Days Fifty-Eight and Fifty-Nine – Reset, People, Reset, OR, MY FIRST EARTHQUAKE!

Thursday’s Schedule:
• Beach Walk/Run (2.5 miles; 1 hr)
• Stretching (1/2 hr)
• Abs/Core (1/2 hr)
• Swimming (44 laps, no fins, 1 hr)
• 30-minute cardio
• Massage
• 1-on-1 session (1 hr)
• Cardio & A Movie (“Bride Wars”)

Friday’s Schedule:
• Circuit Training (1 hr)
• The Dunes (8 climbs, 2 hrs)
• Massage
• 1-on-1 Session (1 hr)
• Community Meeting

I awoke Thursday morning feeling only somewhat renewed after my day of playing hooky, BUT my left arm WAS feeling a lot better. There was still some discomfort but it was not ever-present. It was a lovely morning, too, so I was looking forward to the beach walk/run. The tide was very low and it was comfortably cool, so the conditions were perfect (i.e., hard, flat sand). We had just under an hour to do the exercise this morning, so if I was going to do any jogging, I was going to have to do more than usual. Well, I guess I really was feeling better, ‘cause I did a 5-minute jog without stopping, and then, I don’t know what got into me, but I did a 10-minute jog. Whoooaaaa…where did that come from? And THEN, I took about a 3-minute walking break, and jogged another 10 minutes all the way to the end and up the soft sand (I need to come up with a new term for that kind of “jogging” in deep, soft sand at an incline) to the sidewalk, returning to the van. And my arm was fine. My calf muscles, however, were still mooing very loudly. When we returned to the gym, I had a half-hour to spare so I gave myself a good all-over stretching session. You really should stretch every day. I’ve always been flexible (hah hah, tell your single, male friends) and thus touching my toes or touching my head to my knees or doing perfect splits has never been a problem, but this morning, my calf muscles were fighting all of it. The stretch did help, however, and I had less difficulty then usual with the abs/core workout which was next. I also think that taking the day off on Wednesday did me a lot of good. I needed the rest not only physically, but mentally….I truthfully didn’t want to be around anyone that day. I get annoyed with all the chatter that goes on when I’m working out….it interferes with my concentration, whether I’m concentrating on a spot on the wall so that I can balance or just so that I can think about keeping proper form. BUT, I can’t expect everyone to keep their mouths shut just for me, as the gym does not revolve around me after all ;-) So, I feel like Wednesday was a day to press the “reset” button.

I hadn’t been swimming in two weeks since doing strokes aggravated my arm, so I was a LITTLE bit nervous about swimming. Nevertheless, I stepped in and gave it a go, but slowly. Happily it hurt only a little bit; I just took a break to massage the sore spots each time I returned to the start. Thus, I only did about 44 laps. I even tried the “arms only” swimming and that wasn’t too bad. I really want to get back to working on upper body so that I can remove all that back fat. Yuck! When we returned to the gym I had a couple of hours on my own for lunch and a break, so I did an extra half-hour of cardio. I started using a machine that I’ve not been on ‘til now (mainly because I was apprehensive about trying it). It’s like an elliptical and a stair climber all together, but you don’t use your arms. I don’t like the traditional elliptical that requires you to use your arms ‘cause I bounce around and get dizzy ‘cause too many body parts are moving! But this machine was pretty good, didn’t bother my aching muscles, and kept my heart rate high enough. This is the machine that Nicoletta from New Jersey was always using, so since she’s gone now (looking fabulous, by the way), I’m gonna put my name on it ;-) After this I had my massage with Nina, and she is continuing to work on my left arm and shoulder issues. The knot in my back isn’t causing pain but it is still there. I’m not sure what Nina did, but at one point the feeling in my left index finger actually came back! I was ready for the next workout with Schuyler, and I wanted to do some upper body work. Well…just to make SURE I was ready, Schuyler had me do these pushup holds – it didn’t hurt my shoulder at all, but MAN! I still have to work on my abs/core strength. I had to hold them for a minute. Did them three times, and each time the position became more difficult. Damn, that was hard. We did other stuff, too, all very difficult, but all meant to determine if my shoulder could take it…and it could. No pain afterwards, so I’m very relieved about that. Now I can get back on track. With less than 4 weeks to go I have to make up for the last two weeks.

The movie for our Cardio & A Movie night was “Bride Wars” with Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. It had apparently just come out on video on Thursday. Truthfully, I was not interested in this movie. Fourteen years ago I had already been through the process of planning a small, inexpensive wedding which did not happen, so whenever I see movies or shows that turn that sort of thing into a comedy, I think it’s stupid. I’m not planning another wedding again, that’s for sure. If some lucky guy wants to marry me, if he has the ring, I’m going to say, “c’mon, we’re going to Vegas.” THEN we’ll have a big party afterwards. Anyway – the movie – it was well acted and had good dialogue. Admittedly I didn’t pay complete attention to it. There was one line in the movie which I caught, which was “Reset, People, Reset” – hence the name of Thur/Fri’s blog.

Fridays means THE DUNES. Ugh. I still hate them, even though I am determined to conquer them. First we had circuit training. I’ve mentioned before that I like to have the workout before we start ‘cause it engages all my muscles and warms me up for the climbs. It wasn’t sunny and was cool so I got started right away. You know, I WANT to at least one more climb than I did the previous week, but today, after the 6th climb, I was mentally drained. PLUS my calf and thigh muscles were still aching from Monday’s stair climbing – geez, I hope they improve over the weekend ‘cause I have to do it all over this Monday. I thought I had enough time for one more so I did it, but this time on the side of the Dune that is a little less steep at the bottom and more to the right, so I wasn’t bothered by anyone. This side, however, was actually steeper at the top, and the sand was not as deep, so it was really just as hard as the main part of the Dune. Grrrr. I did my usual 40 to 50 steps at a time, then took a breather, and made it to the top. I took my time descending ‘cause I really wanted to be sure I didn’t have to do another. But NOOOOOO!! Marco caught me at the bottom and said there was enough time for another, so begrudgingly I did it. I barely did the 7th climb so I don’t know how I got that 8th one out of me. And, I hate to sound so negative about this, but I just didn’t give a sh!t that this was one better than my previous record. I despise this exercise, and I’ve decided that I do prefer the Santa Monica Stairs over The Dunes. What really annoyed me later on, too, was that another camper hates The Dunes so much she didn’t do them. Instead she climbed some stairs that are next to the Dunes and walked and jogged a little bit around the neighborhood – and burned nearly 300 more calories than I did (this person is only a few years older than I and weighs a bit less than I do). So, I was pissed, really. I could have been doing something else that I would have liked for 2 hours and burned more calories than doing this miserable exercise? Great, just great. I need to say something positive here, though…Maxime, only 18, was required to bike 9 miles to the Dunes (including an unbelievably difficult hill), do as many climbs as she could in an hour (she did EIGHT), and then bike BACK to the gym. I was REALLY, TRULY very proud of her, and while I was going up and down and seeing her plugging along, it made me feel good.

Back at the gym and after lunch and a motivation talk from Eric the Owner and after another massage, I had a 1-on-1 session with Eric. He focused on rehab exercises for my shoulder and then some core work. I was able to do all the exercises except for one which caused my arm to go numb. Then we finished up with the yoga ball balancing. Recall that my goal is to be able to balance on the ball with one knee and one hand down with the opposing knee and hand in the air. I’ve pretty much mastered balancing on all fours and with one hand in the air, so we’ve moved to just balancing on my knees while my body is upright. This means that I cannot sit on my feet….my thighs have to be up, too. I did it first for about 30 seconds I think. Oh, man, this burns your thighs! I was not expecting that!! But I wanted to try again, so after practicing the 1-hand-1-knee stance on the Bosu Ball, I got back on the yoga ball. OK, guess what…I held it for a minute! I REALLY need to get a photo of this. I can’t get over how much this makes you sweat! You have to tighten your glutes and your abs and your quads and keep your back straight and that is a WORKOUT! Anyway…it was the very last thing I did today and I was thrilled. Next week we’ll move on to the harder stance…I determined to have mastered it before I leave, and I have only 4 weekends left (including this weekend).

After the love fest (I mean, the community meeting), I headed home, accompanying Pat from Illinois who just arrived today. Just 2 weeks ago he was in Iran for the National Guard and he will be with us for 2 weeks. It’s nice to have another person my age at the camp…we 40-somethings are few and far between ;-) I had shrimp jambalaya for dinner. Ok, those of you who’ve had MY jambalaya know it’s the best AND I refuse to eat anyone else’s so-called creole or Cajun food unless the chef was trained in Louisiana, trained BY someone from Louisiana, or is FROM Louisiana. But, when I saw shrimp jambalaya on the menu, I felt I had to give Chef Robert and his crew a chance. It was not bad! It wasn’t as good as mine, of course. I personally prefer Ham & Sausage Jambalaya over Shrimp & Sausage Jambalaya. And something about brown rice just doesn’t go well in jambalaya. I find it’s best to use sticky white rice. If someone can come up with brown rice that mimics sticky white rice, I will use it. I’m thinking about making a pot of jambalaya on my last weekend, using Turkey Ham and Turkey Sausage, and giving it to the staff (since we, the campers, are on a meal plan). If you think about it, jambalaya is not an unhealthy meal. There’s no fat added; the fat comes from the proteins (sausage and whatever). The chopped tomatoes and chilies might have too much salt; I’ll have to check the can next time I see it (which could be 3 weeks from now since I have no need to go to the grocery store). The tomatoes are full of lycopene, which is good for you. There are onions and green onions; also very good for you. Gosh…all the ingredients, except for the white rice, are good for you! OK, anyway…I was also writing my blog for Thursday and Friday while feasting and I felt the table move under my arms and the chair move under my butt. At first it seemed like a giant, heavy truck had passed by, but I’m not close enough to the main road to have felt that. The vertical blinds are waivered, too. It lasted less than two seconds, but it was enough to make my heart rate zoom. Too bad I wasn’t counting calories ‘cause I’m sure in that moment I burned more than the usual at resting rate. I wasn’t really sure that I was actually experiencing a tremor because I’ve NEVER experienced it before, but a few minutes later it was confirmed on the local news. At 6:10pm Pacific-time there was a 4.0 quake in Southern California, just a few miles away, but far enough that I only felt the tremor. Omigosh…you know, I have ZERO earthquake preparedness. Let me know that a hurricane is coming and I’ll have everything I need in less than an hour. But an earthquake? No way, baby. It was very disconcerting to feel my chair shifting beneath me involuntarily!

As I finish up for Thursday & Friday, I must send my condolences to one of my first cousins, Josh. His paternal grandfather passed away this morning. Josh was displaced to Michigan after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans, sunk his house, and forced his employer to shut down. Josh was so valuable to them, however, that his employer transferred him to Michigan where he has been settled in a house with his wife, Lana (also from N.O.). Josh had just been home in New Orleans over Easter to visit family, including his grandfather, and they had had a really wonderful visit. I was so glad to hear that. My thoughts are with Josh and his Aunt Patsy, his father Dennis, and his grandmother, Joan. I hope they all have many happy memories of Sam and will honor his memory by living a life in which Sam would be proud. I hope all of YOU are living a life in which your deceased loved ones would be proud. I don’t always succeed, but I think for the most part, my brother and grandmothers would be proud ;-)