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Conveniently for me, one of the branches of my gym that's open today is the one I usually go to; this is convenient because I know my way around there, and can get to it straightforwardly. On the way to the subway, I got ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cattitude to walk with me up West 217th Street, to Park Terrace East, and around the top of Isham Park. He posted the Christmas flower survey from that walk. We also saw and heard a few cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis, the source of my username), which are a delight but, unlike periwinkles and honeysuckle, not an anomaly at any time of year.
The workout was satisfying. I'm used to seeing a lot of the same people at the gym (because I tend to go at the same times of day and days of the week). Today, there were about the same number of people, but the only one who looked familiar was the trainer who stopped to chat for a moment; I'd guess the others normally work out elsewhere.
I had lunch in Chinatown partly from habit, and partly because I was confident that things would be open there. My usual place was open, so I didn't need to find a different restaurant to supply my roast duck (though plenty were available). After eating, I wandered east and north, and bought ginger, scallions, and broccoli along the way. I keep looking at kumquats on the stands and realizing I have no idea of what I'd cook with them.
On the same "I know it will be open" principle, I stopped off in Washington Heights for a loaf of seeded rye bread and (why not?) some chocolate chip meringues. Having gotten off the train at 181st, I decided to get back on at 190th. When I got to the subway entrance, which is right next to Fort Tryon Park, I remembered the nearby garden and decided to walk a little more.
Most of what's in bloom in the Heather Garden is varieties of heather. Stalks of purple and white flowers, low to the ground, under a gray sky. Most, but not all: an exuberant magenta rhododendron branch caught my eye almost as soon as I walked in. A bit further along are some fine purple berries, and then a bush with cream-colored flowers, fairly simple (a shallow bowl formed by a circle of five or so petals). I also saw a few small flowers other than the heather, mostly purple; the startling ones were long and skinny, looking barely open, at the top of red-leafed plants.
Gym numbers:
Cardio, 22 minutes (plus two cooldown), top heart rate 158
Chest press, 75 pounds, 8; 65 pounds, 9
Adjustable row, 70 pounds, 3 sets of 15
Calf raise, 80 pounds, 2 sets of 12; 75 pounds, 13
Tricep pulldown on balance pad, 45 pounds, 15, 12
Leg press, 250 pounds, 3 sets of 15
Glute machine, 30 pounds, 19 each leg
Crunches, 3 sets of 30
Back arch, 3 sets of 17
Tree, 4 sets of {3 on each side}
Balance lateral raise, 5 pounds each hand, 2 sets of 15; 2.5 each, 15
Balance ~fly, on yet another new machine, this one set to "6/30", 15 with each leg forward (I tried the 10/50 setting first, and it was clearly far too heavy)
Bicep curls, 10 pounds each hand, 20, 20, 14. My right hand felt a bit strained at that point in the third set, so I stopped.
Squats, 15 shallow, 15 deeper using a railing to balance
Stretches
cattitude to walk with me up West 217th Street, to Park Terrace East, and around the top of Isham Park. He posted the Christmas flower survey from that walk. We also saw and heard a few cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis, the source of my username), which are a delight but, unlike periwinkles and honeysuckle, not an anomaly at any time of year.The workout was satisfying. I'm used to seeing a lot of the same people at the gym (because I tend to go at the same times of day and days of the week). Today, there were about the same number of people, but the only one who looked familiar was the trainer who stopped to chat for a moment; I'd guess the others normally work out elsewhere.
I had lunch in Chinatown partly from habit, and partly because I was confident that things would be open there. My usual place was open, so I didn't need to find a different restaurant to supply my roast duck (though plenty were available). After eating, I wandered east and north, and bought ginger, scallions, and broccoli along the way. I keep looking at kumquats on the stands and realizing I have no idea of what I'd cook with them.
On the same "I know it will be open" principle, I stopped off in Washington Heights for a loaf of seeded rye bread and (why not?) some chocolate chip meringues. Having gotten off the train at 181st, I decided to get back on at 190th. When I got to the subway entrance, which is right next to Fort Tryon Park, I remembered the nearby garden and decided to walk a little more.
Most of what's in bloom in the Heather Garden is varieties of heather. Stalks of purple and white flowers, low to the ground, under a gray sky. Most, but not all: an exuberant magenta rhododendron branch caught my eye almost as soon as I walked in. A bit further along are some fine purple berries, and then a bush with cream-colored flowers, fairly simple (a shallow bowl formed by a circle of five or so petals). I also saw a few small flowers other than the heather, mostly purple; the startling ones were long and skinny, looking barely open, at the top of red-leafed plants.
Gym numbers:
Cardio, 22 minutes (plus two cooldown), top heart rate 158
Chest press, 75 pounds, 8; 65 pounds, 9
Adjustable row, 70 pounds, 3 sets of 15
Calf raise, 80 pounds, 2 sets of 12; 75 pounds, 13
Tricep pulldown on balance pad, 45 pounds, 15, 12
Leg press, 250 pounds, 3 sets of 15
Glute machine, 30 pounds, 19 each leg
Crunches, 3 sets of 30
Back arch, 3 sets of 17
Tree, 4 sets of {3 on each side}
Balance lateral raise, 5 pounds each hand, 2 sets of 15; 2.5 each, 15
Balance ~fly, on yet another new machine, this one set to "6/30", 15 with each leg forward (I tried the 10/50 setting first, and it was clearly far too heavy)
Bicep curls, 10 pounds each hand, 20, 20, 14. My right hand felt a bit strained at that point in the third set, so I stopped.
Squats, 15 shallow, 15 deeper using a railing to balance
Stretches