Running In Place

Temps have cooled off and it feels a lot more like a lovely Autumn day. I'm really tired though, having gone to a "parent's night" meeting at the HS for financial aid regarding college. It's never too early to get pertinent information, especially when my son has been given the opportunity to earn college credits in HS at a substantially cheaper rate per credit.

I'd really just like to nap in the car but I don't. I'm tempted to do the same in the dry sauna at the gym, but that's too risky. Likely I'd in there for an awfully long time, and that's not safe for someone prone to heat sickness. The recumbent bike looks tempting. The cross-trainers have chatty people on them. Only the ellipticals are vacant. Sold. I do an easy pace on Program 1 for 30 plus minutes, skip the Cage Stretch and pull-ups, get my core exercises done, and then spend another 20 minutes on the Step Mill. Done! Now I'm awake so I can run errands like dragging old clothes off to Good Will. While I'm at that shopping plaza, I stop by the Starbucks to get a cup of coffee, because I'll need to be alert for Boy Scouts tonight.

I always ask for whatever dark roast they have and make the mistake of accepting their newest brew, Siren's Blend. It has citrus and floral notes with a hint of chocolate. Or so they claim. What it tastes like is soured coffee. It's probably the worst coffee I've ever had, with the exception of Golden Corral's insipid brown dishwater that not even sugar and creamer could help. I used to love the Komodo or the Sumatra blends, but now we don't patronize the chain (and no, I can't bring myself to go to Dunkin' either). Instead, we brew our own beans from Coffee Bean Direct, where we can order 5 lbs of Tanzanian peaberry at a time. When we want to be indulgent, Maui Peaberry or Maui Mokka coffee beans from Hanalei Coffee and Tea in Lihue are the best. No, we're not Kona coffee folks, and actually can't understand why anyone would drink that.

Hopefully, I'm sufficiently caffeinated to make it through the evening and still get to sleep at a reasonable hour. My son might be in HS, but I feel like I'm doing a lot of work just to gather the right information to make sure he doesn't miss out on any appropriate opportunities. It's something I wish my parents had done for me. It's not something that my husband's parents did for him either. I guess we are always trying to make up for our perceived childhood shortcomings. Meanwhile, tomorrow might be a Pull Day workout...

Mild Cardio Tuesday

30 elliptical + 5 cd
Program 1
Miles 2.84
Calories 314
HR 145-194 (85)

Floor Stretch

Elbow Plank 60s
Crunches Legs Up 60
Bicycles 60
Crunches Knees Bent 60
Horizontal Scissors 60
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s

20 Step Mill
Level 3
Calories 112
Total steps 716
Floors 44
HR 119 (113-123)

Quick Mat Stretch