Catching up after my return from my trip:

Tuesday, Jan. 17:
Worked out at the gym at my company's head office in Stamford.
When I first started losing weight and working out, it was big, big step for me to enter the gym at the office. (Because coworkers would see me sweaty and panting and wearing tight stretchy workout clothing.) I had already lost a great deal of weight walking outside that spring and summer, but needed a gym as the weather got colder.

- 15 minutes stationary bike warmup, hill intervals, resistance at eight
- 60 minutes arm, shoulders and biceps with weights
(No further cardio :-( though I usually do more after weights)


Wednesday, Jan 18th:

At the Gold's Gym right near the old Studio 54, as my hotel offered day passes to this gym. I'd often glanced into these windows while on my way to Roundabout Theater productions, so it was interesting to find myself inside, working out here.

60 minutes on Precor elliptical, interval setting, alternating backward and forward, feeling bounced and jounced but not sure I got as good a workout as I get on an arc trainer

Jan. 17: none

Jan. 18: 90 minutes bikram yoga

Totals:
16 days
1050 minutes

Thursday, Jan. 19:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, aerobic intervals, upped the resistance to eight and REALLY felt it, having to grab the hand rails during the last five minutes
60 minutes back and biceps
45 minutes recumbent bike, manual, resistance at eight, trying to keep my heart rate high

It was about 10 degrees outside and the gym was quite chilly, but the sight of the dawn breaking through the big loft-like windows was worth it. Just gorgeous. With plumes of smoke rising here & there on the horizon from the many houses in this area with woodburning stoves.

Jan. 19: 60 minutes Zumba

Totals:
17 days
1110 minutes

1/19: rest day -- walked the dog and shoveled the driveway/sidewalk
1/20: wog this morning, 20 mins of 3:2 run:walk plus w/u and c/d. It was 8 degrees outside, feels like -1 according to weather.com, and there was snow on the ground. I feel like I'm super slow in those conditions, for three reasons:
1) I'm cold
2) There's snow on the ground so I have to tread carefully
3) I'm wearing like 10lbs of layers to keep me warm and feel like a marshmallow

Friday, Jan. 20th:

90 minutes "endurance" spin class, with lots of changes in position, standing upright, crouched, doing jumps, etc.


And for the second Friday in a row, when I went out to the car, it was snowing heavily. I had another tension-ridden drive home, following in other cars' tracks, sliding back and forth. The worst was at the approach to a bridge over a not-yet-frozen river, and then at the point where the highway crossed some empty fields and nothing was in the way of the wind and blowing snow. By the time I reached the village, it was clearer, but then again toward my mother's house, sliding toward the right-hand ditch, I thought I might take out an innocent bystander of a mailbox. I managed to get the car straightened out again.

This is just not very fun.

Of course it's clear and bright and all blue skies right now.

Saturday, Jan. 21st:

60 minutes arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance at nine, and this was a hard, sweaty slog

As for incidental movement, probably about 20 minutes shoveling snow before I got to the gym, and then approximately four hours walking around an indoor antique show at a leisurely pace.

Sunday, Jan. 22:

60 minutes Stairmaster stepper, aerobic intervals, resistance at seven.

This is much less than I usually do on a Sunday, but this was an unusual Sunday in that it's nowhere near a day of rest. I had to pick up a furniture shipment from Texas at the local Greyhound terminal and then go back to the antique show to get a table that I decided I wanted. I also need to get a lot of office work done on my laptop today.

Monday, Jan. 23:

45 minute spin class with the hard@ss spin instructor who teaches as though we're on the road on a real bike, talks about the "push point" and pauses for heart rate checks so that we can see whether we're at our max. And then stretching afterward.

I've decided not to renew for the next six-week session at the yoga studio because it means a second bout of exercise in the evening, and I have not been able to make myself go out again at night and have therefore not been getting my money's worth. I love it when I go, but for now, it feels like too much.

Jan. 20: none

Jan. 21: 90 minutes bikram yoga

Jan. 22: 60 minutes elliptical

Totals:
19 days
1260 minutes

So I'm back. And it wasn't that I wasn't logging my exercise - I simply wasn't doing any. DH was watching football Monday night of that week so I didn't do yoga, then Tuesday I was out late, ditto on Wednesday, and on Thursday my cycle started over (during the first two or three days of that I am miserable and don't want to do anything, including something like yoga). I also was out-of-sorts because my computer had to be sent away for service and I didn't have it to track all week. See how all that snowballed? Ugh!

So here we go again. Yesterday it was in the 40's so I walked for an hour since DH was home and I could go out alone. Today it is cold again and I intend to do yoga, though it will be light as I had some kind of stomach bug last night and would be perfectly prepped for a colonoscopy right now if I were scheduled to take one. The good news would be that I lost two pounds and checked in at my goal weight at WW this morning. Never some loss without some small gain.

Mentally I am ready to get back into the swing of things. I'm still very much on the learning curve with yoga, but I'm ready to get back into it again. It totally fell off the radar there after all that distraction. And I'm looking forward to weather that is above 40 degrees so I can go outside and walk again. That's kind of where I draw the line.

In other news, I did sign up for a half-marathon at the beginning of May so I have that to look forward to. I did one last fall with my mom (she is NOT doing it again because she got tired of the training) so this time I'm on my own, which is fine. I dreamed the other night that I ran it instead of walking but ended up with the same time as my first and I was really mad. I may try doing a little bit of running (intervals, like the beginning of couch to 5K) just so I can run parts of it if I want and not be totally sore. Yoga should also help with the soreness.

Onward!

Well, yoga didn't happen yesterday. I simply never felt up to it. But I just finished doing yoga today. Boy was I stiff! I am sure tomorrow will be better. I miss that loose, flexible feeling I had when I was doing yoga every day...

It always amazes me that it can be difficult to push ourselves to exercise, but we are ALWAYS happy we did it afterwards! I try to remind myself of that when I need an extra push.

Jan. 23: 30 minutes Body Pump, 30 minutes CX training (resistance and core)

Totals:
20 days
1320 minutes

Tuesday, Jan. 24:

15 minutes Stairmaster stepper, resistance at seven
60 minutes chest, shoulders and triceps workout, with bench presses and pushups
45 minutes recumbent bike, manual setting, resistance at eight

Though the weather was mild, the gym was nearly empty this morning. And I finally identified another source of irritation for me at this place. It's the soundtrack. It's a moody introspective college radio station. When what I want is fast-paced, upbeat, sexy & superficial commercial dance music while I'm exercising. It's so totally wrong and has to be the desk attendant's doing.