My life at the gym - Week 1

I went to the gym 5 days in a row last week. I still don't believe I did it but some of my muscles do... The week went like this (all the while trying to keep up with all the other hats I wear!):

Monday: 35 minutes on the treadmill and 1.8 miles; 20 minutes on the bike and 2.3 miles. Not bad. Feel pretty good.
Tuesday: 35 mintues on the treadmill and 1.95 miles; 15 minutes on the eliptical and .92 difficult miles, but I made it and my heart didn't stop beating! Evil machine!
Tuesday evening after standing in classes for 4 hours: why do my calves hurt so much? Ah, the eliptical machine. Made mental note to stretch more. Soaked in tub.
Wednesday: Bike: 1.4 miles in 10 minutes - ready for abs, back and weights for upper body. Ben is becoming my personal trainer and showed me all the excercises I need to be doing for abs, back and upper body. He, of course makes it look easy! He's good - he doesn't push but doesn't let me slack off either! Stretch! Abs and Weights: did 3 reps of 12 or 15 of most everything. Not bad. Why do my calves AND my hamstrings hurt now? Remember to stretch. Shopped all afternoon with the kids. Went home, soaked in tub, applied Tiger Balm. Stretched. Hobbled around all afternoon. Applied heat and more Tiger Balm (a miracle ointment - the patches are awesome if you can find them!). Applied more Tiger Balm and an Icy Hot patch to my lower back (like Shaq), took two Aleve, went to bed.
Thursday: My hands, feet and face DID NOT hurt - most everything else DID. Soaked in tub, applied more Tiger Balm. Reluctantly went to gym. Warmed up on the eliptical for 8 minutes for .63 miles and the bike for 10 minutes on rolling hills for 1.5 miles. The bikes have evil seats and my tailbone must be the skinnest part of my body because it is now raw. Ouch! Legs still hurt. Did ab and back work. Went home. Took 2 Aleve, applied heat and Tiger Balm. Stretched. Repeated several times before bed.
Friday: TGIF! Legs feel better today - still very stiff. Lots of stretching. Warmed up on treadmill for 10 minutes. Screw the bike until next week - my tailbone is still raw! Did ab, back and upper body work. Treated myself to new pants to work out in because I survived the week! Leg soreness was much better by Friday - a little soreness in my back and arms but not bad.
Saturday and Sunday: Legs are much better. New muscles in my arms that I didn't even knew I had are sore! Taking Saturday and Sunday off - Looking forward to Monday!

Growing Older But Not Up! -- ACT II

Oh my goodness - I turned 50 last week! Amazingly it didn't hurt too much!

Celebrations commenced on March 10 with a wonderful group of friends that John and I used to work with - 4 of us are March babies so we had an "Allotta Birthdays" celebrations which was great fun. On March 12 the baby of the family and his wifey came home after 5 years in the Army and 2 tours to Iraq - that in itself was cause for celebration! We wish they would stay forever but we know that won't happen so we will just enjoy the time we have them with us while Jeongah (Alexa) finishes her last few college courses and they gear up for the next stage of their life together (Ben has a milestone birthday this year too - he and Alexa both turn 25!

March 18 was double celebration day - the cast of our current murder mystery threw a surprise after show party with the help of my dear friend Loretta and then it was off to Casa de Logue for more celebrating with John, Loretta, my John, Ben, Jeongah and Claudia.

March 20th brought a package from Mom and Dad (John's parents - but mine too!) which included a hilarious book "Sex Kittens: Single Cats Seeking Same". Laughed until I cried.

On March 21 there was a pre-birthday dinner at Red Lobster.

March 22 (5-0 Day) there was just enough time for breakfast muffins as a gift arrived (a 2007 Alaska Iditarod (AWESOME) Fleece from John) which was just in time to take with me to the Ventura Harbor where the 4 of us (the kids and us) went on a whale watching tour! On the way there Ben and Jeongah gave be a beautiful picture book entitled "Gray Matter - Why It's Good To Be Old" which has some amazing photos of elephants with cool quotes to go along with them. There was also a cd that they put together for me called "Mom Mix" which has some great songs from over the past 50 years!

On the boat the sea was very rough and choppy - just the way I like it - and cold (my new Polartec fleece was AMAZING!). We didn't see the first whale but saw THOUSANDS of dolphin - Fabulous! The captain wished me a happy birthday over the loud speaker (thanks to Ben) as we docked back at the harbor then we went to Macaroni Grill (compliments of our cast and friends - thank you) and had a wonderful dinner and Ben arranged for them to bring me cake with a candle in it - the perfect ending to the meal!

When we arrived home there were two packages waiting - one was beautiful roses from the love of my life, John and the other was a YUMMY (and beautiful) Godiva basket from Mik and Sina. I am savoring that one bite at a time! The only thing that would have made the day more perfect is if they had been here!

Thanks to all my friends and family for helping to make this birthday a very wonderful and memorable one!

So... Act II, as I am referring to the second half of my life, promises to be just as exciting as the first half but (I hope) or at least that is my goal.

Some of the things that I hope to achieve in the next year include:

Getting Fit - I just joined a gym Monster Fitness (if you live in the AV check it out)! Losing weight would be a nice bonus but the focus is moving, keeping my bones strong and making my muscles stronger so I can keep up with Hamlet, hike with John and the kids...

Spending time enjoying my Family and Friends

Volunteering on the Iditiarod Trail next year - or at least getting to see the official start...

Attending at least ONE Jimmy Buffett concert...

Having a FUN and SUCCESSFUL year of camps this year - can't wait!

Challenging myself to do new things, have new adventures and LIVE!

Stay tuned.....