Setting it up

I have been back a couple of days now, still work free, which is a little boring, but I'm off through Tuesday and I'm really glad I took the time.  It has allowed me to get things going at home without the complications of life to get in the way.  Unpacking after a month away, well, that alone is a chore, no less try and implement what is now in my head into my reality.

The momentum is still well in hand and active.  I have really surprised myself at how "front of mind" I have been with all that I have learned. It's probably just fear motivating me, but I'll take it, knowledge is powerful stuff.  My drive home was a good example, I got my exercise in each day, ate really well in non-fast food joints (I swear GPS is the only way....the blue highway signs before each exit just don't cut it). And my progress in setting up my world has gone really well.

So on Wednesday, my first day back, I got up and put a list together of all the gyms and fitness resources I have around me.  Brian did this for me preliminarily during my fitness exit at the DFC, but there was a lot we didn't cover.  I am so happy to have done this as it really became clear what I was looking for versus what is available.  My confidence is really high, but I won't say that walking into a prospective gym as a big man doesn't still draw those 'looks' from behind the counter, or from those in the midst of workouts.  The big difference now is that I don't give a crap about that, and I actually find entertainment in it.  In the past,however, this would have been enough fodder to alter my course and avoid the situation entirely.  I never could have even approached the thresholds of these places without having my confidence, from a fitness standpoint, elevated while at Duke.  That relatively small amount of time facing the fitness demons at the DFC, (my own inward demons, not the evilly creative Fitness Guru's at Duke that bring pain) really allowed me to conduct the search in a knowledgeable way, that in itself, raised my confidence.  It's really funny how this all works sometimes.  Psycho at one level, but pretty real stuff that has been a hindrance in the past.  The upshot is that I found an absolutely parallel facility in terms of offerings....and so much more.

I joined the Loyola University's Health and Fitness Center.  Tons of classes with a staff that is similar to the high standards I became accustomed to at Duke.  I really like the tie to the medical school and medical center here. They have the same machines I was used to using already, plus so many of them!  This place is huge, there is an indoor 1/8 mile walking and jogging track, that I have already used on the slow speed, and there is so much strength training equipment, weights, basket ball & racket ball courts, a couple of classrooms, two pools, and yes, they have water volleyball.  In a much more organized way too, which I'm leery of, but we'll see. There are seemingly endless treadmills, 14 different stair machines, ellipticals out the ying yang (which are still awkward for me to use...I'll save those for thinner days. I'll let the bouncy ones use there. There is a healthy snack shop, dietitians on staff, massage..everything truly.  It just goes on and on.  If anyone wants to go, I have guest passes if you want to come play.  The clientele is a ton different...(I didn't me 'ton' on purpose...but it applies.)  There are bouncy people here.  Think Tigger. Men and women, both bouncy, I prefer the latter.  These are the folks that are my polar opposite.  There is usually Spandex involved...and they know how to use it.  I find I am distracted by a bobbing pony tail.  I can't explain it, nor do I probably have to....I admit to being a dirty old man freely.  The medical school and hospital staff definitely skew the population here.  And yet, I find inspiration in all of this, go figure!  Of the 1258 (estimated and exaggerated) machines they have here....they have exactly two of the machines that I have established myself with at Duke.  On the tour, I asked if they had them, and Nicole (bouncy, who works here) explained that I would be fighting all the seniors for them, so I either feel a bit remedial, or they are not enlightened by the power of the spleen removing workout that I am used to and the power of this machinery.  In reality, the bouncy ones probably don't require them.  I'm off.  I really like the place, and on day one, I literally didn't want to leave, but my body told me to...

Next item to address was grub.  I did an excellent job of eating myself out of the house before Duke, so I was pretty much starting with a clean slate on my return.  My first trip to the grocery store was like a repeat of some of the nutrition classes I had.  I used some new tools.  One of the cool ones is an ap called 'Fooducate'.  This little gem allows you to scan an item's UPC barcode....

Edit note****sorry didn't proof it.  something happened to cut off the bottom section....I'll have to rewrite it later, I'm late for an appointment....crap, it was good too.  oh well. I guess that's all you get for now!