Tortitude

I am so fucking tired and sore right now. Work went by super fast which was nice. Minimal meetings which was even nicer. There's so much to do and I'm just grateful my boss is calm and reasonable with her expectations.

And then I went home. I continue to feel a little carsick on the bus ride home, which is a bummer. It passes soon after I get off, but it's a bummer nonetheless. Despite feeling a little moody and not feeling like exercise, I hauled myself to the gym and did straight weightlifting versus my regular circuit training plan. Normally I do 15-20 sets on each machine in turn, punctuated by treadmilling uphill. I just didn't feel like doing that. So I warmed up on the treadmill and did three sets of 12-15 on each machine in turn. My muscles, they did not like this. Despite taking a stretching break between sets, my muscles were screaming by the third set (which in many machines turned out to be 10-12). I finished with a very inclined treadmill set and limped off to the locker room, sufficiently thrashed.

I'm glad I did it. But I really love those workout days where the endorfin rush kicks in midway through and you feel pumped and energized and strong. Today was not that day. I'm still glad I went because I get very annoyed with myself when I miss a weekday set. I am, however, very glad that these weightlifting days are broken up by swimming.

Now, I must feed Brutus for he is yodeling up and down the halls and periodically coming into the office to rub my shin. Pete's coming over for dinner tonight and I'm making Ina Garten's Mac and Cheese. God bless food processors as cheese graters. I don't have the upper arm strength to make it through a block of Gruyere. I'm going to saute some zucchini (which I've really gotten into this summer) and we'll have leftover strawberry cupcakes for dessert.

Jeff has a meeting with the real estate agent to deal with the latest issue and I hope he's gets some good news. (Or at least not catastrophic news.) On a happier Jeff note, we booked our hotel for Ashland, and I'm doing my best to get us a Prius rental! Man, I just can't wait for this trip! Jeff has the best taste in music, so I'm really looking forward to getting a nice sample of it on our roadtrip.

OMG so tired. So, so tired. But must go grate some cheese now.

I apologize because I feel like the self-congratulatory posts are ramped up lately. I'll try to keep my tongue-baths to a measured minimum.

Doctor's visit was fine. Apparently her best guess is that my lifespan is still predicted to be normal. I've lost 4lbs, which was exciting.

Then I went to pick up Jeff from his office and explained that I needed pomme frites or I would die. To Cafe Presse! Where I ate buckets of food. Started with a simple tomato salad with some chevre and a lovely vinaigrette and some pine nuts. Then the pomme frites. And also a croque madame. Jeff got the olives in harissa and a salad with figs and a fried egg. We family-styled most of it. Also, their tiny baguette with butter is a reason to live.

Dropped Jeff off at work and went to pick up my pants and was sucked into Mud Bay to buy Brutus some more toys and some catnip spray, because he loves it! (Jeff: You can't buy his love! Me: Won't stop me from trying!) Jeff said earlier today that Brutus acts like he's died and gone to Heaven. Awwww. <3 Brutus!

And then came home. Did more work. Ate cake. Talked self out of going to gym. "I'll go tomorrow." Knowing full well tomorrow has its own busyness. Cuddled with Brutus on the bed.

And then, looking at the clock. Knowing time was really limited because I have to meet people for sushi, I grabbed myself by the scruff of the neck and hauled myself into my gym clothes before I could think of another reason to not go.

It started out less inspiring-ly. I felt pokey and disgruntled. But by the time I was done with the first set, I was getting into the swing of things. And I made it through the entire routine. Okay, I bagged on abs and that was shameful. But I'll do abs some time this weekend. I did up some of my weights. Leg press to 130 (from 110); back press to 50 (from 30); hips to 60 (from 50). I'm still a wimp on the chest press, but we'll work on that slowly.

Seriously--I love my gym.

Finally went swimming for the first time there. It was glorious. It's not the most amazing pool--but unlike the pool at Evans, I practically had it to myself. (Though, when I got there, Open Swim was finishing, but that was only fifteen minutes and I still had a lane to myself for nearly the entire time.) Despite the fact that I have approximately 384 pairs of goggles in my swim bag, I managed to forget them in my locker until I was already in the water.

Pros: I had an awesome swim. Their showers are private and enormous and fitted out with shower/conditioner/bodywash. They give you towels and hair dryers.

Cons: I forgot how toxic chlorinated water is. My hair, despite conditioning, feels like straw left out to burn in the sun. My skin is deeply unhappy, even though I moisturized.

I figure twice a week--I can suck it up. I need to go buy that chlorine-neutralizing shampoo that costs $15/bottle and remember to keep it in my gym bag.

Also, bonus for having a ready snack at home. I remember how much swimming ramps up one's appetite. (Small children are at risk.) There's no way I'd survive through making dinner.

I realize I may not always feel this twirly about the gym, but I'm trying to make it as pleasant an experience as possible to encourage something resembling endurance. Too hard--and I just won't go. And while I'm sure there's some measure of Too Easy, I'd be bored with that. So I'm going to try to stick with my instincts on what's enough to start with and reevaluate in a few months instead of loading up some absurd amount and quitting in a week.

So, this morning's meeting with the trainer was AWESOME. I really, really love this gym. Which is half the battle sometimes, I think. The staff has continued to be friendly and competent. It's just awesome. The whole place has a really great ambiance. I used to belong to Sound Mind and Body and it was cramped and the vibe was just different. This place had serious people working out and doing their own thing. I feel comfortable there.

Rose, the trainer, was just perfect. I knew we'd get along when after some of the initial assessment questions about my fitness goals, we overlapped each other saying:

Me: So as much as I'd like to lose weight, my principal goal here is to be really fit and toned and strong. I'm not interested in ever being twiggy.
Rose: Absolutely. So, what you're saying is...
Me: ...I want to be able to beat up boys.
Rose: ...You want to be able to hurt people.
Me/Rose: YES!

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