Pentagenarians and Beyond Week beg 7/28

Good evening ladies!

This morning was T25 speed 1.0 and tonight was p90x chest and back. No walking chester tonight.

Josie and garance...you are funny with the horror movies. I stay away from them. When I was younger I would go with my friends and would close my eyes, block my ears and hum during any gory scene! On the other hand I love reading books that can be pretty gruesome. Go figure!

Valerie...completely understand why you want to avoid the wakes. I have only been kayaking once in Cancun and it was wonderful. The water was beautiful and very enjoyable.

Deb...hope setting up your computer goes smoothly.

Hi to Judy!!!!! Hope all is going well.
 
Hi Everyone,

I don't think I mentioned that DH gave me a new spinning bike as an early Christmas present. It's a Cyclops 300 Pro Indoor Cycle. REI had one on the floor a couple of weeks ago and I fell in love with it. It has a computer that measures power, cadence, distance, speed and heart rate. All the data can then be transferred to the computer.

Yesterday I did a long indoor bike workout. I did "On The Road-Lake Placid", it's a 3 hour virtual ride of the Lake Placid Ironman bike course. I ended up doing 2.5 hours and 40 miles. Lake Placid Ironman was Sunday and I spent some time watching the live stream of the finish line on their website. It was so motivating! I would love to be able to do one someday. It's kind of a long term goal of mine. At this point, I'd say the goal is to do one before I turn 60.

This morning I did all 3 Coremax workouts and a part of Xtrain Chest, Back & Shoulders.

Deb-I'll be interested to see how you like Windows 8. We've been using Windows 7for the past couple of years and I am kind of afraid of Windows 8. In fact, I'm about ready to switch to a Mac, I've been so happy with the iPhone.

Valerie-I hope changing the angle of your handlebar helps.

Lynda-that is awesome that you were asked to write an article! You must be a very good writer!

Hi to Lori & Josie!

Judy
 
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Garance,

I wish I could go see it with you to ;). My DD also likes horror movies and will go see it wit her as soon as the kids go home.
 
Good morning,

still having computer stress.....will be trying to work this all out....lost my e-mail stuff, I use Outlook and that is not on the new computer....all my contacts, sent mail gone....ugh! :(

will check back later....
 
No horror movies here. my parents never let us watch anything like that as kids, not even a glimpse, so I never got a gradual introduction. they said I'd have nightmares and they didn't want any of that. I still avoid them but I WILL have nightmares. won't watch anything bloody. most of Tarantino's stuff ...have to leave the room for the blood and a lot of times, there's not much movie left after that.

Wow judy you really do some incredibly long indoor workouts. I'm lucky to get an hour on the spin bike, just can't stand the position that long. all 3 core workouts in one session is also quite significant.

Deb, that is so aggravating... what is the new email program for win 8? I have outlook express right now. don't like it but the previous program I used was sort of morphed into OE, no choices offered. it does some very strange things sometimes.

I went to yoga yesterday as usual, then did ch, sh, back later in the day.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did LIC (50:30). Getting back into practice for the new step workouts promised by Cathe. Also took Max for a walk last night after dinner and managed somehow to get a blister on the bottom of my foot. Remind self: wear sneakers, not sandals.

Judy, that's an impressive goal to have. My goal is just to keep working out as long as I can. Most of my writing is scholarly, although I try to appeal to a wider audience and avoid some of the jargon in my field because I like when people read my stuff. I just finished a rather long piece for a photographer who is putting together a book of her works. In exchange, instead of money, I get one of her photographs--about 40" by 60"--and I will have to find a place for it in my house. They are really gorgeous and playful works.

Deb, nothing worse than computer stress in these high tech times. What did we ever do without all of our cell phones, ipads, computers? I have actually been thinking about writing something about how these devices really affect movies and TV series. I was watching a very old episode of the X-Files, and was struck by how hard it was for Scully and Mulder to be in touch with one another without cell phones.

Valerie, the thing about horror films is that it's almost scarier when you DON'T see what's coming. Jaws was much scarier before you had a good look at that thing created by universal studios. Tarantino's violence is pretty over the top for me too.

Lori, it sounds like one of the workouts Cathe is coming out with has several very short workouts like T25 to do separately or put together for something longer. I wish she would give us some idea of when we will get them. I'm ready for some new cardio especially.

Let me know when you see The Conjuring Josie. I'm thinking maybe next week for me.
 
Good afternoon ladies!

This morning was T25 lower focus and tonight will be walk Chester. I always consider walking Chester a workout! Considering he is 110lbs and with all the hills we go up and down, the bumpy dirt roads and the speed we go I feel sometimes it is better than running on my treadmill. No exaggeration whatsoever!

Deb...I am so sorry to hear about your computer woes. It is so frustrating when something that should be simple turns into such a pain. Ugh! This is when my lack of patience shows. I get so angry sometimes and have to walk away.

Judy...you are unbelievable with your work outs. You must have rock hard abs! I barely get thru one core workout never mind 3 in a row. Congrats on your new spin bike. Sounds really nice.

Garance...my goal is the same. I just want to be able to keep working out as long as I can. I would love to be in my 90's and still lifting weights. It may be only 2lbs at that time though. :p

Valerie...So is today your husband's first official day of retirement or was it yesterday?

Hi to Josie!

Have a great night ladies!
 
Lori, yesterday was the last day. today the first day of retirement. so we went on a 25 mile bike ride...why not?? my new gloves and changing the handlebar tilt seems to help. I can't be sure until a few rides because it's a problem that's worse some days than others.

DH has had an outpouring of wonderful letters and gifts from people he's taken care of for many years. he's gotten money, gift cards, lovely pages of hand written letters, flowers, just an incredible show, I knew he was a good, thorough doc because that is the way he does things but some of the praises are just over the top. He really had very strong personal connections to a lot of people. I'm sure it would have been even more if the group he's been working with hadn't made life so difficult for everyone, especially his long time patients. (I don't want to get started on that topic.) the policies made it hard to see him and they directed his patients to new docs whenever they could.

My goal also is to keep working out as long as I can. I've been trying to mix in different activities rather than hiking/ treadmill all the time. I don't think I'm as strong a hiker as I was a few years ago, but I have much more upper body strength and muscle and the yoga keeps me flexible. I have great flexibility in some areas, not much in others, but way better than 10 years ago. much better bike rider, both road and mt. I never want to be an inactive lounge chair blob. I do not want to ever see flapping upper arms!

Besides you never know when something can pop up ( like Josie's foot problem) that interrupts your activity. if you have more than one way to stay fit and can do a "work around" you can stay active even when there's a problem.

Good point Lynda about the shark... Bruce, wasn't it? yeah, your mind can always come up with something more scary than the special effects department. still, scary movies ....even when they're stupid.... cause nightmares/ sleep issues for me, so I don't watch them.
 
Lori-lol, I wish I had rock hard abs:) I'm trying very hard to get leaner in that area. I've always had a small-medium waist, but never a lot of definition. Menopause has made it very challenging for me to lose any fat around my midsection. I do think the Cathe core workouts I've been doing are helping. I am getting a stronger core too. I love to work out, sometimes I think it's the only thing that keeps me sane :eek:

Valerie-I was pretty determined to get through all 3 core workouts yesterday. The first 2 went very well but I was really struggling to finish the 3rd one. I am feeling it today so I'll probably wait another day or two before I do any more core work.
I still can't do the levitation holds but I felt like I was getting closer to doing it yesterday. I think I almost had my feet off the ground for a second or two. :)
I'm with you on the horror movies, I don't watch anything bloody or scary.

Deb-I hope you get your email sorted out soon.

Lynda-Staying active for as long as you can is a great goal, and ultimately, the goal I have too. I've had to learn to balance some of my long distance goals with my desire to always be active. Getting myself injured so that I can't do anything defeats the purpose and I continually have to remind myself of that, especially now that I am older.

Hi to Josie!

Judy
 
Good morning,

Late class last night, and it was running in a sweatbox...Keegan at least cooperated somewhat. I am going to give him a break and train Kylee now...He has a trial in September so I don't want to burn him out.

Valerie, no horror movies for me either...give me a comedy any day. I wish I had Outlook Express or the regular. That is what I had on my old computer, and what we use at work so I am used to it and like it a lot. I think I will have to use Microsoft Windows Live Mail...or something like that. How is your DH liking retirement? Does it feel strange not to be watching the time and figuring out how to do things in between calls and work?

Judy, great early Christmas gift! Windows 8 takes some getting used to..it was really developed to use with a touch screen, but so many people did not want to do that, so they kind of made it a hybrid for those that want to use a mouse, like me. it has apps and tiles on the desktop, ( with one of them being a regular desktop view) and no Start button.

Garance, I would love to read an article that you write about how people are today with all the tech gadgets etc. Like someone else said, when I read an old novel, like a detective story or something, and they are looking for a phone booth to call something in or someone, it's seems so strange now!

Lori, Walking Chester is a workout for sure! yes, same here, I want to be able to do some kind of workout, weight, walking etc for as long as possible. My Dad used to walk his dog in the fields behind his house well into his eighties. He loved it and it was so good for him.

Josie, is the foot getting better? when can you take the boot off?

Work, then home to work on computer stuff....I have to load all my programs back on, since they don't transfer them over when you have the data transferred from the old computer...all that copyright crap....

Take care,
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did XTrain Bis and Tris (45:30). I also took Max for a walk after dinner and remembered to put on my sneakers and socks. No more blisters! I think a pebble or something got in there and by the time I arrived home, it had totally irritated the bottom of my foot.

Deb, one of the reasons I wanted to retire was the way students walk around campus with their gadgets. No eye contact. They are on their phones or text messaging or listening to something with their ipods. All of my colleagues and I banned computers in the classroom, because half the time they were surfing rather than paying attention to the class. The other thing we all noticed is the increased number of times students would leave class to go to the bathroom. Water bottles took over the universe about 15 years ago and students seemed to be drinking a whole lot more of H2O.

Lori, I agree with you on walking the dog. The return trip for me is up a very steep hill and I'm puffing by the time I get home.

Judy, I know what you mean about post-menopausal expansion of the waist. I had two pregnancies and bounced back from that, but not menopause. I hope it just stays at 28 inches around the waist now.

Valerie, how does it feel for you to have DH home all the time?

Hi to Josie!
 
Hi Ladies,

I will try to find an upper body cardio like boxing to get my heart rate up for today's workout. My cycling friend is coming over to show me how to spin without using my left foot:). She has had so many injuries and has always managed to work around them. Last year she broke both of her wrists and was back on her bike for the AIDS life cycle this year.

Deb, the Dr. said 6 weeks, but if its healing well it may be less time. I have an appointment on August 12th for another x-ray. I had just had a bone density in June and my bones were very healthy so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Judy, I had the same problem when I was going through menopuse, but once it was all over I was able to loose the extra tire around my waist. Doing insanity helped.

Valerie, my DH will continue to work for another year. I'm glad because I need to get used to retirement. My DM had a hard time when my dad retired :)

Hi to Lori and Garance!

Josie
 
Good afternoon ladies!

This morning was T25 Cardio and tonight is P90x Shoulders and Arms. We are expecting rain so depending on how hard it comes down I may/may not walk Chester.

Garance..I am looking forward to Cathe's new workouts also. Especially the X10 and the kickboxing one. looking forward to creating some nice workouts with the blender making them intense and within 30 minutes. This seems to work well for me in the mornings.

Deb...so frustrating with computer stuff!!!! I hope you have it all up and running soon. I keep forgetting you have two dogs. Are they both good at agility? or is one better than the other?

Judy...my hormones are all over the place. I have been so fortunate (SO FAR) not have that middle section gain from menopause. I will admit that I am working out with weights more than I ever have so not sure if this is what has helped me. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Valerie...sounds like your husband was well loved by his patients. He must have been so touched. Good job on the 25 mile bike ride. hoping you have solved the numbness.

Hi to the recovering Josie!
 
Good morning and Happy Friday!

Still not getting any help from the Geek Squad at Best Buy...they hung up on me twice last night, after being on the phone with them for 3 hours...Never again....I am so angry...maybe I will just disconnect the pc, take it back to Best Buy and throw it at the Geek Squad...sounds like a plan? .getting off soap box right now.

Garance, we have a rule at work, only one ear bud allowed while they are working....just in case we may want to talk to them as a group...they are sitting there not hearing, not paying attention....unbelievable.

Josie, spinning with one foot? interesting! I agree with you....I think I would like a little time after retirement to be alone before DH retires too!

Valerie, that was so nice of your husband's patients....he must be a great doctor!

Lori, yes both dogs do agility, Keegan has been doing it longer so he is better, but Kylee is coming along well too. Right now the X10 workout has me intrigued...love those short workouts! I like that you can make them as long as you want with her premixes. No one is as creative as Cathe when it comes to designing workouts and producing DVD products.

Judy, how is your FIL doing? did your SIL and family leave?

what is everyone up to this weekend?
 
Good Morning,

The past 2 days I’ve done Spinerval workouts. I’m getting used to the new bike. It’s much more challenging than my old one. It has a heavier flywheel and riding it feels more like actually riding an outdoor bike. I have today off and am thinking I will do strength training this morning and go for walk this afternoon.

Lynda-I am so glad I didn’t grow up with the technology of today. I was in my mid 30’s when I got my first home pc and cell phone, and while I am very attached to technology now, I still remember doing things the old fashioned way. I am somewhat removed from the 20 something generation since I don’t have children, and haven’t been in school for some time but I have to wonder how they can focus and get anything done with all the distractions.

Josie-I am so looking forward to menopause being over. It’s really encouraging to hear that things will get better..

Lori-My hormones starting taking a nose dive about 2 years ago, they are in the post menopause range but I haven’t made it a full year without periods. I went 10 months last year and was sure that it was over when they started back up. I ended up going to the doctor and getting an ultrasound to make sure everything was ok. I do think the weight training is helping me too.

Deb-sorry about your pc issues. Maybe if you talk to a manager at Best Buy you can get better support from the Geek Squad. FIL is doing ok this week. Having his family staying at his house seemed to help his cognition.
SIL and family went home on Monday, but SIL is coming back on Aug 25th for a week. The thing is she wants to stay with us and just go visit her dad :confused: I have to be honest here, she does not seem to be a caregiver type of person and it seems to me that she tries to avoid contact with him as much as possible. We still end up doing all the work while she is here. She makes a big deal about coming out to “help” but when she’s here she just acts like it’s her vacation. :mad: she is going to baseball games, visiting old friends, etc. DH says she is "detached" and acted the same way when their Mom died, almost 30 years ago. I think "detached" is being a little too generous..
Sorry, I’ll get off of my soapbox now:)

Valerie-congratulations to your husband on his retirement! It sounds like he was a wonderful doctor.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Judy
 
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Hi Ladies,

Upper body and abs workout today. We are also going to set up the house for a casino/ taco party tomorrow :). My DH wanted to have a summer party.

Judy, I have the same problem with my SIL. Their mom lives in 29 Palms which is 3 hours east of LA. She would come to our house and we would have to drive her to see her mom for a day and then she would stay with us for 2 weeks. She claimed that the Dessert was too hot for her, then she wanted me to entertain her because my DH would stay at work late to avoid her so I would end up stuck wit her. The last time she was here was a couple of years ago during my 2 week vacation at Christmas. I had my grandkids and her to deal with and she was the worst, she kept competing with the kids for attention. I told my DH that that was the last time she was invited to the house and he agreed.

Deb, ever since we got our Apple computer we have not have any problems. Before that, we had the Geek Squad over almost every month.

Lori, I'm going to try the P90X DVD's that you are doing. Shawn T is starting a challenge on August 5th. I had planed on doing it, but since my foot is out of commission I will have to wait :(

Garance, I have been trying to read your article, but I keep getting interrupted by my grandkids. I need to hide in the bathroom and read it :)

Hi to Valerie!

Josie
 
I know everyone retreats into their own little tech world but nowhere did I notice it as much as at the airport. wow. people used to talk to each other, at least a little. both in the airport and on the plane. now, everyone is stuck with their nose in some kind of device and no one says anything to anyone else. if they do, it's just a couple words, then back to their ipod, phone, tablet, whatever. I didn't think travel conversations were always brilliant and engaging but such a dramatic change from 20 years ago.

I also can't stand anything stuck in my ears. not a blue tooth, ipod, any of it. I don't know how anyone can think with music in their ears. I've never been able to stand that. could never use a stethoscope because the ear pieces hurt so much.... good thing I didn't want to be a doc or nurse.....
yes, DH was very well liked and a lot of people will miss him. he's the last of a dying breed, a doc who practices in the same general place for 25 years. most new people move constantly and nobody gets to know anyone else. Its too bad because that has been a big part of medicine.

Judy the same thing happened with my mother. I hadn't been back there for years but when I said I was coming to visit she perked up dramatically, wanted her hair done, got cleaned up and was way more motivated. If I were there all the time it wouldn't have the same effect. glad your FIL is better, even if only for the short term. some people just aren't motivated to be care givers. might have to do with the relationship with a parent from long ago. I'm not too good at it myself, thought I do talk to my mother regularly.

Deb good luck with BB. I can't stand that place. they are probably used to having things thrown at them. we bought an HP and DH got good assistance on their help line when a few things didn't work right.

ETA Josie we posted simultaneously... hope that works with the spin bike. I was able to do quite a few things after knee surgery when I wore a brace. get creative. hope your friend can help. good grief, an adult competing with the kids for attention??? some folks are bad bad guests....
 
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Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did All Out Low Impact Hiit with core 1 (49:22).

I think text-messaging particularly, but also email has had a very destructive effect on students' writing skills. There is also a lot more plagiarizing from the internet. I did have a funny experience traveling last year when there was a flight delay for me in Detroit (on my way to Indianapolis and then Bloomington for the Plath conference). There was also a convention for "Future Farmers of America" in Indianapolis and I sat in the waiting area across from about five of them (wearing strangely military-style outfits). They were playing some kind of game on their iphones where you see a logo for a famous brand, and you must spell it out. They knew the brands, but couldn't spell--e.g., Lamborghini, Pfizer, Dolby, Porsche. I started spelling them out for them because they were very loudly flailing about, and they were thrilled.

Judy, "detached" is too kind. Indifferent or self-absorbed is better. Maybe you should just tell her what she can do to help, since that is what she thinks she's doing. You might also try telling her what a difference it made for her dad having her around in his house. Nothing like a little guilt-tripping, either. You might say, "We can't take care of your dad and also take care of you as a guest." I had some similar issues with my older sister and my mom, and I finally told her, "You know, Sis, it's really not about you. It's about Mom."

Deb, do you have anyone at work with IT training? I guess I'm lucky because I just call someone here at the college when I have tech problems, even at home. Going out tonight with the photographer I wrote a piece for. Tomorrow is Jacob's Pillow for a Parisian ballet company, and on Sunday I think I will go see an indie film--The Way Way Back--by the
same writers who did The Descendants.

Josie, my older son would be glad to hear about your IMac. He works for Apple. I have a PC, but he's always trying to get me to change.

Hi to Valerie and Lori!
 
Good evening ladies!

Slept in this morning. DH is working late so figured I would work out in the evening. Did back to back T25 workouts - total circuit and then ab intervals. This ends week 3 of this rotation with another two weeks for the first phase. I have really noticed my thighs looking tighter and leaner. Loving this.

Deb...had a horrible experience with Geek squad. A few years back they came out to fix our computer and then talked me into upgrading my video card because at the time my son loved computer games. Well the new video card was too much for my computer to handle and it crashed the entire system. Would not even turn on. They ended up replacing our computer with another not a new one but refurbished which ended up having problems too. We ended up buying a new computer directly from Dell.

Judy...so sorry about your SIL. I agree with Garance. Oh and then you went 10 months then had a cycle!!!! Oh no I am at exactly 10 months now. Was really hoping I was done with everything!!!!!!

Josie..how old is your SIL? Sounds like the children are more mature than her. My next computer will be an Apple. Your party sounds like fun! I am really liking p90x more than I thought I would. Did not think I would ever pick it up again after STS. This round I am only doing the upper body workouts. Do not feel I need to do legs with all the T25 I am doing.

Hi to garance and valerie!!!!:)
 
Lori-yes, I went 10.5 months with no cycle, and I was so sure I was done, then I had one in January. I had 3 more, then they stopped again. I do hope you don't have that experience too. I hope we are both done with this now!
 
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