Less Talk, More Do

I finally got another appointment with the glaucoma doc after spending nearly an hour on the phone. While I'm not happy that any eye surgery carries enough risks that cannot guarantee better vision, at least I have a better understanding of the procedure. Apparently my left eye has a slight astigmatism, which can be corrected with a special lens. This is the eye I've decided to do first. I'm still on the fence about doing my "good eye," the right eye with the perfect vision but slightly worse (yellow-tint) cataract.

If anything, I'm leaning toward seeing how the left eye fares, and then maybe doing a full glaucoma surgery on the right eye instead of cataract replacement IF the left eye seems to have issues with scarring. I scar easily. And even though the doc says each eye is different, my pressures match most of the time, and my vision is only off slightly between the two (20/20 vs 20/15).

I'm not at all thrilled by the prospects that I can go through all this, and pay for a big chunk of it, and still have issues with my IOP, which means my glaucoma continues to advance. No one looks forward to blindness.

I get to the gym around noon. It's not crowded. My plan is to whack the machine today, Pull Day tomorrow, and Cardio on Thursday. I'm still having some issues with the angle of the Jab and Cross pad so I'm not hitting as hard as I normally do. After my 7 rounds at Beginner level, a middle-age fellow timidly comes up to ask me if this makes me tired. It's kind of a weird question. I tell him, "No, not really" because it doesn't. I'm sweaty, but I can go for a few more rounds. He asks me how often I do this and I tell him once weekly. Clearly he's impressed and says I'm a professional. "No, this is just for fun," and it is. What I should've said was, "The gym owner can show you how to use this machine if you like." Because he whacks it at least once weekly. I decide to do a few rounds at the Intermediate level. But only 3 rounds because I find this machine vexing. Maybe next week I'll switch to the other machine for the Intermediate rounds, even though it still has a dead Power Dig sensor and is losing some of the Kick sensitivities.

I see a young woman at the Stretch Cage reach up and grab the roof bars so I half-expect her to do a pull up. But she doesn't and I'm disappointed. I have to squelch the desire to do pull ups now. Because I did them yesterday and I'm trying not to aggravate my elbows. It's blisteringly hot and sunny and the weather app says we're under a severe weather and tornado watch. What?! The sun disappears, clouds blow in and the sky looks threatening. In the locker room I snap a few photos, and see my father staring back at me. He always looked very stern because he thought smiling meant no one would take you seriously. I always remember him saying, "Less talk, more do" when he wanted us to actually do something. Makes me think of Yoda...

Whacking Tuesday

10 elliptical
Calories 97.2
Miles 0.85

T, Y & I Raises
3lbs x 15
5lbs x 15

Mid Band Pulls 15
High Band Pulls 15

Nexersys
7r Beginner 4FM 3Sp
3r Intermediate FM

Happy Year of the Fire Rooster

It's Chinese New Year, aka, the Spring Festival, which traditionally lasts for 2 weeks. It's also the start of the Year of the Fire Rooster, which is suppose to reward hard work and patience. Uh, we'll see. I've got a pot roast in the slow cooker today, but last night we went out for Chinese food. Of course my son and husband ordered sushi, but I got dumplings and noodles. Traditionally, you eat dumplings for wealth because the meat-filled dough symbolizes coin purses of money, and you eat long noodles for longevity. Yes, lots of superstition among the Chinese... but it's fun.

Yesterday I whacked the Nexersys kickboxing machine for 15 rounds. Not continuously as I always take a few minutes between each session to wipe the sweat off my face and blow my nose. I knew my accuracy wasn't going to be stellar when I managed to loosen the right pad of the machine with an excellent Cross during the Beginner rounds. Oh well... And then the machine got me back by not registering some of my blows. I did blank the machine a few times as well. But I'm always happy when I'm able to draw up enough energy for the final round and really whack the machine. I always feel as if I've won no matter how the machine scores, (instead of walking away exhausted and beaten). That in itself energizes me for the next exercise — elliptical.

I don't have a lot of time so I only do 20 minutes of Performance Program 3. Then I stretch a little, and grab the roof bars for pull ups. I can only get to 36. Only. Strangely, even though my shoulder and elbow bother me when I wake up, they don't pose any problems while I'm actually exercising. It might be the adrenaline and endorphins, or it might be just that activity helps with the soreness. I know that movement helps with anxiety, and I feel much calmer when I leave the gym. Maybe I'm just too tired to care?

Anxiety (and self-medication) seems to be on the rise according to all the media. Overwhelming stress causes us all to seek relief in an assortment of ways, from non-stop gaming to food and alcohol addictions, prescription medications and meditations... Some days, I think back wistfully to when life was so much simpler, when the future seemed inevitably bright. But there's no turning back the clock to when healthcare was affordable and a savings account actually accrued interest. Even though we have health insurance, we can't really afford to use it (even for routine items) due to the high deductibles. Chain stores are laying off employees. For Sale signs dot the residential landscape. Tolls and fares are rising. Now, I keep my doubts to myself, and hope for the best because I don't want to pass my anxiety on to my son. An Alberta Clipper promises to drop more weather on us next week. My hubs will be in Houston, then Boston. At least the dog is feeling better...

Friday Workout

10 min elliptical
Calories 92
Miles 0.82

Nexersys
5r Beginner
5r Intermediate
5r Advance

20 min elliptical
Program 3
Calories 186
Miles 1.66

HGPU 36





Photos posted for actual stats: