it's time to go. Busy weekend already. Thursday night, we had gone to a Scout function to celebrate someone's 70 years in Scouting. A nice buffet dinner and lots of friendly chatter.
Went to a speaker's conference on UFOs in Pine Bush on Friday night. That was actually better than previous years because we could avoid the zany UFO Festival that closes the roads down and makes us detour through backyards. Saturday, our county celebrated the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution with battlefield reenactments and displays of colonial skills like quilting, blacksmithing, wood working, quill writing, surgical instruments, knitting, copper punching...
Tomorrow we drive our kid to his summer housing for the unpaid internship that I believe is an important step in a STEM career if not pursuing a graduate degree. It's another step toward independence for Gen Z. The husband got his visa for working in Australia. Not sure when he's leaving or returning, or if I need to make alternate plans to get the child back to school for Senior year. Figure it out when I need to...
5 June 2026 1:42-3:13
Friday Precors are Occupied
Sciatic flare up w toe & calf & glute /
Matrix StairMaster (R) (1:45-2:00)
Manual timer 13 + 2:36
Speed 3 (38-36) / 2 (24) / 1 (20)
Steps 535
Floors 33
Cal: 85
Hr 162
Searing pain toe foot calf glute
Precor elliptical #1 (2:05-2:40)
Program 1
Time: 30 + 5 (5166)
Distance: 2.71
Cal: 293
Precor HR: 136, 188-67
Fitbit: 52-137
HGPU 15 (right leg!)
20 Piriformis/Hip flex (2:52)
10 Hamstring stretches
DeadBugs 20 x 5 (aggravating)
10 Piriformis stretches
Child’s Pose
Cat/Cow stretch 12
Child’s Pose
Fire Hydrants 30 x 2
Arm rotations 20
Push-Ups 30 (turn right foot out)
Air Squats 25
Neck Stretch / eye yoga
No comments:
Post a Comment