arghhh. phooey! i knew i forgot something when i rushed out of the door this morning. i was planning to go swimming, so i have my suit, flipflops, contact lenses, combo lock... but i neglected to bring my goggles! aaaaargh. and i dont have my other stuff here, so. foiled workout day. unless i squeeze something before my radio show prep at 8pm, or after 10pm (yawn).

however, my arms are aching pleasantly today.

last night i went to the small workout gym in the stata center, and there's an annoying sign-up system for the cardio equipment, with a 30-min max + no consecutive slot signup policy. i managed to do the elliptical for 25 min before the next person poked me and 'reminded me' that he had the machine after me. thanks, i can see the clock CLEARLY on the wall in front, and you are seriously bugging me at 3-minutes-til-the-hour.

[my heartratemonitor was flaking out for a minute or so. as i was warming up it got stuck at 122 for a while until it suddenly kicked in and then jumped to like 137 at once. hopefully this is just a fluke, or a sign of low batteries. i dont want to deal with replacing the thing quite yet...]

i then did some exercises on my arms with dumbbells. bicep, tricep, front-of-bicep (whatever that's called, looks like you're doing the mashed potato in slo-mo), flys (wingspan out), and chest press. also a fav, deadweight pull where you feel it all the way through your body, arms, back, glutes, legs. maybe next time i can try the machines for lat pull-down, leg extensions, and leg press. i followed up with some ab work, though i wish i knew if i was doing it correctly - my neck/upperback gets a tad achy, which i know is not right.

i've decided to invest my new activities (and go shopping!)

1. speedo swimsuit



my current suit (TYR, basic black with blue and white piped edgings) is getting kind of old and saggy with wear. some of the inside material (sandwiched between the outer and inner layers) seems to be disintegrating in patches, leaving various degrees of coverage along my body, especially when wet. this probably isn't good.

so, hence the new suit. i'm convinced the stripes will make me swim faster. ;)

2. bar method body dvd set



shamlessly plugged by dailycandy. i think this is one of the few times i have ever been lured by direct email 'marketing'. scary, huh. however, i think this paired with cardio will be good.

one thing... on the bar method website, it says "Avoid running, however, unless you absolutely can’t live without it. Running strengthens your heart and lungs, but over the long term it beats up your knees, hips, back and face." whaaaaa?

3. new running shoes, new balance 470.

versus

my current pair is the NB 703 model (on the right, except in a much more tasteful grey+skyblue combo), which (i learned from epinions) apparently was discontinued and then reincarnated as the 470 (on the left).

mo' support! mo' footlove!

so with all of this, plus time, plus energy, plus costs to pay for classes, locker rentals, etc. finding time to be fit (if one's everyday schedule is pretty sedentary) is quite a splurge! well, the more i invest, the more i will value the time...