Day Six. All alone!

There may be no lonelier place on the planet than a gym at 4:30 p.m. on the Sunday of a Memorial Day weekend. I can attest to that. And I have photographic proof. In a somewhat weird “Where’s Waldo” kind of way, it’s hard to make out even me, lost amongst all that empty equipment! [...]

Day Four. Where optimism starts.

Day Four. The big day. The first time in weeks that I would actually hold a dumbbell. Ooh, the anticipation… Truthfully, I was a little bit excited. Yes, I’m a geek. I headed to The Factory, reviewing my plan in my head:  No more than 50 minutes weight-training. Baby-weights. Teeny-tiny baby weights… Only chest and shoulders. [...]

Getting the hell out of the way…

No one has ever accused me of having a small ego. Because I don’t. I have always had what I see, unapologetically, as a very healthy self-image, and it has always stood me in good stead. It is the source of my self-confidence and the reason for my lack of shyness, and it probably goes [...]

It was fun. Until it wasn’t.

Tonight, I joined Jae and Matthew in their training session with Mike at Snap Fitness. It was fun. Mike had them training chest, arms and core, but I’d just trained chest on Monday (Jae, where were you?), so he had me train legs and back. It was fun. Afterward, we chatted for a bit. It [...]

Going Heavy at the Factory.

I had a great workout tonight. It was a great way to start the week, and even though my girl Jae bailed on me, I had a lot of fun. It wasn’t busy, but there were enough regulars in the gym to make the room convivial, and having people who could spot was a definite [...]

Homeless. But Certainly Not Gymless…

So. Back in Texas. Back at home. But certainly, not back to normal… whatever normal is these days, anyway… I have to admit to feeling just a little weird in the gym since I’ve returned. Or actually, the GYMS, plural, since I have been spending some time at both The Factory and Snap Fitness – [...]

Back in Texas. Back in The Factory. Thursday October 7.

Monday and Tuesday, I was swamped with jobs that needed to be taken care of before I headed back to Texas. Wednesday was my travel day, and so it wasn’t until today that I actually managed a workout. I did it back at The Factory because Michael has gone to New Orleans for his birthday [...]

Yet another new gym. And a personal best. October 1st.

On Thursday, I noticed a sign posted at the front desk announcing that Ultimate Fitness would be closed from Friday until Monday, at which time it would reopen in a new location. In the interim, members could use the Ultimate Fitness gym in Arnprior, a twenty-five minute drive down the valley from Renfrew. Sigh. But [...]

September 21 to September 30. Catch Up.

On Tuesday, September 21, I managed a cardio session during a break from Hospice. I left my mom with both of my aunts, (her sisters), and my cousin, and headed to the gym for a quick 45 minutes. Afterward, I went back to Mom’s to feed the cats, then returned to Hospice. One of my [...]

Emotional Breathing Room

Monday September 20. Mom was failing quickly, and we all knew that the end was nearing. It had been over six weeks since I had arrived in Canada again, and exactly a month since Mom had been admitted to Hospice.  During that time,  I had spent most of my days involved in her care. That [...]