I had some DOMS in my quads, hamstrings, lower back and glutes from last week’s workouts and my 5k outdoor interval run when I woke up so I warmed up and stretched with a light 30 minute YF workout before heading out to Aiguille Rock Climbing Center in Longwood for the first time with Chris and three of my co-workers. After taking a quick belaying class, Chris and I had a great time clambering up the walls in the gym. I really liked the functional aspect of the activity and wouldn’t mind making this a bi-weekly or monthly activity with Chris since we normally have very different workout schedules and routines. (I’m generally a morning gym workout type–lifting + cardio–with a few home workouts for variety while Chris pretty much just hits martial arts two nights a week for around 2-3 hours at a shot.)

After being defeated by a 5.10 difficulty wall, we headed out to meet some friends at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure with a quick pit stop at Jason’s Deli for a late lunch. We only got to ride the Dueling Dragons and Incredible Hulk roller coasters before we headed back home, but hey, when you have an annual pass you can do that kind of thing without feeling too guilty about wasting money. I am seriously considering driving out to the park next weekend right when it opens and doing my morning cardio run on property just for a change of scenery. The crowds may not be so bad at that hour. Following said run, I could cool off by hopping on Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls or Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges, the two rides guaranteed to leave a rider sopping wet after 2 minutes of fun.

On to a more eclectic topic: Kitty litter.

I was in the local Petsmart the other week looking to blow a $10 gift card I’d received for Christmas on some posh organic and/or human grade cat food for my boys when I was shanghaied into a 20 minute conversation with a fellow cat owner who was browsing the same set of premium food shelves. This other cat owner told me about another local store that carried the high-end foods at decent prices and also let me know about a clumping, non-clay kitty litter called Swheat Scoop. She said she had hairless Sphynx cats due to allergies, and when she used regular clumping clay litter she noticed that she had to bathe them weekly to get rid of the clay dust that had accumulated on their skins and around their eyes and noses. After switching to the wheat-based litter, her cats stayed cleaner and no longer had the build up of clay dust around their faces and skin.

I was out of litter anyway, so I picked up a box of Swheat Scoop instead of my usual Arm and Hammer brand. I dumped out the old stuff and completely refilled the litter box with the new wheat litter. Luckily, my cats aren’t that picky and had no trouble with the switch.

While I am not 100% certain that the reports on the potential dangers of clumping clay litters are true, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try a biodegradable, natural alternative that was priced competitively with the usual clay brands. Lo and behold, two weeks later I observe that Slinky no longer has his occasional wheezing asthma attacks (this was a 1-2x per week occurrence) and both he and Neville seem to have softer, shinier coats. Fabulous!

The litter is indeed scoopable AND flushable as advertised, and the only negative is that odor control isn’t QUITE as good as Arm and Hammer. I am experimenting with sprinkling some A&H baking soda in the box to help with this issue this week. I’ll post an update on this oh-so-fascinating subject next week.

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TODAY’S WORKOUT

- Yourself Fitness Flexibility (30 min)
- Indoor rock climbing (1 hour)