Cat's Exercise Diary

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Yes, I have a gel seat on my bike. It's better than a standard bike seat but I guess there's only so much that can be done with bike seats. I have a recumbent exercise bike and it has like a regular chair seat, it's wide and cushy, and I think I've been spoiled by that. :p I'm learning that my real bike and my exercise bike are very different!

I also apply Calmoseptine cream to the backside before any workout session, bike or otherwise, to try to keep things happy back there and prevent chafing. But even that wasn't enough to prevent yuckiness from happening on my ride yesterday. I've heard that there is a such thing as padded bike shorts, and I think I am going to look around and see if I can find a pair in my budget. I'm sure that will not be a very cute look, but if it saves me from further butt troubles then it'll be worth it.

Yeah, it seems short dogs are not good swimmers in general. They have this thing here at the end of every summer, before they close the public pool for the winter they take the chemicals out of the water and let people bring their dogs as a fundraiser for the local K-9 police dogs. The people aren't allowed to swim but the dogs are, it's really cute. We brought our dog to it 2 years ago, we had never taken her swimming before so we wanted to see how she'd do. Right away we bought her a life jacket, but even so my dog clearly was not having fun in the water - she tried, but she hated it. There were other corgis there and they were not good swimmers either. My neighbor's corgi jumped right in but couldn't swim and my hubby had to fish the poor pooch out of the water! The dog was fine, just a little waterlogged. :p I saw basset hounds and daschunds that were not even attempting to swim, I guess they were smarter than the corgis.
 
I've never seen a dog that "couldn't" swim!!

You just need some more junk in the trunk Cat!! Stop exercising so much and you can have some built in padding!!
 
Cat - that's hilarious! I'm glad nothing happened to your poor pooch, but I'll bet it was funny to see the poor Corgis trying to swim. I'd imagine if I took my dogs to a swim like that, they'd probably embarrass me by trying to play with the other dogs rather than swim.
I've seen the padded bike shorts - they have them at Scheel's All Sports around here, and Cabela's I think as well. I've thought about checking into them myself, as I don't have much padding in the backside myself and my lady parts hurt on the seat! I don't think they look too funny, they are made to still be fairly stylish I think. Maybe just give you a little ghetto booty look? :p
 
Ha ha, Mark! I am a skinny girl but I have, as one former friend once put it, "a butt that's too big for my frame". :p The booty has gotten smaller since I've been exercising regularly, now it's about just right for my frame, but it's not small or bony or anything. I'm definitely not one of those skinny girls with no butt. The trunk has enough junk. :p

Mccindy, I giggled at the ghetto booty line! :D Too funny. I'm going to check around and see if I can find some of those padded shorts - hopefully the padding is fairly discreet for the reasons mentioned in the above paragraph, as I don't need any further fullness back there or it will definitely look like a ghetto booty! :p Yikes, ha ha.

Ugh, it's raining here again. I did weights yesterday and felt really good, stronger than usual. Had hardly any reflux too which is always nice! The rain is light today so the arthritis is just making itself known a little bit, but even so I'm going to do yoga tonight. I was hoping to take the kayak out on Saturday, but they're saying rain then too. Boo! And it sounds like we're going to visit the in-laws on Sunday, so I think a nice long gym session beforehand is in order to pre-de-stress. I don't usually work out in the mornings but I'll make an exception when I need to.
 
ahhaaa I'm laughing at this padded shorts convo! :p

I wouldn't fancy padding out my bum, I think its fine as it is. But for practical reasons I get where you are coming from. I mean, say you are going from your house out on the bike and straight back again, that would be fine. I wouldn't fancy it for a day out though, if you actually got off your bike.

I suppose it might be ok if the padding is on the bottom, kinda underneath, I'm quite small so I dont reckon anyone would notice. Ahahaha.... Imagine you got groped or something and the guy realises its not all your bum!!!
 
I know they actually make pants that have booty padding in them! I guess if you were going to get off the bike and walk around, you'd want to have a long shirt that would cover the butt pads? Lol!
 
Eek! Ha ha. I think if I got padded bike shorts I'd wear a skirt or something over them so that it wouldn't be obvious. The thought of booty padded pants that are not for bike riding, that's scary! And yeah, LMV, I would not want to wear padded bike shorts anywhere but while on my bike. I wouldn't wear them if I was going to be doing any walking/standing/anything besides bike riding!
 
Update 5/10/13: I'm exhausted today. It's been a long, stressful work week! I can't wait to get to the gym. I did yoga last night and it kind of sucked. :p My balance was all off, I just couldn't do much of anything. I don't have very good balance to begin with but it was worse than usual yesterday. I'm not sure what's up with that. Anyway, I got through it, but it wasn't pretty.
 
Cat, I'm sorry to hear you're not having a good day. :( Hopefully things go well at the gym and you get a nice endorphin rush to boost your spirits! Hugs.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
Eek! Ha ha. I think if I got padded bike shorts I'd wear a skirt or something over them so that it wouldn't be obvious. The thought of booty padded pants that are not for bike riding, that's scary! And yeah, LMV, I would not want to wear padded bike shorts anywhere but while on my bike. I wouldn't wear them if I was going to be doing any walking/standing/anything besides bike riding!
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There are cycling skirts with built in padded shorts, also known as "skorts".

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I have quite a few, none of which are either denim or blue. They don't look anything like my khakis either (and if you were me, that little rant would all make sense).

Mine are all spandex, and kind of look like tennis skirts. They cover up the padding on the bottom and make me feel less self-conscious in public. You can also cover up by wearing a long tee shirt, but the skorts feel a little more dressy.

To me, this just isn't a good look.

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The padding is shorts is called a chamois. There's different types of chamois's for various body types, riding styles and personal preferences.
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The padding in the chamois is not the same as the padding in a bicycle seat, and the one is not a substitute for the other, and a thicker bike pad is not always better. It depends on the type of riding you do, your body build, and your riding style.

For casual riding in more of an upright position, where most of your weight rests in your bottom, a wider, well padded seat is almost always far more comfortable. However, when riding long distance, or racing, where you are bent over and a good portion of your weight is actually being supported by your arms and handlebars, a very thin narrow seat can be better, by reducing contact with your bottom and thighs, so there's less rubbing, friction and chaffing.

The padding/chamois of bike shorts functions in a much different way. Bike shorts are intended to be worn without any undergarments, and the chamois is designed to help prevent chaffing, by using materials that allows the skin to breath and stay cool, while wicking moisture away from your body, along with padding that is strategically placed, to reduce the pressure in precise areas where it can provide the greatest protection against friction and chaffing.

There's also chamois cream designed to be used in conjunction with padded cycling shorts, which can either be applied to the chamois, skin, or both. In addition to helping prevent chaffing, most also have ingredients that help prevent rash, and infections, heal wounds, and sooth the skin.

I was able to pick up all my bike shorts and "skorts" during year end clearance sales, when they discount by as much as 70-80%. I also have a pair of padded cycling pants that are flannel lined for winter riding, and are especially wonderful.

Bibs rarely go on sale because they're a very a "hot" item, the preferred choice of many cyclists because there is no waistline to cut in or fall down, especially beneficial for those who have a bit of a tummy, or not much of a waistline. My waist is small, my hips are wide, so there's no danger of my pants falling down or of the waistband cutting into my skin.

This is my bike seat. It's called a Terry butterfly and for a road bike, it's well padded, but still pretty thin and narrow. ,
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If I don't wear padded bike shorts, the chaffing can become unbearable, and I end up not only with rashes, but gigantic angry red welts and even blisters. The padding really helps, but if I overdo without advance training, even padding will only go just so far.
 
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Those skirts are cute (definitely cuter than the shorts!). I will definitely keep an eye out for sales. Thanks for all the info, Ya noy! :)

Update 5/13/13. I had a pretty good weekend. Didn't do much on Saturday as far as actual working out, but I did walk the dog and I also did a bunch of cleaning in my craft room. We just remodeled our living room, and the craft room became the dumping ground for all the stuff we moved out of the living room. I wanted to do some sewing, which meant I had to clean/move all of the stuff that had been dumped in that room. That was kind of a chore! My arms were tired afterwards so it felt like I kind of did get a workout from it.

Yesterday, I knew we were going to visit my in-laws for mother's day, so I went to the gym beforehand to pre-de-stress. :p That was nice, I had a good workout, and then I had a pretty good visit with the in-laws. My sister-in-law was there too and she's pregnant with her fifth (!!) child. She brought her 4 kids with so that was kind of stressful, I always come away exhausted after seeing my nieces & nephews and can't believe I'll have another one soon! I brought my dog, who tolerates children, but even my dog was exhausted from so many kids playing with her. :p

It's a sunny day, although not particularly warm (I think the high temp is 60, although supposedly it'll be 85 tomorrow). I'm hoping to go for a bike ride tonight. There's a section of bike path here where you need to pay a fee and get a permit to ride on - it looks like a really nice path though, so I think I'm going to pay the fee tonight and go for it.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
It's a sunny day, although not particularly warm (I think the high temp is 60, although supposedly it'll be 85 tomorrow). I'm hoping to go for a bike ride tonight. There's a section of bike path here where you need to pay a fee and get a permit to ride on - it looks like a really nice path though, so I think I'm going to pay the fee tonight and go for it.
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Is it the Badger State Trail? Cool trail. Have you ever been through the Stewart Tunnel? If not, the tunnel alone is worth the permit fee.

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It's only 1200 feet long, but curves so you can't see from one end to the other, and flashlights or headlamps are advised. You also have to walk your bike through. Of course, the tunnels on the Sparta-McElroy trail are longer, and spookier, Stewart Tunnel's worth a visit.

I'm doing some work for a friend at her hotel, and she has a group of touring cyclists staying here on their way across the state to the Mississippi, so They've been entertaining me with tales of their adventures.
 
Ya noy, I had to google that tunnel - that's a fair ways south of here (it said south of Belleville), too far for me I think! I mostly just ride around the city. The fee trail I stumbled upon is called the "9 springs E-way" (appears to be part of the Capital City trail) and it appears to go just south of the city and then back north again, kind of a horseshoe shape. Google says that trail is about 16 miles one way which is still a bit much for me! I am by no means a professional bicyclist and currently 12ish miles is my upper limit.

Update 5/14/13: Speaking of bicycles, it was just about to rain yesterday evening as I was preparing for my bike ride, so I decided to play it safe and rode the exercise bike in my back bedroom for an hour instead. That was fine although it's always a bit boring to ride in place and not go anywhere. :p I did watch a DVD while I was riding so at least I was entertained. Hoping to go on a real bike ride tomorrow, hitting the little gym in a bit for weights. :)
 
Update 5/16/13: I went on a nice long bike ride yesterday and that was fun. I feel like I'm getting stronger and am gradually getting confident enough to ride farther. The route I took yesterday, it went through the country and there were NO bathrooms anywhere. That was a bit disconcerting, but fortunately I didn't need a bathroom.

Today I'm hitting the gym for weights. And I'm thinking, possibly on Sunday morning, I might try riding my bike to the gym, lift weights at the gym, and then ride home. I haven't done that yet so I'm a bit nervous, but I think I can do it! I'm going to see my grandparents on Sunday for lunch, so maybe I could squeeze that bike/lift/bike thing in in the morning. It's something like 3 or 4 miles to the gym each way, so it'd be a decent little ride with weights too. I'm just hoping I have enough stamina to do all that. Wish me luck?
 
Good luck Cat! You are brave and tough. I have faith that you will have the stamina to make the whole trip and enjoy it!

I was feeling pretty bad yesterday, but I did manage to get on the elliptical when I got home for 1/2 hour. I felt good afterward (endorphin rush) despite the burning in my belly.
 
Update 5/17/13: I impressed a co-worker yesterday with my muscles. :p She's off today so I have to fill in for her, and she was telling me about this heavy pocket wall I would need to move out of the way. She made some comment like, "A tiny little thing like you might have trouble moving that big heavy thing!" And I was like, "Hey, I work out, I have muscles, I'll be fine." And I flexed a bicep (tacky I know!) and my co-worker was like, "Wow, okay, you'll be fine - you've got guns!" :p Hah!

It's rainy today so no bike ride - I'm thinking I'll do yoga tonight and maybe attempt riding my bike to the gym tomorrow for weights. I have to clean my house tomorrow too which should be a workout in itself!
 
ahahaha! Cat thats so funny because the other week I flexed a muscle at work too! :p
We were moving boxes and I was like, its ok I'm quite strong look! And she was like oooh wow yes! haha
 
Too funny, LMV! :D We're a couple of strong ladies showing off our muscles at work. :p And I'm relieved to know I'm not the only one doing this kind of thing!
 
I have to laugh! I told one of my staff today that I'm very strong and he laughed, said I'm too small to be strong... so I flexed.... lol!
Rainy here too, hitting the elliptical tonight and tomorrow morning. Cat, I'll think of you while I'm cleaning tomorrow as well.
 
Hah, so we're all flexing at work! :p We're all just awesome like that. :D

McCindy, I'll think of you too when I'm cleaning tomorrow! I have to clean really well, because my OCD grandmother is coming over on Sunday, and if anything is dirty or in disarray, she will clean/arrange it for me. And she's 80 (nearly 81) and should not be cleaning my house for me at her age and in her poor health! So I have to do a really thorough job. I hope you don't have to clean as much as I do!
 
Update 5/18/13: It's gorgeous out today! I'm feeling good, going to try to ride my bike to the gym & lift weights and then ride home. I'm cleaning my house too, which is slow-going because I get easily distracted. I come across something I haven't seen in awhile ("I love this movie! I'm going to put it on and just have it on in the background while I clean" and then cut to 2 hours later and I'm just watching the movie, not cleaning). :p
 
Quick update: I DID IT! I managed to ride my bike to the gym, lift weights at the gym, and then ride home. I probably did 8ish miles on my bike AND all the weight machines (except for the quads machine - my quads were already getting a good workout from all the bike riding and I didn't want to overdo it). I felt kind of shaky on the ride home, like I had used up most of my energy, but I felt great too. Totally exhausted now! Not to mention sweaty and gross. :p But feeling proud, I wasn't sure if I could do this but I tried anyway and I did it. :D I will definitely be doing this again too!

Now I have to shower and eat and continue avoiding to clean. :p I mean, I have to clean my house. Yeah, sure. ;)
 
So, I've been thinking I should add some "before and after" photos so people can see my progress. Here's a "before" picture. Please note that this is a terrible picture of me! I didn't know at the time that I was going to embark on a workout journey so I didn't take a proper "before" picture. But this is before remission and before working out. I had just started on Entocort at the time this was taken, I had literally been on it for like a week so I hadn't gained any of my weight back yet. I was about 115 lbs here and skinny skinny! My legs look like sticks. I was playing a ring toss game here so it's hard to see but my arms were skinny too. No muscle mass whatsoever and hardly any weight at all on me. This photo was taken in Oct 2010.

Preworkout01.jpg


Here's an "after" picture, which I took myself in my bathroom mirror just now. :p (Please ignore how ugly my bathroom is, we're hoping to remodel it soon!) This is after my workout today so I was sweaty and gross looking, but you can see that I have muscles and more weight on me (I'm at about 139 lbs now).

afterworkout01.jpg
 
xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx said:
Aha, Cat ill do anything not to clean as well! :p
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Having to sit at a desk and stare at a computer all day and night, there are times I desperately need to go on a good cleaning binge. I've been helping a friend with the books at her hotel, and felt the need to burn off some energy last night so strongly, that I snuck into the kitchen at midnight, and scrubbed all the stainless steel countertops until they were bright and shiny, cleaned the ovens, hosed down the walk-in cooler, and just for good measure, bricked the grills--which the cooks should have done before leaving. She's still getting the hang of managing, and is a little lax on her employees. My opinion, of course.

After upgrading the computers tonight, depending on my mood, I'm thinking of either painting the back hallway, or cleaning the maintenance closet. I'd do my house, but there's nothing left to do.

It's all exercise, but this way, I get immediate gratification of seeing an accomplishment.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
So, I've been thinking I should add some "before and after" photos so people can see my progress. Here's a "before" picture. Please note that this is a terrible picture of me! I didn't know at the time that I was going to embark on a workout journey so I didn't take a proper "before" picture. But this is before remission and before working out. I had just started on Entocort at the time this was taken, I had literally been on it for like a week so I hadn't gained any of my weight back yet. I was about 115 lbs here and skinny skinny! My legs look like sticks. I was playing a ring toss game here so it's hard to see but my arms were skinny too. No muscle mass whatsoever and hardly any weight at all on me. This photo was taken in Oct 2010.

Preworkout01.jpg


Here's an "after" picture, which I took myself in my bathroom mirror just now. :p (Please ignore how ugly my bathroom is, we're hoping to remodel it soon!) This is after my workout today so I was sweaty and gross looking, but you can see that I have muscles and more weight on me (I'm at about 139 lbs now).

afterworkout01.jpg
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nice pipes!
 
Thanks everybody for the compliments! LMV, I've been working out for like 2 years now so it's taken awhile for my muscles to get to where they are! And as you can kinda see through my shirt, my tummy is still flabby. It's not flat and definitely no nice ab muscles showing through (they're underneath the flab, really!). So just keep at it, it's taken me awhile to get this far with my muscle tone & definition.

Update 5/19/13: I feel good after yesterday's bike/lift/bike. I was hoping to take a bike ride today, but it suddenly started pouring rain! It was literally sunny and nice out a few minutes ago, then all of a sudden the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in and I started hearing thunder, and then it started pouring rain. So I guess no bike ride for me! I was hoping to do a bit of gardening too but that's also out. Maybe I'll do yoga instead. I did finish up cleaning my house this morning so I got a bit of activity in anyway. I'm not sure if vacuuming counts as exercise though.
 
Cat, nice guns! Looks like you have done some great work getting into shape. It's nice to see the picture of you too, good to put a person to the "voice". I need to do some work on my arms but it's tough because I have to lay down to use weights.

I did get the house cleaning done on Saturday! It was a nice feeling to be done. I got started and just worked my way around the whole house. Probably did a bit too much because the back pain was quite elevated by the time I was done. We did get to go for a motorcycle ride Saturday and grilled out for supper, and Sunday was a nice lazy day with just some sheet changing and washing, and grocery shopping. Good thing too, because I tried a small amount of grilled steak Saturday night (first time since flare started) and had burning belly pain all day Sunday. So no more of that either.....
 
McCindy, I feel for you, I can't do red meat at all either. I stopped eating beef & pork when I was a teenager. Apparently when you stop eating beef for awhile, your body stops making the enzymes necessary to digest it. So every few years I'll get a hamburger craving and will try to eat one, but about 2 bites in, I get stomach pain and horrible nausea (this was happening even before I developed IBD). It just sits in my system, it doesn't break down and it causes nothing but problems for days. So no red meat for me ever, I just can't break it down at all!

Ugh. I'm so tired today! There were thunderstorms rolling through all last night and I think I woke up every time there was a big boom of thunder. Then at one point I could hear the rain just pouring down and I got a little worried about my basement. Definitely not a restful night! I'm going to hit the gym tonight regardless, but I might not do very well as I'm not running on all cylinders today.
 
Cat, I did not know that! I've been eating less and less red meat the last couple of years, but still had some once in a while before this flare happened. So I suppose if I have to stop now I won't be able to start up again even if this flare calms down? boo. :( I guess it is a good thing I like turkey burgers better than beef burgers!

We had storms all weekend too (I'm sure our system moved over to you, you're not too far away). I woke up all night Friday night because the thunder was so loud! Even the dogs were up and fussing because of the noise. I'm sorry you're so tired. I'm planning on a half-hour on the elliptical when I get home, even though my belly is bad today... I'll think of you and send some mental energy your way!
 
McCindy, I'm not sure how long it takes for the body to stop producing those enzymes. I didn't eat any beef for probably 5 years in my teen years, and I would guess it probably does take years, not months. So hopefully once you get this flare under control you'll be able to eat beef again. But yeah, like you said, I use ground turkey in everything! My hubby is a pretty good cook and he LOVES red meat, so he's found ways of making ground turkey taste fairly close to beef. That works for both of us. :)

LMV, stay safe! We've had some bad storms here lately so I hope you're not getting one of our storms!. Oh, McCindy, my dog hates thunder too. Poor thing, the first of these thunderstorms rolled through yesterday afternoon and my dog wouldn't leave my side. She gets so scared. She didn't bark during the night though so at least that wasn't waking me up on top of everything else. :p
 
I'll stay hopeful for the red meat - mostly I'd miss venison, which I've eaten much more than beef. A steak is nice once in a while though. I like to use ground venison in combination with ground turkey, so the result is still very lean and satisfies my husband's love for red meat and mine for the turkey. The combination is actually very tasty - both of us think better than beef. I'll have to do mine separately now though, and stick to the poultry. Good thing I really like chicken, turkey and seafood! My main source of protein. Along with eggs, which I seem to tolerate so far.

Poor puppy! I feel bad for dogs when thunder scares them, they don't understand it, they are just scared. My wolf-dog that I had to put down in March was terrified of thunder and would try to climb his 130-lb self into my lap! He would be glued to me during all storms. The two dogs I have now usually aren't too frightened but Saturday's storms were pretty violent and loud!

LMV, I hope you get a nice pleasant mild storm and nothing too violent or dangerous!
 
I think the enzyme thing mainly affects beef digestion. My father-in-law is a hunter and every so often he'll give us some venison. I can eat a little bit of it without any trouble (haven't been brave enough to try eating a larger amount!). So I'd say try a little venison, and if that goes okay then try a little more.

My dog is afraid of all thunderstorms (and fireworks and any other loud noises), and the worse the storm is, the more scared she gets. During a terrible storm she'll just tremble and she looks so sad. She refuses to leave my side and has to be touching me at all times. The worst is if I have to let her out to go potty during a bad storm - I know she has to go, and she knows she has to go, but she absolutely does not want to go out there. Sometimes I can coax her to go out, but other times she just refuses and holds it. Poor pooch!
 
Good to know, I will definitely try a little venison when I'm feeling better than today. Hopeful!

Your poor girl, holding it in.... we have one that will do that too, she'd rather hold it than go out in the storm.
 
I don't think we ever get really bad storms tbh. (touch wood!) When its stormy I really like hearing it in bed coz it feels cozy! People always complain about the weather in this country but I'm not too bothered about it tbh. It could defo be a lot worse!
 
Yeah, my dog doesn't even like going out in a non-thunder rain storm. She hates water! But oddly enough she loves snow! It's pretty much her favorite thing (well, peanut butter might be her #1 favorite thing, but snow is definitely #2!). I remember the first time it snowed last winter, I opened the door and let her out, and you could just see the surprise and joy on her face when she saw that the ground was all white. She ran all around at top speed, within like 2 minutes my yard was nothing but dog prints in the snow while all the neighbors still had pristine untouched snow in their yards. :p

LMV, hearing a steady rain is cozy, I agree. But thunder is a whole other matter, especially when it's happening loudly & all night! I'd sleep with earplugs but it would mean I would probably sleep through my alarm! And we get a lot of thunderstorms in the spring so I am sure I will have more sleepless nights soon.
 
First crack of thunder last night and we lost power--yet again! The rain hadn't even started!

It's supposed to storm again tonight, so I don't imagine we'll have power tonight either. It's been continuous. Ever since last summer when there was a bad storm that apparently damaged and weakened a lot of the power lines. Every time it rains now, power lines break, and transformers pop all up and down our street, sometimes exploding in balls of fire. Just wonderful. Several of our neighbors have gotten generators. We're thinking about it.
 
Ya noy, it sounds to me like a generator is a good idea! Or at least a good stash of candles, flashlights, and some card games or a fully charged laptop. I'd complain to the electric company each time it happens, too. You might at least get a credit on your bill or something like that, and hopefully it'll light a fire under them to repair the older/weaker equipment.

Speaking of storms, I want to go on a bike right tonight, but not sure if that'll happen. It's been threatening to storm for most of the day, it's been windy and cloudy although so far no storm. I think they said storms are more likely in the evening today though so I'm not sure about that bike ride! I may have to ride the boring old stationary bike in my back bedroom again. Blah.
 
Another quick update for today: I accomplished one of my fitness goals today! I rode my bike all around one of the lakes here. Okay, yes, it was the smallest lake in the city, but it was still a decent ride and was challenging. I'm quite tired now! But feel great too, this was something I wanted to do and I set out to do it tonight. It was really windy and the wind was in my face for about the first half of my ride, and admittedly there were a few times I wanted to stop. But I kept going and I'm glad I did. :) I get a little more confident in my bicycling abilities each time I am able to do a ride like that.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
It was really windy and the wind was in my face for about the first half of my ride, and admittedly there were a few times I wanted to stop.
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…but then, miraculously, the wind was at my back and I felt like I could go around again but then, it was in my face again so I thought about stopping, but then…:)

Hahaha!! Sorry Cat! I just had to get back into character:)
 
Nice job, Cat! What a rewarding ride. You are getting into great shape, it sounds like!

We are bringing our bikes home from Wisconsin this weekend so we'll finally get to go for rides again! I'm looking forward to it. There are state bike trails right across the road from our house so we'll be exploring those for a while.
 
Kel - yep! We used to have a map of the world shower curtain, which was quite informative to learn all the countries and capitals while on the toilet. The Jack Skellington shower curtain is fine but not nearly as informative. :p

Mark, sadly that's pretty much true! I wanted to stop when I was riding into the wind, and when I was riding with the wind, suddenly it was easier and I could keep going. :p

Cindy, congrats on getting your bike back soon! There's a bike path right near my house too and it connects with other bike paths, so I can ride pretty much anywhere in the city. I love how convenient that is and I really like being able to mostly avoid car traffic when I'm on my bike.

Update 5/22/13. Ugh, I feel terrible today! Not sure what's going on, if I caught a bug or ate something that was off or what. When I woke up I just felt a little bit off, like I might be coming down with a cold. I looked in the mirror and my face looked more pale than usual. Then I had a rather rough time on the toilet with loose orange stool (I didn't eat anything orange!) and when I tried to eat something, I got hit with horrible nausea. I took a Zofran which just kicked in so the nausea's a little better, but something is definitely "off" today. It doesn't feel like a full-blown flare, it kinda feels like I'm coming down with something. Yuck! Whatever this is, I hope it passes soon. I'm holding out hope that I'll still be able to lift weights tonight, but I guess it depends on how awful I feel this evening. I hate skipping a workout and I particularly hate skipping weights, as that is my favorite thing, so I'm hoping this passes soon or doesn't get worse. Blah!
 
Cat, that sucks! I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Hopefully it passes, but if it doesn't, you should probably skip the weights. Your body will likely need the rest to fight off whatever is going on, and pushing could stress it and make you worse or start a flare. Not that you need me to tell you what to do.... :)
I hope you feel better soon.
 
Thanks Cindy. I went home sick from work so I'm on the couch with my heating pad on and that's making me feel a little bit better. I think I am skipping the weights tonight, might do some light yoga if I feel up to it. Just gotta listen to my body and rest for now though.
 
Yep, good idea. Taking a rest day now and then is a good idea! Take care of yourself today and hopefully things improve quickly for you.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
Thanks everybody for the compliments! LMV, I've been working out for like 2 years now so it's taken awhile for my muscles to get to where they are! And as you can kinda see through my shirt, my tummy is still flabby. It's not flat and definitely no nice ab muscles showing through (they're underneath the flab, really!). So just keep at it, it's taken me awhile to get this far with my muscle tone & definition.

Update 5/19/13: I feel good after yesterday's bike/lift/bike. I was hoping to take a bike ride today, but it suddenly started pouring rain! It was literally sunny and nice out a few minutes ago, then all of a sudden the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in and I started hearing thunder, and then it started pouring rain. So I guess no bike ride for me! I was hoping to do a bit of gardening too but that's also out. Maybe I'll do yoga instead. I did finish up cleaning my house this morning so I got a bit of activity in anyway. I'm not sure if vacuuming counts as exercise though.
Click to expand...

Your arms look GREAT!
 
I'm still feeling unwell today, although a little better than yesterday (this may be just because I haven't eaten yet today). The good news is, it's not a flare. No chills and no night sweats - so either I ate something that was off, or I caught a virus, something like that. I called in to work again, because if it is a virus, I don't want to infect my co-workers (I wish they'd have the same respect for me and not come in sick!). Going to continue to rest today, may attempt yoga tonight. Just rested up yesterday, didn't even attempt any exercise. I tried eating mac & cheese for dinner yesterday (usually one of my safest foods) and I couldn't get down more than a few bites before the nausea came back. So yeah, just trying to listen to and heal my body, hopefully will be back to my old self again soon!
 
Hi Cat,
I'm sorry to hear that you're still not feeling well. :( I was hoping you'd be feeling better! It sucks that you aren't able to eat at all. Hopefully another day of rest will get you feeling up to snuff and able to work out again.
 
I seem to be able to eat a little better today. I just had a piece of toast. So far it's sitting fine... hopefully it stays that way!
 
Update 5/24/13: I felt gradually a little better as the day went on yesterday, I had more toast and an ensure and those sat fine, and I was starting to feel okay again. Then yesterday evening I went to the bathroom and passed a whole bunch of bright red blood into the toilet. I'm not usually a bleeder so that was quite disconcerting! It only happened once, and I still feel okay, so I'm not sure what was up with that. I'll treat it as a fluke if it doesn't happen again - if it does happen again, I'll call my doctor. The stress and worry about that are making my guts a bit upset so I'm trying not to worry too much. Really a scary thing though when you typically do not pass blood!

So I'm going to go in to work today. Partly because I'm feeling somewhat better, and partly because I don't want my boss to think I'm just taking a really long Memorial Day weekend! I'm feeling pretty fatigued, haven't slept well throughout this entire episode, so I expect it to be a rough day. I'm hoping to mostly rest up over the long weekend. Hubby works Sat & Sun so we have no plans and I can just stay in and rest those days for sure. Monday we were thinking of maybe taking the kayak out for some paddling. I'll have to see how I'm feeling then. I am kind of wanting to try going to the gym tonight too, and again that'll depend on how I feel this evening, if I pass more blood, etc. I know I can always go to the gym and take it easier than usual, so that's what I'm aiming for. I'll skip the abdominals machines if I do go!
 
Oh my, Cat! I'm not a bleeder either so I can imagine how you felt, seeing blood. I hope that it doesn't happen again but definitely call the doc if it does. Take it easy at work and don't overdo things. I'll be thinking of you.
Make sure you get plenty of rest this weekend. Take it easy at the gym too.

Be well.
 
Ugh. I just passed blood again. I hate this! I am *not* a bleeder, this is highly unusual for me. Guess I'll be making a doctor appointment. I'm thinking I'll go through my GP first, as I can get in to see him quicker. This doesn't feel like a flare (I never bleed even in a flare - and right now I don't have night sweats, joint pains etc which I always get in a flare), so I'll probably ask him to do stool samples to see if I've got a bacterial infection or something like that. If he can't figure it out then I'll see my GI.

This kind of thing really gets me down. This is not supposed to happen - I'm supposed to be in remission, I'm not supposed to pass blood! I'm upset. Trying not to cry at work. There's nothing quite like being horrified at what you see in the toilet to bring you down!

And as for the gym, I'm torn. Part of me wants to go and put in a good workout because I know that always makes me feel better & happier, it makes the stress and the blues go away. But the other part of me thinks I should just rest and try to heal from whatever is going on. I don't know what to do.
 
Quick update: I called my GP's office. He's not in today but another doctor in his clinic can see me this afternoon. I'm kind of relieved that I don't have to wait the long weekend before I get to see a doctor. The nurse I talked to on the phone said that they take rectal bleeding seriously so she wanted me to be seen ASAP.
 
Good luck I hope everything is ok.
I do often bleed with my crohn's and I'm not usually worried about it if I see a little bit, but if there is quite a lot or its in clots its horrible.
Having said that, since I have been better recently, if I saw a bit of blood now I would be worried a little.
Sorry that was a bit of a ramble!
 
Thanks LMV. The only times I've bled are that time I ate greek yogurt (probiotics + dairy kill me) and the time I ate cottage cheese multiple days in a row (apparently that also contains probiotics), but that was just a tiny bit of blood. Or if I get an anal fissure there will be a teeny bit of blood on the TP, like just a drop or two. This is more significant bleeding than those times, and I can't trace it back to anything that may have caused it (I don't have a fissure, I don't seem to have hemorrhoids, and I haven't eaten probiotics/dairy). So yeah, I have bled a very minor amount a handful of times in the past, but this is new and scary!
 
I just got back from the doctor. I wrote a much longer post about this in Vent Away, but in a nutshell, they think the bleeding is from something like salmonella. No hemorrhoids seen on exam and probably not viral either.

But I suspect I will have a virus shortly - the doctor was really sick with gastroenteritis, and didn't bother to tell me this right away! She shook my hand, examined me, then said that viral gastroenteritis is going around, and in fact she has it herself. Great - I've been exposed to a highly contagious stomach bug, that's just super. Good thing I didn't have any plans for the long weekend because I think I'll be spending even more quality time with my toilet. I'm so mad about this! I hope somehow I avoid getting it, but with my luck and crappy immune system, the odds are not in my favor. At this point I'll never get back to the gym...
 
So I'm reading the information sheet that came with my Cipro. And it says things like, "tell your doctor if you do any strenuous exercise" and, "this medication may cause tendon damage". From the sounds of it, I'm guessing it's safest to skip the gym altogether when I'm on it, either that or take things much easier. Not that I'm in any state to be able to work out right now anyway. I realized a little while ago that it's 4 PM and I haven't eaten today. I'm drinking an Ensure right now for the calories but I have zero appetite, none. As a result of barely eating, I'm still quite weak. I so want to hit the gym, but it's not going to happen for a little while. That sucks. But I guess I would rather skip the gym for a week than rupture my achilles tendon or pass out from weakness. Blah! I feel like I'm supposed to be tougher than this, I'm supposed to be able to keep going no matter what hurdles come up in my path. I hate feeling weak and unable to work out. Not cool, body, and not cool, Cipro.
 
:(
Maybe when you have a bit more energy you could just do your yoga or a short bike ride rather than anything too strenuous like the gym. Chin up cat :) do you have any other hobbies you can focus on while you are going to be less active ?

I'm into my knitting a lot at the moment.
 
Funny you mention knitting, I've been crocheting a blanket! I have a few other crafts I'm working on too, and there's always work to be done outside in the yard & garden. I won't be bored, but it is frustrating to not be able to exercise for a little while. I know I could do yoga, but honestly, even that right now sounds like too much. I've had a lot of weakness since this bacterial thing or whatever it is started, and dizzy spells too. I'm afraid I'm just going to fall over/fail if I try even yoga. Maybe when I start the Cipro, I'll feel better and could handle yoga then.

Speaking of Cipro, I can't start it until I turn in some stool samples. I've been trying to collect them, but I am having issues. :p I keep getting urine in the collection hat thing. The last time I did stool samples was a couple years ago, and I recall it being really easy then. For some reason it's more difficult this time around! I empty my bladder, then I try to poop in the hat, but more urine ends up getting squeezed out somehow and ends up in there too. And I don't have much poo to work with since I haven't been eating much. :p This is getting just silly now. I gotta get it together so I can actually start Cipro.
 
Update: Finally got my stool samples taken care of. :p It only took 4 tries! I kept getting a little bit of urine in the collection hat. (Why do they call it a hat, anyway?) So I took my first Cipro tablet just now. I haven't taken Cipro before, so I'm not really sure what to expect - wish me luck. I recall my husband was on it when he had kidney stones and he did fine, so hopefully I will too.
 
So, Cipro is interesting. It makes me feel a little loopy and... silly? I feel like I'm just slightly drunk, things are slightly funnier/more awesome and I feel a bit more gregarious. I probably shouldn't drive while I'm on this stuff! Seriously, I had to take my stool samples to the lab so I did have to drive. I had my car stereo on and I thought at one point, my music is too quiet. Oh well. Then like 5 minutes later I was like, Oh, right, I can turn up the volume! Yeah, I'm not going to drive any more until I get used to Cipro, pretty sure I'm dangerous! Hopefully this weird effect wears off by the end of the long weekend.
 
Hope you're ok Cat! Sounds like a reaction you should maybe ask about before taking the next dose!
 
Thanks Mark. The effect only seemed to last 3-4 hours, then I felt like myself again. The loopy feeling didn't come back when I took my 2nd tablet. I just took my 3rd Cipro tablet and still feel fine, so I guess just a weird initial reaction?

I'm still not quite up to working out though. I took my dog on a short walk, and the guts were cramping like crazy when we got back. I might try yoga this evening, but feeling like this I know I'm not up to lifting weights, and I don't feel brave enough to ride my bike like this for fear of needing a bathroom.
 
Okay, so I managed to do a little bit of exercise today and I feel good, this is encouraging. :) Hubby was on his way out the door to go to work when he reminded me that there is a lot of yard work to do. Ugh, okay. So I did a ton of work in the yard, more than I thought I was up for. I trimmed all the hedges & bushes, and sawed a bunch of branches off my lilac bush (it's a seriously huge lilac bush, more like a lilac monster!). My arms are tired now but I feel good. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I am tempted to go to the gym.
 
Oh Cat! I'm so sorry to hear all that :(

I ended up having to take Benadryl, and have no energy. I had no choice. Someone checked someone else into the room I've been staying in at the hotel by mistake, and I had to take a different room--where apparently, someone had snuck either a cat or dog into and my eyes swelled up, and I had to take Benadryl to make them go back down. I wish I had just put up with the swollen eyes, because I ended up sleeping for 20 hours solid and it's been 2 days and I still can't even make it through a tv show without falling back asleep. Exercise is out of the question. I can't go back to work because I'm not capable of driving yet.

Joys of meds.
 
Ya noy, that sucks! I don't take Benadryl because it makes me like that too. Hope you start to feel more alert soon!

I'm feeling better, but things are still somewhat weird. Yesterday after my first Cipro dose, I got so hungry. I pigged out on pizza, chips, and candy. But today, I'm back to having no appetite again. Not nauseous, no pain, no d - just no appetite. I had an Ensure for breakfast just out of habit, but then I basically forgot to eat until just now. I didn't feel hungry at all the whole day, but around 3 PM my hands started shaking, presumably out of hunger. I made myself eat and the hands aren't shaky anymore. I'm going to have to remind myself to eat until I fully recover!
 
I get that sometimes when I'm a bit under the weather, where you don't feel hungry but start getting shakey so try and eat something.

Thinking about it, it hasn't happened for a while and could have been when I was on antibiotics for my abscess. I'm not sure if it was cipro because we don't use that name here but it could have been as I know it is used widely for that.
 
Cat-a-Tonic said:
Okay, so I managed to do a little bit of exercise today and I feel good, this is encouraging. :) Hubby was on his way out the door to go to work when he reminded me that there is a lot of yard work to do. Ugh, okay. So I did a ton of work in the yard, more than I thought I was up for. I trimmed all the hedges & bushes, and sawed a bunch of branches off my lilac bush (it's a seriously huge lilac bush, more like a lilac monster!). My arms are tired now but I feel good. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I am tempted to go to the gym.
Click to expand...

I miss the lilac we had at our old house Trim a bit more over the next couple of years, apparently the branches won't flower unless the wood is 3 years old
 
Hawkeye, I try to cut bits off of the lilac bush every year, otherwise it's just too huge. It always flowers, no worries there. It looks & smells nice for about 5 days a year, and the rest of the year it's not flowering. :p

Uggh, my body is just throwing me for a loop this week! Hubby and I did some grocery shopping and I felt fine. Then we came home and I was sitting on the couch, going over our finances. As I was sitting there, I noticed my foot kind of hurts. Not the achilles tendon area fortunately - I know Cipro can cause tendons, particularly the achilles, to rupture. This is more on the top of my foot. It has been hurting more and more! I don't know why, I didn't hurt it in any way that I can recall and it looks fine from the outside. But it freaking hurts to the point I can barely walk on it! I have ice on it right now which is helping a little bit (it feels swollen/bruised). This is just getting ridiculous though, I stop exercising for a few days and I fall apart completely. :p No appetite and now can barely walk, that's just great.
 
My mum had a pain in her foot like that once. It ended up going into a lump and they said it was some kind of tumour thing which she may have to have removed and to walk on it less.
A while later she went to the doctors again, it was feeling better and only then did they do an x-ray. It turned out the first time it was fractured! She didn't even do anything to it. But walking on it less it managed to heal itself! Amazing!
 
That's crazy, LMV! I hope mine isn't a tumor nor a break! It feels a bit better today, I can put some weight on it although not my full weight. My hip hurts - it's the left foot that hurts, so I've been limping along putting most of my weight on my right leg, and my right hip is the bad one with arthritis (both of my hips have arthritis, but the right one is far worse in terms of pain). The right hip clearly did not like me putting all my weight on it the few times I tried to walk last night, plus it's raining today, so the hip is aching. Days like this, I feel like a little old lady. And still going to the gym is nowhere in sight...
 
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. The swelling left gigantic bags under my eyes, but I'm going into work regardless. Otherwise someone else would be called in to cover the shift, and I don't want to ruin Memorial Day plans for anyone else.

it's raining here too, but had just enough energy to get my flowers planted first.
 
Cat - I've been out of touch for three days and look what happened to you! I'm so sorry to hear you've been having such a hard time. I hope that you are feeling better today and able to eat and get around. Sounds like you had a traumatic weekend. I had one myself, posted about it in the support forum so I won't repeat it here. I just wanted to give you a virtual hug and let you know I'm thinking of you!
 
Aw Cindy, I just saw your other thread and responded in there - but that's just horrible! I'm sending you a big hug too! I feel like a wimp complaining about foot pain when you're going through that. I'm sorry. Big hugs!

So, speaking of foot pain. It's getting better - I can walk without my cane now and can put my full weight on it. I still feel sorta run down, the guts aren't back to normal yet, I slept horribly and just feel generally blah. I *so* want to exercise, I think that would help a lot. So I sort of spontaneously decided today, screw it, I'm going to the gym! I'm gonna hit up the little gym on my lunch hour, it might go terribly but I have to try.
 
Good luck at the gym Cat! I hope it goes really well for you. I missed my workouts all weekend due to my whole emergency situation, but got back on the elliptical morning and that really felt great. Take it easy on that foot though, don't push too hard!
 
I take a late lunch. :p I am back from the gym for real now. It went well! I wasn't quite as energetic as I usually am, and I had to change things up a bit to accommodate my foot, but overall it went well and I feel good now. Very glad I went. :) I did all the weight machines just like usual. I did my warm-up on the bike and my foot felt fine then, I did my cool-down on the treadmill and the foot wasn't a big fan of that but it wasn't awful either. The guts were totally quiet and calm the whole time and the foot didn't act up much, so I would say it was a great success. I could tell that it's been awhile since I had a good workout, I wasn't quite as fast or energetic as usual, but I did everything I wanted to do so not too shabby.
 
Cat, I'm so glad to hear your workout went well! There's nothing like that feeling to pump you up (pun intended, ha ha!). Hopefully your foot gets better and better and you get back to your normal activity level. Glad too that your belly was quiet!

I've been doing all right with my elliptical, but whoo the Keppra makes me feel a bit funny so I feel like I am working harder to finish a 1/2 hour workout on it than I used to for an hour.

LMV, it's funny to think you are so many hours ahead of us here! At one point we're even on different days. Interesting! Especially considering we're kind of having Englandish weather here lately, cool and rainy.
 
Cindy, I can relate, the Cipro made me feel a little funny too. When I first took it, it was like I was a bit drunk! I felt very silly and loopy. That feeling lasted about 4 hours and fortunately hasn't come back. I have been getting dizzy spells too - the Delzicol gave me dizzy spells for the first few weeks I was on it, and now the Cipro is giving me dizzy spells. (Fortunately I only have to be on Cipro for a few more days.) I always get nervous about going to the gym when I'm having dizzy spells, don't want to pass out while on the treadmill or while doing weights, as I could get injured. Plus, in the little gym I'm usually the only one there, so if I pass out and don't wake up right away or if I get injured, nobody would find me for awhile. That's a scary thought. I hope this is just an initial side effect for you that wears off quickly so that you can get back to your regular workout length/intensity soon!

I was going to see how I feel today before deciding whether or not to work out - I wasn't sure how I'd be affected, doing a workout after having a week away from the gym. Fortunately I feel good, the tummy is getting back to normal and the foot is too, and I don't have any muscle soreness or anything like that. So I'm hoping to ride my bike tonight, although we're supposed to get storms. So, I'll probably either ride the stationary bike or do yoga.

Oh, and this weekend is Ride the Drive! I've talked about it a little bit in this thread before, but basically the city shuts down some major downtown streets for a day and lets everyone ride their bikes in the middle of the roads. There are fun activities along the way, bands, food, and of course bathrooms. :) I did it last year and it was fun, but I wasn't in very good biking shape then, and there's this one big hill leading up to the state capitol building and I just could not make it up that hill. I made it up about halfway, got too exhausted to continue, and had to stop and walk my bike up the rest of the way. I'm determined, this is one of my fitness goals, that this year I'm going to make it up that stupid hill all the way without stopping & walking! I'm pretty sure I can do it, and I'm determined to try.

The other thing I'm thinking about doing is, I read that the Ride the Drive course is about 5 miles (it's a loop). I know I can ride for 10 miles on my bike, so I'm thinking about doing the course twice. This would mean though that I have to face that big hill twice though, and that's kind of a scary thought. I kind of want to try it though! If I can do it once, I should be able to do it twice, right?...
 
I know you can. I think it sounds like a lot of fun! You've been working hard, might as well reward yourself with a challenge to prove how far you've come! I'm so glad to hear your foot and belly have settled and are allowing you to ride again. We're stuck in the same weather pattern as you so we will probably have some rainy storms tonight. My mom is coming tonight though, she's taking me to my appointment tomorrow since I can't drive (grr).
 
Yeah, rain/storms are in the forecast every day from now through Saturday here - fortunately Ride the Drive is on Sunday, and right now they're saying it shouldn't rain on Sunday. Fingers crossed that the weather holds out!

I'm glad your mother can take you to your appointment. Is she supportive? My mom isn't particularly supportive, she feels like gluten is the source of all evil (she's self-diagnosed with celiac, I feel like she's incorrect in her self-diagnosis, there's a lot more to it than that but this is it in a nutshell). So she thinks if I just cut gluten out that I'd get better, even though my doctors have all said tht I definitely don't have celiac (I don't feel like I have a gluten sensitivity either). It boils down to, my mom doesn't listen to me, and how can you be supportive of someone if you don't even listen to them? This is turning into a vent so I'll stop here. Long story short, I hope your mom is a lot more supportive than mine is. :)

Okay. Back to Ride the Drive. :p A lot of people dress up or decorate their bikes for it and I'm thinking about doing that too. Not sure what I'd do though. Tape cat ears to my bike helmet? ;) I have a lot of ribbon and other craft supplies so I could so something, just not sure what. Anybody have ideas?
 

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