Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Die elliptical, die!

Hello. After a very crappy start to this week, things seem to be turning around a bit. Monday was a very long day. After a less than delightful day at work I got a message from my aunt informing me that my cousin has been involved in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan. I was standing at the bus stop when I got her message and my heart stopped beating and I instantly has tears in my eyes. It took her a few seconds, which felt like hours, to gather herself enough to say that he was alive but seriously wounded. Around 12:30 that night, my aunt and uncle got another call from Wade's commanding officer. In the incident Wade sustained shrapnel injuries to the head, neck and leg, broke his foot, had many contusions and lacerations but was otherwise unharmed, thank God! We were relieved that Wade was going to alright, however, we were very sad because the other soldier that Wade was with didn't survive.

While this was the initial story that Wade's commanding officer told Sonija, the details have changed a lot since Wade talked to his mother directly. Apparently they were in the field and taking fire. Wade was on one hill providing coverage for another and he stepped on and IED. When the bomb exploded he was thrown into the air and landed, losing consciousness. When he awoke he jumped up to continue his coverage and it was then that he realized his leg was broken. As far as he knows, there was nobody else involved in the explosion and he doesn't think anybody else was hurt or killed, thank God again.

I can't even imagine how chaotic things must be over there. I am so grateful that both Wade and Dean's service will be up when they get back from their current tours. I couldn't be more proud of my brother or cousin but I'll be much happier with them here in the States. Speaking of which, my little brother gets to come home for his 2 week leave. He'll be back in Iowa very soon, he's actually leaving Afghanistan today!! I wish I could see him while he's back but I'm happy just to know he's in the country.

On a much less grim note, I have to tell you, I HATE THE ELLIPTICAL!!! To be fair, I might just hate the ellipticals in my gym. I used to use ellipticals all the time. It was, for a very long time, the primary source of my cardio. However, I don't know that I ever want to do it again! On Sunday, I was up earlier than normal so I got the gym at my apartment around 8:00 instead of 9:00. When I arrived, both functional treadmills were occupied. Instead of leaving and coming back I figured I'd just start on the elliptical and switch when one of the treadmills was free. OMG! After about 10 minutes one of the other girls left and I got down to head over to the tread, my legs were shaking. You know that feeling after really strenuous work when you basically have no real control over your limbs? That's how I felt. I could barely get my legs to do what I wanted. It took me 10 minutes of slow walking on the treadmill before I could start the rest of my workout. I did about 45 minutes after that and called it a day. I thought I was going to be OK, boy was I wrong. I woke up Monday morning and my calves were so sore. I couldn't believe it. It was even worse yesterday. Not only were my calves killing me, but my shoulders and neck hurt too. I assume it's because I was walking funny and ended up having referred pain in the upper body. I was stunned. I've been working out, regularly, for over 4 months. It's not like I do wimpy workouts either. I can't decided if I should stay away from the elliptical entirely or if I should start adding in small amounts. All I know is I apparently can't handle 10 minutes.

Anywho, I've had to postpone a few of my workouts this week. I could barely walk without wanting to cry so I figured it probably wasn't safe to be jogging. I don't want to actually injur myself. I think I'll be able to do the treadmill tomorrow and then next week I might start adding in small doses of elliptical each workout session.

Alright, I should eat lunch, I'm very hungry today. Have a great day ladies!

2 comments:

LeAnn said...

I've definitely had that experience with machines before. I've even had that coming off an elliptical. It's not a good feeling and it basically ruins your work out.

Sorry to hear of your cousin's accident. It sounds like he's lucky to be alive. My cousin (and Jenny's) is reenlisting, which is scary. I've been lucky to have friends and family who've gone overseas for some sort of tour and come back safe and sound.

I will be changing my lifestyle/routine in the next couple of days, so hopefully I'll have the inspiration and time to make solid changes. I'll be blogging on this soon, maybe tonight. Thanks for the share.

project.100.gone said...

I've always hated elipticals. I don't have the rhythm or coordination to make it a worthwhile workout for myself. I don't use them. I salute you for trying to work it into your routine in small amounts.

We've already chit-chatted about your cousin....now that I know more of the background of the situation....yikes. You hear about IEDs on tv but to actually hear about it happening to someone in your family....whoa.

I have enlisted in a 7 month weight-loss research study at ISU. I officially started on Wednesday but my bloodwork is done on Monday morning. I'll blog about that more in my own entry. Hopefully my participation in that study gives me a kick in the ass.