Bermuda: Day One

If you look closely, you can see Mom and Dad on their balcony.My mom, sister and I surprised my Dad with a trip to Bermuda over Labor Day weekend in honor of his 60th birthday.  (I think it's safe to say he was surprised, and that my mom is very proud of herself for pulling it off.)

My sister and I arrived at the Fairmont Southampton late Friday night.  Saturday morning, I woke up eager to check out the fitness center.  The previous week had been something of a bust exercise-wise because of work and my shoulder.  I was feeling better, so I really wanted to get back in the gym.

The gym was nice enough, but when I got down there, I learned that the hotel charges $15 per day to use the fitness center.  It never fails to amaze me that when I stay at Holiday Inns, I get free wireless, access to the gym and breakfast, and when I stay at these nice places, they charge for everything! I decided to pay for one day.

Me in oceanThe gym had a number of treadmills and other cardio machines, a small circuit of Cybex weight machines, lots of those big balls people use for crunches, and a large assortment of dumbbells.  I planned on running during the trip, but figured I'd save that for the beaches.  I stuck to weights. 

I also did pull-ups on Cybex rack that's usually used for back squats and bench presses.  The bar was resting on the highest rung, which was the perfect height for me.  I could just reach up and grab the bar.  I didn't need a two foot bench (like I do at CrossFit Metropolis) or even to stand on my tippie-toes.  This was new.  I did lots of pull-ups.  Don't get excited, they weren't consecutive.  But I did a lot of singles.  I thought about practicing my kipping, but felt too self-conscious about how that would look.  I did single pull-ups till my arms were done.  That felt good.

Along the road where we ranLater that day, I hit the ocean.  I most splashed around, but I did swim a little bit. At around five o'clock, my sister was ready to run.  I figured that was a good idea, despite the 85 degree temperature and near 100% humidity.  We got instructions from the concierge and set off in different directions.  Not even 10 minutes later, we found each other. Neither of our routes looked promising.  The sidewalk-less roads were narrow and the cars fast.  Also, we were drenched.  We trekked on in a different direction for another few minutes, and called it quits thinking we'd figure out a different run for the next day.

(To be continued...)

-Gym Belle-