Iron rails & iron weights

1:08:22 PM EDT

Moving

What with the upcoming shutdown of AOL Journals, this blog is now at http://www.ironrailsironweights.wordpress.com/

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11:11:20 PM EDT
Half good

I suppose it's a sign of progress when the Eighth Avenue line is good half the time.  The afternoon was wretched, but at least the morning was okay.  I got the shuttle from Medford, but in a change from the usual I took the 7:04 Penn Station express from Ronkonkoma rather than the Flatbush Avenue train.  Just for some variety.  While the 7:04 was its typical cattle trainish self, it worked out okay for me because a slightly chubby but not excessively large woman sat next to me at Deer Park.  Which was lucky, because Deer Park probably has a higher percentage of elephantine SCA's than any other station I know, including Ronkonkoma.  I should point out that while the woman sitting next to me was within the tolerable size zone, she had gone a bit heavy on the perfume.  Not nauseatingly so, but enough that I was most definitely conscious of her aroma.  We got into Penn without any delays, and to my delight I waited less than a minute for a A train to Broadway-Nassau.

Getting to Penn after work was quite a different story.  I waited what seemed like an eternity for a train at Broadway-Nassau, though in fact it was about ten minutes.  Which is obscene during rush hour, of course.  I was about to metaphorically throw in the towel and head for the 2/3 part of the station when a C finally plodded into the station.  How I managed to squish aboard is still a mystery.  The only good thing about the whole sorry experience is that when we pulled into Canal at the same time as an E on the opposite platform, the conductor helpfully announced that the E would be leaving the station first.  Needless to say, I joined the cross-platform rush to the E.  Once at Penn I thought that the 5:41 to Ronkonkoma was going to be indisposed, so to speak, because by 5:37 it still hadn't arrived on the platform.  It finally arrived from the east, with passengers, and despite the delays which occurred when the passengers got off before boarding could begin we actually got underway only a couple of minutes behind schedule.  It was yet another cattle train, but I found an aisle seat next to an ordinary-sized older man and had a decent enough ride to Ronkonkoma and the shuttle.

No gym tonight, it was a much-needed rest day.


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11:11:20 PM EDT
Half good

I suppose it's a sign of progress when the Eighth Avenue line is good half the time.  The afternoon was wretched, but at least the morning was okay.  I got the shuttle from Medford, but in a change from the usual I took the 7:04 Penn Station express from Ronkonkoma rather than the Flatbush Avenue train.  Just for some variety.  While the 7:04 was its typical cattle trainish self, it worked out okay for me because a slightly chubby but not excessively large woman sat next to me at Deer Park.  Which was lucky, because Deer Park probably has a higher percentage of elephantine SCA's than any other station I know, including Ronkonkoma.  I should point out that while the woman sitting next to me was within the tolerable size zone, she had gone a bit heavy on the perfume.  Not nauseatingly so, but enough that I was most definitely conscious of her aroma.  We got into Penn without any delays, and to my delight I waited less than a minute for a A train to Broadway-Nassau.

Getting to Penn after work was quite a different story.  I waited what seemed like an eternity for a train at Broadway-Nassau, though in fact it was about ten minutes.  Which is obscene during rush hour, of course.  I was about to metaphorically throw in the towel and head for the 2/3 part of the station when a C finally plodded into the station.  How I managed to squish aboard is still a mystery.  The only good thing about the whole sorry experience is that when we pulled into Canal at the same time as an E on the opposite platform, the conductor helpfully announced that the E would be leaving the station first.  Needless to say, I joined the cross-platform rush to the E.  Once at Penn I thought that the 5:41 to Ronkonkoma was going to be indisposed, so to speak, because by 5:37 it still hadn't arrived on the platform.  It finally arrived from the east, with passengers, and despite the delays which occurred when the passengers got off before boarding could begin we actually got underway only a couple of minutes behind schedule.  It was yet another cattle train, but I found an aisle seat next to an ordinary-sized older man and had a decent enough ride to Ronkonkoma and the shuttle.

No gym tonight, it was a much-needed rest day.


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6:13:28 PM EDT
I wasn't particularly motivated today and almost didn't go to the gym at all, but finally dragged myself there and arrived around four.  That only gave an hour until closing time, so I had to have a fairly short session.  I started out with a bit more work on the double-end bag, around 10 to 15 minutes' worth, and seemed to be getting a bit more accurate as the session went on.  It's still very tough.  I then did some neutral grip pull-ups, though not comparable to Friday's 48 total reps.  It was one set of eight then two sets of six, for a total of 20 reps.  Next, I did 25 minutes on the stationary cycle using the "Kiliminjaro" course, which is one long climb to the top of the resistance scale followed by a decline to the bottom of the scale.  As time was getting very short I skipped the 5-minute cooldown.  Finally, I did SLDL's, 3 x 8 x 195.


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1:02:53 AM EDT
Most impressive.  Today I tried out the gym's newly relocated boxing area for the first time. It occupies what had been the basketball court, which never got much use - no doubt on account of the gym's policy of charging $10 per hour per person for use of the court.  It can still be used for half court games.  The boxing ring has been moved to the new area and is now at regulation height.  The two heavy bags, two speed bags and the uppercut bag have been installed, and now there's enough room to use them without getting in other peoples' way, which was definitely not the case in the former location.  And best of all, there's now a double-end bag, something I've long wanted to try.  After a bit of work on the speed bag I spent a good 15 or 20 minutes on the double-end bag.  It's a fiendishly difficult thing to hit, as it moves around with blazing speed, and for the first few minutes my punches hit mostly air.  Eventually I started getting the hang of it, first being able to land single punches and finally landing with a combination or two.  Of course I still have a long way to go before I'm anything remotely approaching good at it. 

After finishing with the bag work I did some squats, my first in a couple weeks, and kept things light: 8 x 135, 8 x 225, 8 x 255, 6 x 275, 8 x 225.  The squat racks, along with the power rack and the 100+ pound dumbbells are now in the former boxing area, which I suspect is now meant to be the more hardcore part of the gym.  Fine with me.  The only disadvantage is that no mirrors have yet been installed in this area, so it's hard to check your form.  After doing the squats I did a few Life Fitness leg extensions, 2 x 8 x 200.  I finished the session with yet another programmable course on the stationary cycle.  It was the "Cascades" course, the same as I'd done a few days ago though with a notch higher resistance, 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute cooldown.


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8:26:17 PM EDT
Doing it again

Today I was able to work somewhat shorter hours than usual, so mindful of yesterday's pleasant experience on the 7:40 from Ronkonkoma to Flatbush Avenue I decided to go for it once again.  It was an M-3 consist today, and while it probably wasn't really necessary I decided to play it safe and took a single seat.  In fact it wasn't necessary, as the car never got even half full at any point.  If yesterday and today are any indication, and keep in mind this is usually a high-ridership time of year, it is difficult to imagine why the LIRR hasn't canceled the 7:40 for lack of ridership.  I'm hoping they're too incompetent to make such a self-evident decision.  The 7:40's been running for a couple of years now, which probably is a testimony to the aforesaid incompetence.  Whatever the case, I had an easy ride into Flatbush, and then waited less than a minute for a 4 express train to Fulton.  When I first boarded a woman was rather loudly proclaiming some sort of religious message.  She was annoying, but I turned up my iPod to drown out her babbling, and after a few minutes she shut up and took a seat.

Being able to leave work a bit early, I decided for a little variety to walk to Park Place for a 2 express to Penn.  The walk to Park Place actually isn't that much longer than to the 2/3 part of Fulton Street, even though my workplace is right next to an entrance to the Fulton/Broadway-Nassau station complex.  That should give some idea of the complex's vastness.  I got the 4:51 to Ronkonkoma, which unlike the morning's train was quite crowded.  While I haven't taken this train too often, I believe it indeed does tend to be heavily used.  A not-too-large man sat next to me and was no bother, and the ride to Ronkonkoma went by quite quickly.

Gym: I decided it was time to return to weights, albeit tentatively.  Bench pressing came first, unfortunately I didn't do too well: 6 x 135, 4 x 185, 2 x 205, 2 x 5 x 225, 4 x 225.  I was struggling so hard on the last few reps I decided to play it safe and stop at that point.  Still, not that long ago 14 total reps at 225 would have been quite an achievement, and hopefully I'll be back to full strength soon.  As an alternative to benching I did some cable crossovers, a exercise I'd tried in the hotel fitness center last weekend.  I did 3 x 8 with 30 pounds resistance on each side.  That doesn't sound like much, but it's difficult to get decent leverage on that exercise so weights have to be kept fairly low.  What did go well, very well indeed, were neutral grip pull-ups.  In what I believe is a record I did 48 total pull-ups, 4 x 6 followed by 6 x 4.  Cool.  I finished up with yet another programmable course on the stationary cycle.  Tonight I did "Kiliminjaro," for 20 minutes and then a 5-minute cooldown.


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3:38:29 PM EDT

Bad timing turned good

I was able to go in a little later today, so rather than taking the shuttle from Medford I drove to Ronkonkoma for the 7:32.  Or, at least I meant to drive to Ronkonkoma for the 7:32, as some heavier-than-expected traffic and then an especially crowded parking lot at the station made me a few minutes too late to catch that train.  Actually I probably could have made it if I had run from my car to the platform, but long ago I swore that I would never run to catch a train except in the most dire circumstances.  It's a way of salvaging what very few shreds of dignity still remain.  Trust me, a decade of LIRR riding is one of the most effective - ruthless, indeed - dignity destroyers out there.  It's essential that I protect what's left.  In any event, missing the 7:32 turned out very well, as I got the 7:40 to Flatbush Avenue instead.  On the very few occasions I've taken that train it never seemed particularly crowded and today was most assuredly no exception.  In fact, no one sat next to me for the entire trip to Flatbush Avenue, a very rare luxury on any train out of Ronkonkoma. To make things even better, I waited only about 30 seconds for a 4 express at Atlantic Avenue and had a seat the whole way to Fulton.

Getting home turned out pretty decently too.  I got a C at Broadway-Nassau after about a minutes' wait, and despite having to move to a different car at Chambers due to a rather smelly skell it was a fairly good performance all the way to Penn.  No unusual delays, not even for the track switch after Canal.  Timing was good enough that I was able to get the 5:22 to Ronkonkoma.  While there were a few scary moments thanks to what seemed like an inordinately large number of elephantine SCA's waiting in the same cows-at-the-slaughterhouse-chute half-moon as me, it worked out okay because a slender older woman sat next to me and left me with ample room.  She was quiet and not annoying in any other respects, behavior that would have been somewhat unusual in a young woman (have they no respect?) but seems par for the course (pardon the cartball expression) for women once they pass age 50 or so.  Men, especially SCA's, are quite different as they by and large do not get any less annoying as they get older.  It was an easy enough ride to Ronkonkoma.

Gym: I had considered resuming weights, after my dental escapades of earlier in the week, but decided to wait one more day.  I did another 30-minute course on the stationary cycle ("Around the World"), with a 5-minnute cooldown period.

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10:51:21 PM EDT
Coping with the SCA menace - an unorthodox approach

Over the years my attempts at coping with obnoxious SCA's have been fruitless.  Almost invariably, each time an annoying SCA plops down next to me, I end up accomplishing, well, nothing.  Today was quite different, though it's not long-term solution.  I got the shuttle from Medford and then the 6:52 Flatbush Avenue train at Ronkonkoma.  The 6:52 didn't seem too crowded, and the seat next to me remained empty until a not-too-large older man sat there at Bethpage.  He wasn't any trouble and I figured I'd be in for an easy ride.  Unfortunately, he got off at Mineola and a stereotypical SCA took his place.  The SCA probably was no older than 35, yet as is so typical he was turning soft and jowly if not (yet) obese.  Living proof that a weekly round of cartball does not make one hardbodied.  He of course tried to push into my already inadequate space to make room for himself as he did work stuff on his computer.  Yep, he was so Alpha he couldn't even take a short train ride without working away.  It was a miserable situation for me .... and I didn't care!  You see, the oral surgeon had given me a prescription for Vicodin after treating yesterday's spot of dental bother, as the British would say.  Vicodin has tranquilizing effects in addition to being a strong painkiller.  What with some lingering discomfort from yesterday's troubles I had taken a Vicodin right before leaving for work this morning.  By the time I had my SCA encounter at Mineola the tranquilizing effects had kicked in, and what normally would have been a miserable situation just didn't register on my pharmacologically dulled mental radar.  I rode in relative tranquility until I got off at Jamaica and got the 8:01 dual mode to Penn.  Now, by the time I got an A train to Broadway-Nassau the Vicodin had worn off to such an extent that I would have had a tough time dealing with things had the A been on its usual bad behavior, but to my pleasant surprise it ran delay-free.

Of course I had no further Vicodin effects by the time I left work, but my trip home was sufficiently trouble-free that I had no particular need for a tranquilizer.  I waited less than 30 seconds for an A at Broadway-Nassau and got a seat right away.  There were no skells in the car, and no noticeable delays on the way to Penn.  I got the 5:22 to Ronkonkoma, which to my pleasant surprise was an M-3 consist.  It got relatively cattle-trainish, but I had an aisle seat next to a somewhat chubby but tolerable woman of about 30.  She did a lot of cell-phone chattering but kept it at a reasonably low volume, low enough that my iPod blocked all sounds.  The ride to Ronkonkoma and the shuttle went by fast enough, I read most of the way and that helped pass the time.

Gym: I wasn't quite up to doing any weights, after yesterday, but I did 30 minutes on the stationary cycle.  I used one of the programmable courses, "Cascades," which makes things less boring than riding at the same level.


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7:42:41 PM EDT
Back from vacation, and as I'm not going back to work until tomorrow I had planned to do some serious gym action today.  Unfortunately, a bit of a dental crisis that arose on the way back necessitated an emergency visit to the oral surgeon today and kiboshed any gym plans.  All is not lost, as I had managed to get in a couple of pretty good sessions at a hotel fitness center while away, and I should be able to resume some limited activity tomorrow.


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10:18:59 PM EDT
Back to the 1

It was an abbreviated workday today thanks to a company party held in the early afternoon.  As I wasn't sure if I'd be taking a return train that would connect with the Medford shuttle, I drove to Ronkonkoma and got the 7:06 sort-of express to Penn.  It's a sort-of express because it makes more stops than the 7:19 but fewer than the 7:32.  Whatever the case, I experienced a rather unusual turnabout.  On a number of occasions I've complained about sitting near women who've reeked of perfume.  Today, something different yet similar happened at Deer Park, when a man who reeked of after shave lotion sat next to me. Can I never catch a break, or what? On the bright side, he wasn't too large, but that was small consolation.  At least we got to Penn on time, it must've been one of the very few times at which Penn actually smelled good to me.  I decided to take the Seventh Avenue line, and got a 2 express to Fulton.  I used a different exit and walked west along John Street instead of Fulton, which makes sense because utility work has made the sidewalks on Fulton a total mess. 

Following the company event, I decided to honor old times' sake and walked to Houston Street for the 1 train, which had been my normal route for eight years until last month.  I changed at 14th for a 3, and got to Penn in time to get the 3:55 to Ronkonkoma.  It was surprisingly crowded for a pre-rush hour train, fortunately I was able to find an aisle seat next to a not-too-large woman ... actually she was unusually tall, close to if not over six feet, but she wasn't wide, and of course it's the horizontal dimension that matters.  We got to Ronkonkoma on time, interestingly this train actually has a Medford connection, so I didn't need to drive to Ronkonkoma at all.  As I didn't know when I'd get out of the company event, however, it made sense to go to Ronkonkoma.

Gym: 40 minutes on the stationary cycle at 19.7 mph.

We're off on vacation for a few days, so no blog updates until next week.


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