Worse Than A Puppy

There's a wry adage along the lines of "No good deed goes unpunished." Right now that's how I'm feeling. Perhaps it's because I could hear the dog sniffing the window this morning, before the sun rose. I expected a mess there but it was well-papered. No mess. Whew!

However, there was a big mess in the hallway. So big that it trailed into the living room. Ugh. Twenty minutes of cleaning before needing to rouse my son for school. I'm glad I packed my gym bag the night before! My coffee is in a to-go mug, and my hair clips are in my pocket because I haven't had time to comb, braid and clip the mess out of my face.

I finish my coffee and read my emails in the parking lot. I have to remember to stop at the store after the gym because boys will need lunch while manning stations at the Thunderbird Games, a Cub Scout event where Boy Scouts create obstacles and challenges for the younger kids. Although there will be a food truck or two selling burgers and chili, people usually bring a bag lunch.

My sister is also driving down around lunchtime in her new Tesla 3, ostensibly to bring me leftover wee-wee pads and dog treats. Her dog passed away last month and she is decluttering. I can always use extra wee-wee pads! She's worried that her car is so quiet that she'll have issues with the deer. It is that season after all. I tell her to get deer whistles and she runs off to the auto parts store to get a pair. My husband had them on his last car and said they worked. I think I should probably invest in a pair for my car, and another for his. Because deer are unpredictable.

This means I can't dawdle at my workout. In fact, I'll probably sacrifice a few exercises. What I don't want to give up is cardio and the pullups. And Core. Which means skipping Leg Curls and Walking Lunges, and doing a rather quick cool-down stretch at the end. In spite of little rest between cardio exercises, the pullups remain strong. Perhaps that's because I took yesterday off due to the downed power lines and tree branches. I'm perfectly happy staying home when the weather's not playing nice. Today, I even spent time on the recumbent bike because I needed to check my email and text messages. Still a good workout!

I had intended to sautee some mushrooms and onions to make a savory scrambled egg lunch for my sister. She informed me yesterday that she's gone low-carb. But when I get home, there's the stink of rotten cabbage and a mess in the hall. Again. Clean-up achieved just in time, but there's no time for a fancy scramble. (Mushrooms take a lot of time to do properly!) Plain ol' eggs will suffice. We joke that the dog should be named Garbo, as in Greta. After an hour, my sister leaves because it's a 3-hour drive, and like me, she avoids driving at night. She doesn't have glaucoma, but her night vision is poor.

I'm busy cleaning dishes and getting the laundry going before my son gets home from school. Again, I smell the awful stench of rotting vegetation. Stink bugs? It is that season! But no... Another mess in the hallway. Ugh. Well, at least this time the trailing mess was contained by 3 out of 4 wee-wee pads. I'm going through these so fast (and these are the XL size!) that I ought to buy stock in the company.

It has been suggested that the dog might be sensitive to the boiled chicken breast I've been giving him in tiny amounts as a treat. It's boiled chicken breast! Isn't that what everyone says to give to dogs with the poops? Do I need to give him white rice too? Maybe get some plain canned pumpkin. Not sure I can find any that's not seasoned pie filling. (It is that time of the year!) The kibble is "deboned chicken and oats" while packaged treats are "chicken" flavor. Some people have suggested that there might be large amounts of antibiotics or hormones in those fresh chicken breasts. But none of the (treat or dog food) companies state they use organic chicken raised free of antibiotics and hormones.

Or maybe he's allergic? Ugh. I've never had quite such a sensitive dog before. My sister brought him a blue elephant dog toy with a squeaker, but he eyed that suspiciously before turning his back on us: a true sign of dislike. Now he's going to need extra time to decompress. Especially since my husband is due home in a few hours.

Abbreviated Cardio Friday
(4.97 miles)

30 min elliptical + 5cd
Program 3
Miles 2.85
Calories 316
HR 147-200 (84, 91, 87)

Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches 60/60
Leg horizontal scissors 60
Bicycles 60
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

Cage Stretch
HGPU 22

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 114
Total steps 718
Floors 44
HR 137

HGPU 22

15 recumbent bike
Level 1 Manual
Calories 88
Miles 2.12
HR 123-133

HGPU 22

Quick Stretch

On The Fly

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled after my gym time. Normally I get an early afternoon slot, but since the office has moved to a more congested road, I decided to take the first available late morning appointment, figuring there'd be less traffic to wrestle with. That severely limits my normal workout routine, so I make today an Abbreviated Cardio Day. It's not as good as a normal Cardio Day, but it's definitely a decent workout. I can't complain!

Last night's wintry mix was evident on my windshield this morning. My hubs had to drive to Boston to be there before 8 so he left at 4 am. At least he didn't have to actually go to Houston this weekend. He was already at the airport Saturday morning when he got the call not to get on the flight because Houston wasn't ready. Then he drove home and went right back to bed. We did enjoy a great meal last night though. A friend took down two bucks and offered us some venison. I made the back strap pan-fried in bacon grease, with sauteed mushrooms and a rice pilaf. It tasted amazing!

Of course, I'm paying for my indulgences today when I get on the gym scale later (112.2). The Norwegian 4 x 4 seems easier, but I'm sure that's just an illusion. At least I'm still amused by the HR monitor where the lowest BPM reading is 87 immediately after the 3rd peak in the HIIT program. My heart rate is already at 145 when I first get on the elliptical and start pedaling for the warm up. Go figure. Admittedly, I have been extremely anxious and stressed about my lack of employment and looming bills. The dryer works okay, but I know the kitchen faucet really needs to be replaced since it leaks every time I open the hot water. It's also 25 years old and Moen doesn't make this style anymore (3-hole, single lever with soap dispenser on an above sink base). I'm looking at other brands now. And our plumber has a two-month wait list.

After the HIIT cardio, I do my Cage Stretch and then hammer grip pull ups. It's early enough that I can use the classroom to do push ups and core stuff. There's still time to add a shorter cardio session so I hop on the Octane for 15 minutes. This time I'm better prepared and take several quick photos of the screen during cool down so I can get accurate stats, not that it matters to anyone except me. Just for fun, I go back to the Cage and do another set of pull ups. These are actually easier than the first set! I stop at 20 although I'm pretty sure I could've muscled through another 2 or 3 more. When I drop down, I see a small Latina staring at me from the standing hamstring kickback machine. Her eyes are wide, like she can't believe what she's seeing. I'm guessing so few people do pull ups that seeing a woman doing any is just amazing. Really, I wish more women availed themselves of actual strength building movements besides squatting in the Smith.

hamstring kickback

The doctor's appointment is uneventful. Her office is full of new trainee staffers. One takes my IOPs and doesn't understand that if you catch my eyelashes between the device and my eye, the readings are going to be way off. And they are. I try not to freak out when he tells me that he shouldn't tell me but his readings say 22 and 28. That would be the highest readings I've have ever had in my life. He also screws up the standard vision test. The one where you read letters at a distance and then the letters get progressively smaller. He uses one vertical strip of letters. The same strip of letters for both eyes. Testing like that is worthless. I tell the senior staff that the newbies need more training. My doc takes new IOPs: 14 and 16. The 16 is a bit high, but she can't tell anything from the readings because as we all know, my numbers are all over the place. I need to have a Visual Field test to determine whether my vision is stable or degrading, whether these numbers are okay or if I need to do something more drastic. Ugh. This does not help my anxiety.

I ask her if I should cut back on my exercise? If push ups are okay? She says as long as my heart is not above my head, anything I do is fine. No decline push ups. No downward dog. No headstands. Not a problem. Tomorrow I'm going to try to do a Push Day since I'd like to put a Pull Day between Pushing and Whacking the Machine. I consider punching and kicking to be on par with a cardio push day, since even a Hook is an outward movement. Really, these are the only things I look forward to.

Pre Doc Monday

Norwegian 4x4
5 min w/u (4 min on / 3 min off) x 4
5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 30, 33
Calories 266
Miles 2.53
AHR 142 / max 176 (low 87-111)

HGPU 20

Push-ups 50
Crunches 30/30
Bicycles 50
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

15 Octane + 2 cd
Total steps 1770
Floors 28
Miles 1.29
Calories 95
AHR 127 / max 147

HGPU 20

Working for that Sweat

There is nothing more disconcerting than huffing away after a breathless 4 minutes of Tabata on the elliptical, only to find that you're barely warm. I do a full 10 minutes of cardio which included the 4 minutes of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off, and I'm not sweating. Not even a little. After a quick Cage Stretch to relax my hamstrings, I amble over to the Nexersys and pull off my hoodie. I'm not hot, but this is the one exercise that is guaranteed to soak your clothes. Today I have tape over both my knuckles because I noticed that my left hand is starting to get a bruised look. Maybe I'm my strength is starting to even out?

I only tap in 13 rounds (54 minutes) Beginner Round because I'm at the gym a tad late (let my son sleep in a bit) and then we're off to catch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 3D at the cinema next door. We don't normally see the 3D flicks, but this one starts at 11:15 am and the regular 2D showing doesn't begin until 12:45 pm. There's nothing to do in the interim except go grocery shopping but that would necessitate actually unloading groceries at home and then making a return trip just for the movies. No point in doing that!

I catch glimpses of regulars working out all around me while I kick, jab and punch the machine. The men and younger women seem intrigued, the older women intimidated. Not my problem. They can just as easily get a pair of gloves and do a few Beginner rounds.

The Turtle movie is entertaining but seems visually dark. Maybe it's the 3D but even Megan Fox seems muted and muddy. It still doesn't help at all that the theme song from Guardians of the Galaxy is STILL running through my head. Oh well. Tomorrow is Leg Day.

Next week will be a totally abbreviated workout week since there's no more camp and school hasn't started yet. Which means my son will be with me the entire week. My husband is in Boston this entire week and celebrated his 47th by taking himself out for sushi dinner. Next week he'll be in Canada. Business of course.

Tuesday Abbreviated Cardio Workout

10 min elliptical = 3 min steady state + 4 min Tabata (20 sec On / 10 sec Off) + 3 min steady state

Nexersys: 13 rounds Beginner Follow Me Avatar 
  Accuracy 97% / Strikes 99% / Average Power 135%

Photo posted for stats:

Taking a Holiday of Sorts

Tuesday is $5 movies at the cinema next to the gym. And Maleficient is playing. So I cut my workout short today. But at least I worked out, right? Did 5 slow minutes with my heart rate actually behaving as it should (110-116 BPM), then 4 min of Tabata whereupon my heart zoomed up to 154 or so. Then an additional 11-12 minutes to get my 2 miles done. A quick Cage Stretch, yes, I still have vertigo but it's better. Then 12 rounds at the Nexersys, Beginner Follow Me Avatar.

Maybe I'll start adding a few rounds of Intermediate on Thursday. I'm at the machine that has more glare but at least registers all my kicks and punches. I'm sodden by the time it's over, and my hair is long enough to pull into a funky ponytail. It's actually better in two, like pippi-longstocking but I did that yesterday. My husband likes the longer hair. As long as it's not in my face or on my neck, I don't really care. The two ponytails make me look like I'm 12.

The first showing of Maleficient is 11:30 and I have just enough time to shower and change. The second showing is at 1:50 but with a run time of 1 hr 37 minutes, I'd risk missing my son's school bus. Better to cut the workout short. I eat a Quest bar while I'm waiting for the movie to start. There is only one other person in this theatre, a woman with a little girl. It's basically a private screening. And it's a great movie to watch. I'd watch it again. And I probably will.

Tuesday Abbreviated Cardio Workout

2 miles Precor elliptical = 22:15 minutes with 4 min Tabata (20 sec On / 10 sec Off)

Nexersys: 12 rounds Beginner Follow Me Avatar
  Accuracy 96% / Strikes 99% / Average Power 139%
Everytime I hit too hard and stop the machine, my Accuracy score drops and the Strike isn't counted. Bummer.

photo for actual stats: