I just returned from working out at La Familia Rec Center, near Dailey Park in Denver. It’s a few blocks from our apartment.

During this cycle of chemo (the third), I was a little later getting to the rec center than last cycle. I took some walks and did some yoga and Pilates, but I didn’t get to the rec center until last Thursday and then Saturday. I did a workout at home in between, and by Saturday I was pretty tired.

I’ve been trying to maintain my strength throughout chemo, but today was the first day I managed to ride the recumbent bike for 30 minutes, and that was only on level 3. Now, I’ve never ridden the bike at a level higher than 5, but 3 seems pretty wimpy. After about 15 minutes, I went down to level 2 because my legs were tired. I tried to keep my heart rate around 140.

Afterward, I did some resistance training: sitting row, hip abduction and adduction, leg extension. I would have done 3 sets of dead lifts at 40 pounds (including the bar), but there were too many people in the weight room. Maybe I can do those next time. I think they’re good for my back.

After my workout, I stretched in the basketball gym while a man practiced 3-point shots. Then I walked closer to the murals at the back of the gym. According to the woman at the front desk, the athletes in the mural were modeled after various people from the community in 1979. I wonder if they were excited to see themselves immortalized that way. She said the mural had never been touched up, and it looks great (except for the football player who’s positioned so as to kick the boxer in the crotch).

There’s another mural in the pool area, which includes a couple of figures and various solar bodies. It’s a different style than the mural in the gym, but apparently two of the artists were the same.