There And Back Again

It's been a month since my last post here, and even longer since my last Rivendell update. Well, I've not only returned to Bag End, I've gone to the Grey Havens to see Gandalf, Bilbo, and Frodo off with the elves and gone back to Bag End with Sam! And am now on my way to the Lonely Mountain with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves. And have gone over 7,000 miles!! Total miles so far: 7042.573. A combination of walking, riding both stationary and outdoor bicycles, and ellipticals. A YMCA membership that I used in 3 different Y facilities (my home Y was Lakewood, but I also used Van Nuys and Fullerton), a hotel fitness room, a cruise-ship fitness room, and my home 24-hour Fitness. Plus a couple of home treadmills and some charity events both walking and riding.

Quite the Difference

The Y is a quiet place, with no music being broadcast into all the rooms, whereas 24-Hour Fitness blasts the staff and customers with an obnoxiously loud sound system.

There are also 3 different kinds of ellipticals there, one of which is lower-body only, while one of the combined upper and lower machines could best be described as the bastard offspring of an elliptical and a stair-stepper. On the more traditional machine, the rise is higher and the stroke shorter than the LifeFitness machines at the Y, so these are going to take some adjustment. I'm also seriously missing the fans that help keep the cardio rooms cooled down at the Y.

Ever since I got the bike(s), I don't spend much time on stationary bikes, but they do have both the upright and recumbant styles

Four TVs in the section of the cardio area where the ellipticals and bikes are located, one on some morning talk show, one on ESPN, one on Faux News, and one on some game show; I didn't pay any attention to what the TVs in the other section (treadmills and traditional stair-steppers) were showing. The TVs gave me something to look at besides the panel on the machines while I was listening to my music.

2008 Week 27, June Recap, and 2008 The First Half

2008, Week Twenty-Seven
Monday, June 30: morning bike ride for 12.84 miles.
Tuesday, July 1: home treadmill for 1.01 miles; morning bike ride for 15.45 miles.
Wednesday, July 2: home treadmill for 0.46 mile (treadmill stopped and wouldn't start again); morning bike ride for 15.44 miles.
Thursday, July 3: home treadmill won’t start; morning bike ride for 15.12 miles.
Friday, July 4: morning bike ride for 18.48 miles; walking around 4th of July celebration venue for 0.5 mile.
Saturday, July 5: morning bike ride for 21.64 miles.
Sunday, July 6: morning bike ride for 23.79 miles; upper-body (and hip adduction and abduction machines) workout at Y.

Distance from Bag End: 2617.12
Arrived in Minas Tirith with Aragorn partway through Saturday’s ride and jumped back to Rauros to join Merry and Pippin.
Distance to Isengard with Merry and Pippin: 316.88
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June Recap
Walk: 11.90 miles (May: 7.19) (even discounting the Downtown Anaheim 5K the mileage increased slightly)
Elliptical: 6.60 miles (May: 1.25)
Bike: 347.29 miles (May: 421.26) (the bike was out of service for 3 days in June)
Weight Training: 2 Upper-Body workouts (May: 1 UBWO)

Goal for July: increase all distances, increase the weight training.
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First Half of 2008
Walk: 82.02 miles
Elliptical: 46.16 miles
Bikes: 1,533.23 miles (7.29 miles of that on stationary bikes)
Weight Training: 17+ times (I don't have a count for January)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

…or, The May 2008 Recap.

The Good: 421.16 miles on the bike.
The Bad: Down only 3 pounds (and that's for the last two months, since I missed the May 1 weighin because I was sick!). Even so, I recently had a co-worker tell me she can see that there's less of me.
The Ugly: I did finally manage to get to the gym today, but mostly to kill time. But this time-killing visit meant the Ugly wasn't quite as ugly as I'd originally expected it to be, and that was zero trips to the gym! Since I was in Orange County and nearer the Fullerton Y than the Lakewood Y, I went there. This facility recently underwent (in fact, is still undergoing, since they're still working on the new gymnasium) a massive renovation, and it's just gorgeous! Looks like all new equipment, and I'm unfamiliar with the workings of the strength-training machines (these aren't built by Cybex—or at least, don't have the Cybex name showing anywhere on them), so my upper-body work wasn't my usual. And after a 31-mile bike ride, using the lower body equipment just seemed kinda redundant. I also spent a few minutes on two different kinds of ellipticals, and wouldn't mind the chance to become more familiar with both of them (and I'm allowed to use this Y up to three times per month). Didn't get a close look at the treadmills, but they look quite fancy, too.

Totals for the month:
Walking (outdoors and treadmill): 7.19 (April: 16.68)
Elliptical: 1.25 (April: 3.08)
Bike: 421.26 (no stationary bike time) (April: 215.36)
Strength Training: 1 day of upper body (April: 4 days of upper and lower body)

The biking distance rocks! But it's the schedule change at work which allows me more riding time in the morning. All the others suck out loud. But it's the schedule change at work which is keeping me from the Y. I sure will be glad when I can turn the new guy loose and get back to my old schedule, even though that will mean cutting back on the bike time. And there's just plain no excuse for the poor showing on the treadmill in May (except for the first week, when I was sick). I gotta get cracking on the treadmill, since the Downtown Anaheim 5K is less than two weeks away!

March Recap, April Goals

March recap:
Walk: 18.41 miles (February: 11.92)
Elliptical: 2.63 miles (February 11.64)
Bike: 257.20 (total miles on stationary bikes: 0) (February 186.17; February miles on stationary bikes 0)
Total: 278.24
Cybex Circuit: 6

How I did: Nice improvement in the walking and the biking, but a very poor showing indeed on the elliptical! In fact, the elliptical could be considered a complete flop! Improved performance on the Cybex circuit, too, but need more improvement in the form of making certain I get to the Y at least twice each week.

April Goals: Increase all three distances. At least twice weekly on the Cybex circuit. Increase sets on Cybex circuit.

And in the really good news dept: the monthly weigh-in showed a loss of 5.75 lbs for the month of March, which puts me below 260 for the first time in I haven't a clue how long.

2008, Week Nine Review, February Recap

All in all, a far better showing this last week than in too long a time!
Monday, February 25: Home treadmill for 0.70 mile, morning bike ride for 7.61 miles, and the full Cybex circuit at the Y.
Tuesday, February 26: Home treadmill for 0.82 mile, morning bike ride for 9.25 miles, and the elliptical at the Y for 3.02 miles.
Wednesday, February 27: Home treadmill for 1.06 miles, morning bike ride for 11.23 miles, and the full Cybex circuit at the Y.
Thursday, February 28: Home treadmill for 0.90 mile, morning bike ride for 8.35 miles, and the elliptical at the Y for 3.21 miles.
Friday, February 29: Took the day off from the treadmill, but the morning bike ride was 8.12 miles. No Y because Fridays are always late nights at work.
Saturday, March 1: My first attempt to join a BikeForums.net group ride that failed in that I didn't get started early enough to meet the group at the At Rivers End Cafe in Seal Beach, but I did see them as I was heading south toward the cafe and they were on their return journey (some to the Rose Bowl, others to Encanto Park). But though I failed to meet the group, I did put 20.42 more miles on the bike.
Sunday, March 2: Lazy day today, since it was All-Day Open Stitch Class at the LNS, and I didn't plan on doing much. But since I arrived early, I pulled the bike out of the van and put in a couple more miles before class. I'll have to get that mileage later, since I didn't record it in my ride log and can't remember the exact distance right now. 2.52 miles.

Total mileage for the week: 75.20 (plus today's bike mileage). 77.72
Distance from Bag End: 1187.19 (plus, of course, today's bike mileage). 1189.71
Distance remaining to Rauros: 141.93 (less today's bike mileage). 139.41

February recap:
Walk: 11.92 miles
Elliptical: 11.64 miles
Bike: 186.17 (total miles on stationary bikes: 0)
Total: 209.73

March Goals: Increase all three distances. At least twice weekly on the Cybex circuit. Increase sets on Cybex circuit.

Events this month: The Tour de Sewer on the Ides of March. 30-mile bike ride.

After the bike ride on Saturday I took the bike over to Jax in Long Beach (the nearest cycle shop to where I was) and had another adjustment made to my saddle position, but of course the ride this morning wasn't enough to give the new setting a good test. Tomorrow's pre-work ride should give a fair test.

I've also joined the Shave Your 5K Challenge, so I'll be working to increase my walking speed before the Coaster Run next month.

2008, Week Two Review

Oh, but this was a sucky week! What is it about putting your vehicle in the shop that is so damned dispiriting? Especially when it turns out to be expensive. Shouldn't I have been at the gym getting it all out?
Monday January 7: Started off the week well with morning and evening stops at the gym, 2.27 miles on the elliptical and then the Cybex machine circuit.
Tuesday January 8: Zip, zilch, nada.
Wednesday January 9: Zip, zilch, nada.
Thursday January 10: A single pathetic stop at the gym, 1.82 miles on the elliptical. Admittedly, I did punish myself in the little time I had that night at there—5 minute warmup at Level 3; 5 minutes in Reverse at Level 3; forward again for 5 minutes at Level 3; 5 minutes at Level 5; 5 minutes at Level 7; 5 minutes Cooldown.
Friday January 11: Zip, zilch, nada. And for no good reason. Not even a bike ride before work, which makes it even more disgusting.
Saturday January 12: Why on earth do I need a "rest day" for such a pissy-assed slothful week? Well, okay, I did give myself 0.10 mile of walking credit for all the errands I ran.
Sunday January 13: didn't go to the gym, but I did cruise over to Yorba Regional Park in East Anaheim/Yorba Linda and rode for 20.03 miles. Beautiful little park with lots and lots of bike/walking trails, a no-bikes 5K trail (no, I didn't take advantage of this, though goodness knows, I should have!), and multiple access points to the Santa Ana River Trail. I even ventured out onto that for a short distance. I really should have gotten the regular bike shorts instead of the baggy bike shorts; it's still a bit chill out for riding in shorts, even on such a gorgeous day as today was, and the regular bike shorts could be worn under something else without looking pretty damned silly.
Totals for the week: 5.09 on the elliptical; 0.10 walking; 0 on the stationary bikes; and 20.03 on the road bike. Overall, 25.22 miles.
Currently 867.30 miles from Bag End and 409.30 miles from Rivendell. We've left the Mines of Moria and entered the woods of Lothlorien.

DGN Lisa, my stitching and general life blog is over at Gathering Place.

2008, Week One Review

As I said in my earlier post, the weather's just too nasty for a real bike ride, so I did all my work today at the Y.
Monday, December 31: 0.61 on the home treadmill.
Tuesday, January 1: enough wandering around that I generously credited myself with 0.10.
Wednesday, January 2: 0.90 on the home treadmill; 1.13 on the elliptical at the Y; and an outside bike ride of 5.05.
Thursday, January 3: 0.93 on the home treadmill; 2.38 on the elliptical; and an outside bike ride of 5.35.
Friday, January 4: 1.07 on the home treadmill.
Saturday, January 5: day of rest.
Sunday, January 6: 3.2 on the Y treadmill; 7.29 pm the indoor bike.
Total mileage for the week: 28.01
The treadmill at the Y today seemed to think that a 60-minute walk was enough, so it threw me into Cooldown before I completed my 5K. I tolerated 1 minute of 2.5mph cooldown, stopped the treadmill, wrote down my mileage so far, then restarted at 3.0mph to complete the last .24 mile of the 5K. Then I let it do a cooldown. Anyway, warm-up and unintentional cooldown included, my 5K took 66 minutes. My own fault I'm not doing better than that, as for the last two Sundays I've opted for long bike rides rather than hitting the gym (or, better, doing both).
I can't get to the Walk to Rivendell site to update my shields, but I am now 86 miles away from Lothlorien.
ETA: I finally managed to get in. I've updated my shields and checked my location: I'm in the Mines of Moria, near Balin's Tomb. Sometime in the next few miles, we'll lose Gandalf to the Balrog.

Weekly Report

Wow, a week's gone by already?
Saturday 15 Dec: rest day.
Sunday 16 Dec: Managed to bump the magnetic safety key thingy about a mile and a half into my treadmill time, and my poor grammarian's brain can handle adding .25s and .50s and .75s but gets stretched when it has to do the other stuff like the .28s, so I figured another 40 minutes would get me at least to 5k, and I was right: 3.46 miles on the treadmill. And then 13.26 on the stationary bike.
Monday 17 Dec: Actually hit the home treadmill for .83 mile to start the day! Then the Y in the morning for 1.07 (only 18 minutes including the 3-minute cooldown, so I chose a higher level than I'd normally use) miles on the elliptical to warm up again for the weight-machine circuit. Then the evening stop put 9.45 miles on a bike.
Tuesday 18 Dec: Only managed to put in 30 minutes on the elliptical, for 1.68 miles, on the morning stop, then 1.8 miles on the treadmill for the evening visit.
Wednesday 19 Dec: 25 minutes on the elliptical for 1.47 miles and this time kicked up the final four minutes before cooldown to Level 8! And the weight machines.
Thursday 20 Dec: 25 minutes at Level 4, alternating forward and reverse in 5-minute blocks (so yes, that's 10 minutes going backwards!), then 5 minutes (forward) at Level 5, plus cooldown, for 2.20 miles. The evening treadmill lasted 40 minutes, with 5-minute blocks of time spent at 2.5, 3.0, 3.3, 3.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, and 3.0 mph and a 3-minute cooldown, for 2.06 miles.
Friday 21 Dec: .80 mile on the treadmill at home because it was payday, rent day, and the last banking day (I bank at a credit union) before a major holiday, so I knew I would have to skip the Y. And, of course, it turned out to be the day I picked up my new bike.
Saturday 22 Dec: normally a rest day, but a friend was laid off Thursday and when the four of us were at breakfast Saturday morning, we decided that three of us would hit her gym with her membership and her two guest passes. So 1.5 miles on an elliptical I didn't like at all—ours at the Y have a shorter rise and a longer stride, so those differences were throwing me off my stride. And a little time spent on the weight machines. But then my friends, who don't spend as much time at the gym as I do and who've never been particularly athletic anyway, pooped out before I could get through the whole Cybex circuit. Oh well, a little is better than none at all, and I missed Friday's weight circuit with the banking and the bike-buying, so this helped make up for that.
Sunday 23 Dec: Normally I hit the Y on Sundays for a little mindless biking and walking, but today I opted to take my new bike out to the bike paths at El Dorado Regional Park in Long Beach instead, for 10.4 miles. I had a ball, and will probably go riding Christmas Day, too! I'll just have to remember to bring along some water.

Current mileage on the Walk Beyond Rivendell: 776.42. It's 143.58 miles more to Lothlorien.

I really had a lovely time at the park, but the parking's outrageous! $7 on weekends to park in the lots on the east side of the park. There's free parking on the west side, but no bike paths on the west side and no really good access, that I could see, from the west side to the east side via bike. (The park is divided on the north-south axis by the San Gabriel River, which also has a bike path, and something like three or four times on the east-west axis by major streets.) Maybe I'll go over to Featherly Park in Yorba Linda/East Anaheim on Christmas.

Another Week Done

I guess if I normally hit the gym five days a week on the way to work and also as many as four times each week on the way home from work as well as most Sundays, I think I'm entitled to blow off the occasional Friday morning stop, right?
Tuesday AM: 35 minutes on the elliptical, 2.40 miles
Tuesday PM: an hour on the treadmill, mostly at 2.5mph but also 15 minutes at 3.0, all at an incline of 3.0, 2.68 miles
Wednesday AM: got there later than I should have, so although I did get the whole weight-machine circuit done, I only had 10 minutes on the elliptical to get me warmed up. That was all at Level 4; 0.92 miles
Wednesday PM: on the bike for an hour, 10 minutes at Level 7, 10 minutes at L9, 5 minutes at L11, 10 minutes at L9, and 5 minutes of cooldown, 9.56 miles
Thursday AM: 40 minutes on the elliptical, back to the 10 minutes of Level 3 forward, 5 minutes L3 reverse, 5 minutes L3 forward, 10 minutes L4 forward, 5 minutes at L3 with two of those minutes in reverse, and 5-minute cooldown, 2.51 miles
Thursday PM: a total of 50 minutes on the treadmill mostly at 2.5 and 3.0 mph on a 3.0 incline, but with a few short periods at 3.1 mph (3 at one minute each and 1 energetic burst of 2 minutes), 2.30 miles
Total mileage from Bag End: 726.44 (268.44 miles from Rivendell toward Lothlorien).

Gettin' Back in the Groove

Well, okay, I took it easy on myself this morning and only did 20 minutes (plus 5 cooldown) on the elliptical, and all of it forward and only Level 3. But I also got through the weight circuit for the first time in over two weeks. And tonight I got a bit more energetic on the stationary bike: 10 minutes at Level 7, 10 at L8, 5 at L9, 5 at L10, 5 at L11, then down to L9 for 5, down to L7 for 5 more, then the 5-minute cooldown. Over 11 miles in that 45-minute ride!

I didn't check the whole total, but that definitely puts me up over 700 miles from Bag End.

Envy!!!!!!

The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head earlier this week, and yesterday at the LNS had it roaring. Hearing Melissa's tale of her bike purchase just made it all the more agonizing that I don't yet have one. And after listening to her tell of the craptacular treatment she received at one of the bike shops nearest us, I didn't feel even the tiniest smidgen of guilt when I asked the young man at that same shop to haul a couple of different bikes down off that rack (unfortunately, only the middle rack, not the top-most one) for me to take to the parking lot to test the adage that you never do forget how to fall off a bicycle.

Well, okay, I didn't really fall off! But the smallest frame size is definitely too small. I was still looking at the Sedona at that shop, so both of the two sizes I test rode were that model. Then I headed over toward the Y, but ended up going on over to Carson Cyclery, the shop near work, to talk to Katie and Steve again. Katie set me up with a Giant Cypress W rather than the Sedona, since she believes, and I now agree with her, that this one will suit me better for accompanying Terri and Melissa on training rides and for doing my own riding. I plunked down a payment, taking advantage of their three-month layaway plan, and Katie said she'll also honor the free-gift offer that they currently have running. I'll definitely need a helmet, and I'm thinking of some kind of basket or something for carrying stuff, and maybe one of those snap-on/snap-off fender sets so I can ride through puddles without showering myself. And a cable type of lock, of course. The bike I'm buying has a dark grey-easing-to-beige finish on it.

Still easing back into workouts at the gym. Today I took a nice leisurely stroll to nowhere for a full hour, but kept the speed to 2.5mph, and held steady with the 3.0 incline. A leisurely bike ride to nowhere, too, though I did get a little more energetic with that, spending a total of 55 minutes (plus 5-minutes cooldown) on the bike mostly at Level 7 but with a 15-minute stretch at Level 8.

Latest Report

Monday 11-19: 40 minutes on the elliptical, at the same ol' same ol' 20 minutes at Level 3, 5 at Level 6, 5 at Level 3, 5 at Level 6, and 5 cooldown. 2.64 miles. Then the weight-training circuit. After work I stopped by and spent something like 30 minutes on the treadmill bouncing back and forth between 2.5 and 3.0 mph at an Incline of 3.0. 0.82 miles.
Tuesday 11-20: 8.75 miles on the stationary bike, but I didn't get out of the office early enough to make a repeat visit.
Wednesday 11/21: didn't get to the gym at all, but I don't remember why. Lazy, I guess.
Thursday 11/22: Y was closed for Thanksgiving Holiday. Worked on my holiday cards all day.
Friday 11/23: 40 minutes on the elliptical, at the same ol' same ol' 20 minutes at Level 3, 5 at Level 6, 5 at Level 3, 5 at Level 6, and 5 cooldown. 2.85 miles. Then the weight-training circuit. Didn't get away from work early enough for a return visit.
Saturday 11/24: day of rest.
Sunday 11/25: Back to my normal "wear myself out because the only time constraint is when the gym closes" Sunday. This time I went for the treadmill first. Set the Incline for 3.0, but the machine told me when I was done that my average incline was 2.5. Baffles the heck outta me, 'cause I never touched the Incline setting! Anyway, today I decided that I would go for a minimum of 5k, instead of arbitrarily stopping at 60 minutes. The first 5 minutes I spent getting warmed up, working up to 2.5mph. Then I alternated 10 minutes at 3.0mph with 5 minutes at 2.5mph until I reached 60 minutes. I kicked it up to 3.5mph, but only held that for 2.5 minutes, then dropped back down to 3.0. My 5-minute cooldown consisted of 2.5 at 2.5mph, then 2.5 at 2.0. It only took about 65 minutes to do the 5k. Total mileage: 3.33. Then an hour on the bike, starting at Level 7, then up to Level 10, down to Level 9, down to Level 7, up to Level 9, and the 5 minute cooldown that drops to L2 and then L1. 12.24 miles.
Total mileage from Bag End, through Rivendell, toward Lothlorien: 658.57.

Day One...

…of the new program was today. Met with Terry yesterday (Saturday) and was congratulated profusely not only by Terry but by anyone within hearing range. Don't know yet what kind(s) of congratulatory goodies are involved beyond the certificate of completion. Terry said this was her first finish in this particular Y.

The last day of the 12-Week Fitness Program was spent on the elliptical and the weight machines. I managed 2.75 miles Friday, and moved the level up one step. So, same old program for the elliptical, but at Level 3 and Level 6 instead of Level 2 and Level 5. Still only spending 5 minutes in reverse, but my speed is definitely increasing. Not as fast as forward, but better than it was.

Today I spent an hour on a bike ride to nowhere for 12.64 miles. Twenty minutes at Level 7, 5 at Level 10, 5 at Level 7, 5 at Level 10, 5 at Level 7, 15 at Level 9, and finally a 5-minute cooldown. Then an hour on the treadmill, bouncing back and forth between 2.5 and 3.0 mph, all at Incline 3.

Monday I start work 3 hours earlier, so I'll be getting up 3 hours earlier and hitting the Y three hours earlier. The cool thing about this shift is being able to stop at the Y on the way home, too. At least some nights. I'm sure not going to count on using the after-work time for my main workout; it'll just be used for extra time, like maybe getting back on the treadmill on a more regular basis. Even if I leave the office right at 8pm, by the time I get to the Y there's only about an hour left before they close.

A Week? Already?

Wow! Can't believe it's been so long since the last update.
Friday (11-9) was the usual cardio and weight training, continuing the "new" routine (which is now not so new). 2.92 miles.
Saturday (11-10) was my day of rest. Spent it at the LNS at the all-day Open Stitch Class, and Melissa and I walked the 1/3 or so of a mile to the restaurant and back during our lunch break. So I generously gave myself a half-mile of walking credit for the day. Not that shabby for a "day of rest."
Sunday I ended up not making it to the gym because friends invited me to lunch, then I went to run an errand and ended up having to visit two other stores to get what I needed. By then, it was too late to get to the Y. The main disadvantage to using the Y is the limited hours when you compare it with places like 24-Hour Fitness and Bally's. No walking credit for shopping.
Monday was pretty much a repeat of Friday, but with only 2.91 miles.
Tuesday (11-13) I got "lazy" and went for an hour-long bike ride to nowhere. 25 minutes at Level 7, 15 at Level 9, 5 at Level 10, 5 at Level 9, 5 at Level 7, and a 5-minute cooldown. 11.94 miles.
On Wednesday the battery in the MP3 player died and I discovered that rechargeable batteries have to be charged before use. 2.82 miles on the elliptical with the "new" routine and then the weight circuit.
Thursday I got to the gym and realized I'd forgotten to charge the batteries, so I went over to the CVS just up the block a bit and purchased a pack of batteries. Returned to the gym, got changed and ready to get to work, and found out the batteries had passed their freshness date. So it was a lonely journey, with just the machines to listen to. The same old "new" routine on the elliptical, for 2.99 miles, and then went for a walk to nowhere for the rest of the time available to me, for an additional 1.21 miles.
Total mileage from Bag End: 618.11
Mileage from Rivendell: 160.49
Current number of Shields: 24
This Saturday I meet with my trainer again, for the final week of my 12-week fitness program (and it's only taking 14!). Not sure when I get my completion certificate, or if this will be the meeting in which we establish my on-going fitness plan. After this the meetings will be quarterly. And yes, the rechargeable batteries are charging.

Fair Start…

…to the week. Could have been better, but then I'd still be dealing with electrical-system issues in my van if I hadn't taken Monday off from the gym to get that taken care of. Today I decided to vary my elliptical routine a bit and after 10 minutes at Level 2 going forward, 5 minutes at Level 2 going backward, then 5 minutes at Level 2 going forward again, I spent the next 5 minutes at Level 5, then 5 minutes back down at Level 2, then the final 5 minutes before Cooldown at Level 5. On the bike today, I spent 25 minutes at Level 7, then the final 5 minutes before Cooldown at Level 9. Tomorrow is weight circuit day. Have I mentioned how glad I am to have the van's assorted issues resolved and to be back at the gym?

Because of the van issues last week and because I'll be spending Saturday at the LNS at the all-day stitch class, I've scheduled my last meeting with Terry for the 17th of this month. Then there's one more week of the 12-week program left to do. And it's only going to take 14 weeks to get done! I'll get a certificate of completion and then set up a new fitness program that will have me meeting with a trainer every three months.

And it's because of the van issues that I'm having to put a hold on my bike acquisition. October was an expensive month, and the registration's due in December. At least I don't have to smog it this year! Although it'd certainly pass quite handily this time around.

I'm a Loser!!

Okay, so I don't recall exactly what the scale's ugly and depressing figure was last month, nor whether I weighed myself with or without my shoes, so I don't know how much the actual loss was. But it was somewhere between 7 and 10 pounds. And considering that I missed 4 days at the gym last week because of transportation issues, I think that's pretty darned good! For the record, it was shoes-off this time.
Finals for October:
14.85 miles walked on treadmills
121.11 miles on ellipticals and stationary bikes
135.96 total miles
555.95 cumulative miles from Bag End by way of Rivendell
As for today, I arrived a bit later than I'd originally planned, so again no time in the pool or spa. And again went for just stationary bike and treadmill. An hour on the bike, with 50 minutes at Level 7, 5 at Level 9, and the 5-minute cooldown at both Level 2 (2 minutes) and Level 1 (3 minutes). A full hour on the treadmill, too, with a bit over 8 minutes at 2.6 mph, about 44 minutes at 2.8 mph, and a hair over 7 minutes at 3.0 mph. And like last week, I opted not to take the whole 5-minute cooldown because the last couple of minutes are less than 1 mph. All but the cooldown period was at an Incline of 2.0.

Weekly WrapUp

And, given the kind of week it's been, likely to include some reruns.
Monday: skipped the gym for some more pre-work errands. Which means two consecutive weight-training days skipped.
Tuesday: late start, so just the elliptical, 35 minutes at Level 2 and a 5-minute cooldown at Level 1; 2.84 miles.
Wednesday: another late start, so the elliptical, 35 minutes at Level 2 and a 5-minute cooldown at Level 1; 2.70 miles. And the weight-machine circuit.
Thursday: A little bit better showing, with an earlier arrival at the gym. Elliptical, 35 minutes at Level 2 and a 5-minute cooldown at Level 1; 2.74 miles. Stationary bike, 15 minutes at Level 7 and a 3-minute cooldown at Level 2; 3.54 miles.
Friday: Elliptical, 35 minutes at Level 2 and a 5-minute cooldown at Level 1; 2.69 miles. And the weight-machine circuit.
Saturday: rest day.
Sunday: Wear myself to a frazzle day: no time on the elliptical, but the Stationary Bike for 35 minutes at Level 7, 5 minutes at Level 8, 5 at Level 9, then a 5-minute cooldown at Level 1; 10.11 miles. Treadmill at Incline 2.0 and 2.5mph for 60 minutes, followed by a cooldown of only three minutes, because the first minute of cooldown dropped the incline to 0.0 and 2.0mph, the second dropped the speed to 1.5mph, and the third dropped the speed to 1.0mph. But when the speed dropped to 0.5mph, I decided that was just too damned slow and shut the machine down. 2.57 miles. Then I opted out of using the pool and/or spa, changed my clothes, and came home.

I'm now 553.14 miles from Bag End. That's a bit over 100 miles past Rivendell. I also increased my time on the elliptical to 35 (plus the 5-minute cooldown) this week, so all the (pre-cooldown) elliptical time was at Level 2.

Sunday Roundup

Catching up:
Friday: Had a bunch of errands to run before work so I skipped the gym, thinking maybe I could squeeze in a visit on Saturday. Ha.
Saturday: The best-laid plans… Spent the day having my van worked on, and they still aren’t finished, so I’ll be taking it back next Saturday.
Sunday:
Elliptical: L2 for 25 minutes, L3 for 5 minutes, + 5-minute cooldown (L1); 2.57 miles.
Stationary Bike: L7 for 40 minutes, L8 for 5 minutes, + 5-minute cooldown (L2); 9.91 miles.
Also decided to spend some time in the pool, so I changed into my suit, stuffed my hair into swim cap, doused myself in the shower, then went into the pool. For about 5 minutes. I'm sure it’s all—or at least mostly—in my head, but I felt the water was pressing in on my chest and my breathing was nowhere near smooth and relaxed. Kinda hard to swim when you’re feeling like that. And it’s literally been a couple of decades since I was last in a pool. Baby steps. Climbed out and parboiled myself for about 10 minutes or so in the spa.
Current mileage on the road to Lothlorien: 525.95.

One of the stops I made on Friday was a bike shop. Much as I’d love to have a Trek bike, they’re just a bit out of my price range right now. So I'll be looking closer at the offerings at WallyWorld and KMart. WallyWorld carries Schwinn and Roadmaster. I like the looks of the Schwinn Avalon, but the women’s version comes in a purple that tends toward the red range, though not closely enough to be a true red-violet. That is just so not my color! The clerk said the men’s version is green and pointed to another bike and said, “Like that,” which turned out to be about DMC 699 or 700, or perhaps 910ish, but I don’t think it was that blue a green. I could live with that. But I’ll keep looking. I was so intent on the Avalon model that I didn’t really pay much attention to the Roadmaster bikes. I also need to see what KMart carries. And maybe Sears, Target, and Jacques Penné. I can’t see spending the bigger bucks for the Trek bikes if I don’t know how much time I’ll actually be riding. At this point, it’s certainly not going to be more than two days a week—Saturday and Sunday—if that.

Mid-Week Update

Monday:
Elliptical: Level 2, 30+5 minutes, 2.18 miles
Weight Circuit
Tuesday:
Elliptical: Level 2, 30+5 minutes, 2.26 miles
Stationary Bike: Level 7, 25+5 minutes, 5.67 miles
Wednesday:
Elliptical: Level 2, 30+5 minutes, 2.34 miles
Weight Circuit
I keep forgetting to mention that starting on Sunday, I increased the "reverse" time on the elliptical to 5 minutes.
Total mileage from Bag End: 513.47
Location on the journey: 55.47 miles from Rivendell. We'll soon reach a stream and turn west on the trek to Moria.