Not Worse

Brownies

French boule

I have a chiropractor appointment this afternoon but figure I can squeeze in a quick gym session. I'm tired though from getting up at 4:30 to drive my kid to the train station to make it to the internship office bright and early. I won't see my kid again until Friday evening, but it seems to be working out. Only a few more weeks and then a few weeks at home before the long trek to school. This weekend, we were treated to a lovely French boule and very fudgy brownies, courtesy of a late night baking spree. I learned that the key to a beautiful crusty bread is to bake it inside a Dutch oven. I have a turquoise blue enameled one I bought on sale from Amazon some years ago. I should use it more often. 

It's nearly 1:30 by the time I get to the gym and it's surprisingly empty. The Senior class has long gone and it's reasonably nice outside. This is the week that a lot of families take vacations. The next heatwave is scheduled to start tomorrow and last for a few days. I'm not at all happy about it and have already decided to add an additional air conditioning unit to my house, probably later in the summer when they go on sale. Summers is slated to get hotter each year and I'm not good with persistent heat. Neither are my dogs. 

My sciatica has been persistent. At least it's not progressively worse. But that and the fact that my right shoelace has untied itself makes this elliptical session less than stellar. The sciatica intrudes during time at the Stretch Cage during pull-ups. I can only get 15 and those last 3 are ugly. I don't have time to push any weights and head directly to the Aerobics Room. There is a small Latina sweeping the floor there. I can never predict when she's going to be cleaning. I thought it was Wednesday but today is Monday. At least she doesn't attempt to mop the floor by my head when I'm laying on the mat doing hamstring stretches.

I added Dead Bugs back to my routine. It didn't aggravate my sciatica too much today, and I was bored with the crunches: they started to hurt my neck and right glute, so what was the point? I'm going to delete the flat hip rotations too. Rotating my lower body with knees bent to the right was okay, but moving to the left caused the right glute to ache a lot. It stays aggravated and the movement doesn't serve any good purpose. Push-ups makes the numb foot burn and the fire reaches up the side of my calf. It's become routine. It's painful but not debilitating. I haven't lost any strength although today's workout wasn't great. I'll probably try again later in the week, and maybe I'll have time to push some weights around. 

Meanwhile, I have to figure out how to glue one of my kitchen cabinet doors together after it split apart. It's cherry with an irregular tone. I like it but I've been told that it's considered a defect because of the uneven colors. These cabinets are about 35 years old and the manufacturer isn't around anymore. Wood glue and some clamps should work... 

13 July 2026 1:28-2:42

Abbreviated Sciatica Monday

Chiro appt spinal decompression

Pre Heatwave 85°F

Precor elliptical #1 (2:06)

Program 3

Time: 30 + 5 (5172)

Distance: 2.71

Cal: 294

Precor HR: 158, 180-116

Google Health: 44-122 (?!)

(Foot numb / ankle calf glute)

HGPU 15

Sciatica makes this really painful

20 Piriformis/Hip flex 

12 Hamstring stretches

Dead Bugs 20 x 5

Flat hip rotations 10 (numb foot calf!)

12 Piriformis stretches

Child’s Pose

Cat/Cow stretch 12

Child’s Pose

Fire Hydrants 30 x 2

Arm rotations 20 (sciatica ramp up)

Push-Ups 30

Air Squats 25

Neck Stretch / eye yoga (2:42)