Gym!

Not for anything much, but it is important to get my Cayman routine set up right. World Gym is only a few minutes' walk away from Brent's condo and it is a very pleasant place to work out, I have no excuse! And I do like leaving the house to do the PT exercises, since I am home so much of the time otherwise. So:

did PT in rather awkward location (then realized that there IS a whole stretching area on second floor, I will use that next time) by the small free weights area upstairs. Then just did minor trial upper body things (almost nothing, and I am WEAK!): 3 x 10 floor press with 20lb dumbbells alternating with 12 skullcrusher at same weight (which is not really heavy enough). 10 mins exercise bike, fine at first (and position was right) but right LB starts to ache as I get close to ten minutes, so switched to elliptical for 10 more - it is NOT nearly enough cardio but it is better than nothing and I will start with the elliptical next time.

Slightly giving up on local sea swimming for now, it's warm and a bit gross - will have a longer swim tomorrow at Sunset House when we are there for Brent to volunteer at the Stroke and Stride (usually I volunteer as well if I am not participating, but I am selfishly going to use the chance to get in a swim in nicer sea location), ditto following 2 Wednesdays, but I don't think I should count on morning sea swim as regular cardio.

Monday 30/PT

30 as 1:1, PT. Have just shut kitten out of bedroom so that I can get some quick work done at the keyboard! (Presence of kitten obviously swayed me away from going to Cafe del Sol for the usual morning work session!)

PT and short sea swim!

It's not my optimal swim workout situation, I like the structure of a pool and the heat and salt water make it a little less enjoyable than it might be, but it is RIGHT here, I am so lucky! Thinking about whether Camana Bay masters swim might be available - under the circs, the RT walk might be considered salutary part of exercise, though the walk back post-swim and after the sun comes up is a bit much (also not sure how safe it now is for pedestrians to cross the highway!). Something to ponder, anyway...

PT and quite short sea swim

Friday/Saturday

Alas, no yoga yesterday, the inactivity/sitting/missed PT of earlier in the week left things all kinda lit up - I did PT early Friday morning and it was clear to me that yoga was contraindicated. Talked myself out of early-morning swimming (because I'd already showered, under the impression that I'd do yoga later - no, this was NOT a sufficient reason, hopping in the shower for quick rinse is not a big deal) - then later it was a downpour with thunder and it was clearly not going to happen. Stern thoughts on run this morning that I must do the cardio first thing in the am whether or not it is a run day! (We are right on the beach, I am not super-keen on this stretch for swimming - it's very safe, very shallow, rather too warm - but it is super-easy to access, with a funny-shaped pool to warm up in if I want to do some drill, and the gym is 1 block away. I have no excuses!)

Anyway, very nice early stint of 60 minutes as 1:1 jog walk. Had a huge smile on my face throughout, it's so nice - lizards and baby chicks and beautiful flowers and greeting other runners and cyclists with "Good morning!"

Thursday Cayman report

OK, back on track now I hope. Sunday I just did PT, Monday and Tuesday I really knew would be a wash (didn't even do PT, ugh - Monday was getting out of the apartment in a fashion that left it visitor-ready and transporting cats and luggage to Philadelphia, Tuesday was PHL-MIA-GCM with only about 3.5hrs in the air but a total of 16 hours from door to door!). Got in so late Tuesday night that Wednesday also suffered (and it's "cleaner day," which necessitates "cleaner exile" - then I slept the whole afternoon, I was utterly wiped out).

This morning did force myself out of bed at 5:45 and get in my 50 as 1:1 before the sun was too high in the sky. Did PT exercises at home in the afternoon. Still figuring out what exercise schedule is going to be like - I am going to try yoga tomorrow for the first time in a while and see if it will work with modifications or perhaps not.

PT + 50 as 1:1

Saturday!

It is my birthday, and I am in a good mood. Humidity unusually low yesterday and today; have sorted out all my prescriptions after second trip back to the pharmacy this morning; I began the day with a lovely meet-up with a dear old friend of mine from grad school days who I haven't seen in probably fifteen years, and have just had my statutory PT and "run" - today it's FORTY as 1:1, starting to build back up! PT is done, I'm leaving on Monday, I clearly need to do (at least most of) these exercises forevermore. But being at Brent's for five weeks will really let me put back in more things, test yoga, etc.

(Friday was just PT exercises at home and then my final PT appointment, with some intense stretching and pressing/pummeling.)

Thursday

Slightly regretting having blown my day on soothing exercise (and then Uber ride home stresses me back up again due to traffic - NYC is impossible, I might need to leave - I mean, I AM leaving soon!...), but it was really great. 75 minutes of restorative yoga, very nice, got to say thanks to the teacher afterwards. Bite to eat in the cafe, minor digestive interval, then an extremely pleasant swim as follows:

Warmup: 100 swim, 2 x 150 as kick-drill-swim by 50 (1st back, 2nd free), 100 RaLaCuBa (500)

Main set: 3 x 250 as 100 easy free, 75 kick-drill-swim back, 50 free build, 25 free hard (750)

50 easy swim down and hot tub dunk

Mid-week catch-up

Monday: designated rest day from exercise, but I also didn't do my PT exercises (have let the 2 things get unduly tied together).

Tuesday: early doc appointment in midtown compromised sleep (but my back is doing SO MUCH BETTER! Just had 48 hours pretty much pain-free - putting in this pillow underneath my side while sleeping was the last important piece of the puzzle and has made a big difference). Meant to go straight from midtown doc to Chelsea Piers to swim, but inevitably forgot to bring swim stuff (was leaving apartment at 7:15 when usually I don't even wake up properly till about 9:30!). Dozed some, important conference call re: Ottawa business, did do PT in the end but didn't manage to get to the gym for a bike.

Wednesday: PT, then the alloted 30 as 1:1! Which I now see could have been 40 if I had only looked at my training spreadsheet! Woo-hoo, we're starting to build back up again a bit more....

Catch-up

Hmmmm, seem to have missed some days of logging....

Friday: complicated day schedule-wise, did PT exercises in the morning and had an hour of PT in the afternoon (very good) but no actual exercise, alas. If I don't do it before PT session, it won't happen after. (But the washer-dryer is in!)

Saturday: PT exercises and my precious 30 as 1:1! High point of the week. Did I really not log it here?

Sunday: PT exercises and went over to the Columbia gym (couldn't make myself go there the other day, but really I must just have been in overload mode, it didn't feel stressful making it happen today), 15 mins bike, it is still not happening for me pain-free. Adjusted position as per PT's rec last week, started out OK, but as soon as I started a higher-cadence interval I had sharp discomfort in glute and building ache in hip. Back to square one on this - PT sensibly said (yes, I guess I kinda ignored it, I didn't mean to) get to 20 minutes and then 30 minutes pain-free before I try and do anything that's not absolutely easy, and that is what I will do.

One more week in NYC! Office declutter is still ongoing but my apartment is really almost ready for me to leave it. Have a bunch of library books that I need to skim/take notes on/return, that's the one other biggish thing....

Thursday!

Good day. Just about made it to 10:30 restorative yoga, which really hit the spot today: I wasn't having allergies that made my face want to explode (or right-nostril breathing impossible), my back is much better and no longer twanging even in rest positions, etc. Ate a salad and finished reading Naomi Novik's extremely good new novel. Then had PT on pool deck and a nice swim as follows:

Warmup (500)

100 easy
2 x 150 as kick-drill-swim by 50 (back, free)
100 RaLaCuBa

Main set (500)

4 x 125 as 25 back, 100 free, concentrating on long smooth easy strokes

Test: 50 fly as drill-swim. Hmmm, maybe I can start adding a little of this back in - it would make sets more appealing....

Cooldown: 50 easy back, 100 free

1200 yards total

Wednesday

Exercise went haywire when at the 8min mark of proposed 30 as 1:1 I got the beep for voicemail (ambient noise prevent me from hearing ring I guess) saying that appliance delivery truck was less than 15 minutes away - raced home, got there in time, but I ordered the wrong machine, so they had to take it away again! Take two on Friday. That was kinda it for me as far as exercise goes today as I was supervising effort of getting all the STUFF in my apartment that I am getting rid of over to campus for first day of donation event. Need to go back out now for the evening so that kind of is just going to have to be it for today, got no vim left for anything surplus to minimum requirements...

Beautiful swim!

Monday is rest day, I just did PT (and there was some misc. walking). Tuesday: very nice swim! May try and bike for a bit before I leave the gym (about to eat and set up with work in cafe, first day I have had like this for so long!), but might be that one thing was enough for today.

PT on pool deck, then:

warmup: 100 free, 100 RaLaCuBa, 4 x 75 kick-drill-swim (odds free, evens back)

main set: 2 x 300 as (2 x 50 easy, 2 x 50 moderate, 2 x 50 as 25 hard, 25 easy)

cooldown: 50 easy back, 50 easy free

1200 yards

Sunday

Sunday: had walk in the park instead of bike (but I need to get over the hump of not wanting to set foot in the Columbia gym, it is foolish, it is RIGHT THERE), then did PT. Only two more weeks in NYC!

Catch-up

Thursday: did restorative yoga, bad allergies and knowledge that I had forgotten keys and would have to deal with that when I got home did NOT make for best class ever, did PT on pool deck afterwards but no other exercise. Overheated en route home, that plus key fiasco (fault of declutter - keys in a bowl are not as noticeable as keys splayed out on dining table!) led me to cancel assistant session and huddle in bed for much of afternoon and early evening!

Friday: short version of PT exercises before a BRILLIANT PT session. This guy is really good. Things are getting better but still a ways to go. My run (shuffle) gait on treadmill got seal of approval. We experimented with position on stationary bike until I found one that didn't trigger (mild but noticeable) sciatica. My task is to get up to 20 minutes on bike totally pain-free, then thirty, before I add in any interval work. This is extremely sensible.

Saturday: The heat wave broke! Did my 30 as 1:1 in the park, area around top right quadratus initially quite lit up from yesterday's soft tissue work and stretching, that warmed up but other stuff twanged a bit, I have to be patient - but it was BLISS out there, 65F, sunny, low humidity - a gift!

Tuesday, Wednesday

Tuesday I just did PT - schedule mismanagement on my part, but by the time I'd done my office book-moving session, even mostly just supervising, everything was sore and achy and it didn't make sense to try for anything (also, HEAT). Today I got a late start but it didn't matter. Taxi to gym, pool deck PT and a nice swim. I feel sheepish that it's such a small number of yards, I think of 2000 as a sort of minimum workout (the way 3 miles is for a runner - not that I have been running three full miles on my 30 as 1:1), but important not to overdo it - no pain now but everything does feel a bit tight on that right side.

Warmup: 400 as 100 swim, 100 RaLaCuBa, 100 back alternating double-arm and full stroke, 100 alternating catch-up and free (400)

Main set: 2 x 300 as (100 easy, 2 x 50 back-free by 25, 4 x 25 hard on :45) (1000)

Cooldown: 2 x 75 as easy kick-drill-swim (back, free) (1150)

Monday back-at-it

Saturday and Sunday were a wash - it was a VORTEX of memorial activity. Did PT on Saturday but not on Sunday (only got about 2 hrs sleep and hosted this drop-in brunch Sunday - about 20 people - I casually host after misc. academic stuff at that kind of number but it's mostly graduate students who do not at all mind standing around with, usually, beer and pizza - but this is an adult crowd with higher expectations - I am happy to say it went really well - once everyone left around 2, I went back to bed and slept for four hours, AND slept a good night's sleep too - I was exhausted!).

Today: PT, 30 as 1:1. Decided not to go downtown to restorative yoga as it is just TOO HOT outside and I felt the quiet morning at home in air-conditioning was clearly going to be better for me. Will get down there for swim and/or bike tomorrow I think.