Getting Better

I nailed EKG interpretation in lab last night. The instructor ended up telling me what strips to find in the giant pile so he could then show them to the rest of the group and have them interpret. He congratulated me on knowing my rhythms but told me not to get too comfortable, because they never look textbook in real life.

The preparation for the CPAT is getting a little better too. I've been at it 3 days now and am getting ready to meet Shane, my trainer, for our session in half an hour. I've lost 8 pounds in 3 days! I wanted to do a weigh-in in front of Shane later today, but I just finished my lunch and don't think it would be accurate. He plans on doing an official weigh-in on Monday.

I'm getting a little better at the exercises, I think. It's a lot of arm work and strength training. My heart rate routinely climbs to 180 bpm. He showed me on one machine how I can burn 110 calories in 10 minutes. Downside - it's at a 21 incline (!!!) at 3 mph. It's actually a series of slightly higher inclines up to 21. 21 is almost straight up and I really thought I was going to fall off the back.

I feel full - maybe I ate too much lunch, even though I skipped the salad and only ate half the chicken salad. I didn't eat snack today because breakfast came late, so I ate almonds and peanut butter with lunch. Tomorrow I'm going to try to stick with the exact plan.

I must leave in 15 minutes...after the workout, I only have about an hour to come home, change, prepare dinner, and get going to an EMT-B test site tonight. I love working test sites, but I'm pretty tired. These workouts are tough.