I didn't get to the gym this morning; instead I did some extra work. But I didn't skip either. I headed to the gym at 4 PM and did 30 minutes of cardio. I pushed a little harder. My heart rate is still way up, but once I settle in it should come back down again. In any event, it felt good, no knee pain or anything.

Up at 4:20 AM after getting to sleep after 10 PM. When I woke up, I was in no mood to go to the gym, but I ate breakfast, got ready, and headed into the office. By the time I got to the office, my mood was better and I went to the gym.

25 minutes of cardio today, abbreviated mainly because I became famished while on the elliptical. Even though I ate breakfast, I was still hungry and the feeling was growing more intense with each step. So I made it to 25 minutes and called it quits. When I got back to the office, I had my "second" breakfast (toasted peanut butter and banana sandwich). I feel much better.

You'd think the big news this morning would have been that Obama won North Carolina and nearly split Indiana, all of which was good news for Obama (it would have been better if he had decisively won both, of course). But no. The top story this morning (while I was at the gym) was the fact that northern Virgina area experienced a whopping 1.5 magnitude earthquake.

You didn't read that wrong: 1.5.

For those of us who lived in Southern California, a 1.5 magnitude earthquake making top story in the news would be the equivalent of a 1.5 cm snow storm making top-story of the news in Boston in the middle of winter. Of course, this isn't Socal, but still, a 1.5 earthquake is what happens when a truck passed by on the street.

I may be biased here. I lived through numerous quakes, including the deadly Northridge quake in 1994--in fact, my family lived in Northridge at the time, and had to relocate for a few months while damage to our house was repaired. It got to the point, eventually, where I didn't even get out of bed for anything less than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake, mostly because I am a heavy sleeper and I simply slept through them.

I'm donating blood this morning. The Red Cross is here at my office taking donations and I signed up a while back. I have a 9:30 appointment. This will be my second time donating. The first time, my blood type was identified as O positive and since then, I get at least 1 call a week from the Red Cross, asking me to donate blood. This, despite the fact that you can only donate once every 45 days or so. If ever the term "vampire" applied...

After a few month of sabbatical, I finally made it back to the gym this morning. I was up at 4:20 AM (after having been in bed just before 8 PM), had breakfast, and then headed into the office. I did a quick check of email and then headed over to the gym.

I did 40 minutes of cardio, taking it easy, and not trying to push myself (although I eventually worked my way up to 80 RPM). A little bit of right knee pain about 25 minutes in, but I adjusted my leg motion and the pain went away. I ended up burning 558 calories and doing 2.98 miles.

I feel pretty good for just having made it to the gym this morning.

I got in a partial cardio workout at lunch today, because I didn't get to the gym this morning. Partial because I had a meeting right at 1 PM and didn't get to the gym as soon as I'd hoped. I did a little over 20 minutes on the elliptical, which is just over half of my normal cardio workout. Then a quick shower and back to the office for my 1 PM meeting.

I did get to the gym at lunch today. My tag-up meeting ran over and I finally hopped on an elliptical at about 12:15, but I did a full 40 minute cardio workout and it felt pretty good. In the end I burned 567 calories and 3.04 miles. My heart rate was higher than my normal range but I'm still getting back into things, so I wasn't worried.

Despite getting to bed around 1 AM, I was up at 7:30 AM. I headed down to the hotel restaurant for a scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes breakfast, waited 45 minutes or so and then headed to the gym where I did a full 40 minute cardio workout, which felt great.

Usually, I listen to Def Leppard's Hysteria album when I do my workouts, but this morning I changed it up. I tried out R.E.M.'s Life Rich Pageant, which turned out to be the perfect length for 40 minutes of cardio (plus you get that strong finish with "Superman").

I'm heading into the shower and then it's down to the conference for my first session of the day.

I just finished an abbreviated lower body workout the hotel fitness center. What I thought might be allergies looks like it might be a cold or bug or something. While my throat isn't sore, my head has felt weird since this morning, and my eyes are burning a little--like the onset of a fever. It's not too bad, but rather than risk burning myself out for the weekend, I cut the workout short after about 2/3rds of a full group of exercises (not much, really).

I'm going to hit the showers, then find some place that has some Advil. Then I'm heading down to conference registration.

Yes, I made it to the gym both yesterday and today. Yesterday I did my first strength workout this year. I did arms and shoulders and it wasn't quite a full workout. I did about 5/9ths my normal, lifting a total of about 8,000 lbs, doing 130 crunches and 100 jumping jacks. I started to feel like I was overdoing it, too much too fast and rather than push myself (and end up hurting myself), I stopped at that point. I'll work my way back more slowly rather than risk injury.

Today I did 40 minutes on the elliptical again, this time, I was closer to my usual 80 RPM and my heart rate was somewhat better than on Tuesday.

Because of my schedule, both of these workouts were at lunch rather than at my usual 5:45 AM time.

I'm a little sore today, but not as bad as I thought I would be.

Tomorrow will be my first lower body workout in a while. I won't have time to do it in the morning, but I'll be getting in the workout after I get to the Westin Waterfront hotel in Boston for the science fiction convention this weekend.

After a month and a half off, I finally got back to the gym today. I was up at 4:20 AM (as usual), into the gym by 5:50 AM and did a 40 minute cardio workout. I definitely kept a slower pace (about 75 RMP), but maintained the same level as where I left off. It felt good to be back, and the cold air outside after finishing my workout felt even better. I'm starving now!

Up at 4:20 AM, had breakfast and into the gym just before 6 AM. I had to talk myself into actually getting to the gym this morning--after having been out of the office for a week, I nearly skipped the gym to catch up on email and other things that I might have missed. But I got in there at 6 AM and managed a full 40 minute cardio workout, burning 560 calories in just over 3 miles.

Kelly and I were up around 7 AM, had cereal for breakfast and then walked over to the fitness center. (Yes, even though it is December 22, it was probably close to 70 degrees when we headed out this morning. If it weren't for the Christmas decorations strewn about here and there, the weather alone could make one forget what time of year it is.)

Since I didn't do a workout yesterday, I did a mixed, light workout today. Today would normally have been a cardio day. I did about 10 minutes of cardio on an elliptical, followed by a full group of strength training (arms and shoulders, mostly). It felt good to get the workout in.

Up at 4:20 AM, had breakfast, and then into the gym by 5:50 AM. Today was arms and shoulders and I got in a full workout. I did a total of 14,310 lbs compared to last week's 13,590. I upped the weight on kickbacks, and upped the number of reps on shrugs--that accounted for most of the difference.

My weight was down to 152 lbs this morning (as compared to 155 lbs last week).

It was a good workout. I've definitely got the timing down for the arms & shoulders. I haven't gotten back to lower body yet. Currently that's scheduled for Friday but it will depend on how much I can get done, since I'm also flying to Florida Friday morning.

Up at 4:20 AM--after a few stray thoughts of taking a sick day simply because I was tired--I fought them off and got up, had breakfast and headed into the gym. The cardio workout today was outstanding. I'm finally getting back to the point where my heart rate is dropping. When I started up again a few weeks ago, an 80 RPM pace had me at a heart rate of 168. (My target range is 148.) Today, 80 RPM had me around 154-155. That's a good sign. I did 3.04 miles and burned somewhere around 565 calories.

Leaving the gym, the air was cold and it felt great. I took several deep breaths, drawing that cold air into my lungs and it was quite a rush. I've felt really good since the workout and have been quite productive in the three hours since.

I couldn't sleep last night, and although I was in bed around 8:30 PM, it wasn't until sometime between 11 PM and midnight that I finally fell asleep. Nevertheless, I was up at 4:20 AM, had breakfast and headed into the gym (it was cold this morning with the wind).

I did a full chest/back workout this morning, totaling 21,795 lbs, which is a marked improvement over last week when I did 20,140 lbs. I'm still not able to do a full 3rd set of flat chest presses at 105 lbs (I did 11 reps instead of 12); I guess it takes a while to get back to where I was. I did manage a full 3rd set of inclined chest presses at 75 lbs, which is an improvement.

Just finished my second breakfast (peanut butter and banana sandwich on wheat toast) and now it's back to work!

My company had it's holiday party last night. It was the biggest turnout I'd seen in several years and it was fun. Kelly came and we spent time talking with friends and coworkers, eating a variety of good foods (Karl, Todd and I did several deviled egg "shots"), and in general, having a really fun time.

After the party was over, we headed over to Carpool where we met several more friends for drinks. From there we walked back to Kelly's place.

This morning, we had scrambled eggs for breakfast, and a little later, we made ginger bread, which was also pretty good. We lazed around for much of the morning, but eventually we got to the gym and I did a cardio workout, plus a little bit of abs and arm work. Now I'm all set to start with strength training on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

We headed back to my place early this afternoon. We both had to do a little bit of work. Some storms are expected this evening. I had a bunch of mail. Renewal for our Orioles season tickets arrived today. Also some holiday cards I ordered from Buttercream Cards. I guess I have some holiday cards to work on!

Up at 4:20 AM and into the gym by 5:50 AM. I did the usual 40 minute workout, doing 3.03 miles and burning about 465 calories. I've noticed that my heart rate is coming down during the workouts, which is a good sign. Next week, I'm switching to MWF strength training and Tues/Thurs/Sat cardio workouts, for scheduling reasons.

Oh, and I'm nearly at my peak weight again. When I stepped on the scale this morning, it topped off at 155 lbs.

When my alarm went off at 4:20 this morning, I was still pretty tired. In fact, as I got dressed and ready to eat, I kept telling myself that I could skip the workout this morning and do it at lunch instead. Except that now my lunches are reserved for writing (and some reading) and I'd be giving up that time for nothing more than laziness on my part. So I made it into the gym as scheduled and did a full arms and shoulders workout. I did a total of 13,590 lbs today, as compared to the 12,960 lbs I did on my last arms/shoulders workout.

Incidentally, I'm not really that sore from the chest/back workout on Monday. Just a little. My lower back was aching a little this morning, but I think that's unrelated to the workout. Overall, it felt good this morning and I'm glad I convinced myself to come in.

Up at 4:20 AM. I didn't get to bed as early as I hoped, but was still in bed well before 10 PM. Good workout this morning, 40 minutes of cardio. I did 3.05 miles and 569 calories burned. It felt good.

Up at 4:20 AM, a full breakfast and then into the gym for a chest and back strength training workout. I did a total of 20,140 lbs. as compared to last week when I did 17,040, a fairly substantial increase. It felt pretty good, but I didn't feel quite as energetic as last time (perhaps because I didn't get as much sleep last night).

Up at 4:20 AM, had a full breakfast (Wheaties, milk, juice, banana) and then off to catch the train. It was raining and I was caught at the railroad crossing near my house waiting for a short freight train, which is unusual at 4:55 AM, but I still managed to catch the first Yellow line into the office.

Cardio day today and I went up one level on the elliptical, which didn't change all that much, nor did it feel like an additional strain. I did 40 minutes and ended at just over 3 miles and something like 565 calories. Felt good, and though I was tired when I woke up this morning, I looked forward to the cardio workout. (I had a stomach ache on the train, but it passed and did not at all prevent me from getting a good workout in.)