36 Mile Autumnal Weekend and the Need for a Plan

I went to Saratoga Springs for a Faculty Senate meeting, which ended at noon on Saturday. It's about a 2.5 hour drive, so I knew I would have all afternoon to "explore." I could have gone shopping but instead I decided to bring my bike and I went to the Saratoga Battlefields. The tour road is a 10 mile loop with 10 tour stops along the way. It was a beautiful autumn day, although on the cool side (maybe 50 degrees). The hills are in full color, and the park was relatively quiet. I did see about 3 other bicyclists and a dozen tourists in cars. The last mile was a slow climb. When I got back to the car, I decided I did not drag my bike on a 300 mile round trip to ride it 10 miles, so off I went on a 2nd loop around the park. Twenty miles was perfect. At that point my feet were getting cold, I was hungry and a little bit tired. But it sure felt good when I threw the bike back in the car, got myself a sandwich and headed home with 20 miles in my legs and a little history in my head.

Back home, today was an absolutely perfect autumn day, with temps into the low 60s. Son #1 took my car to referee soccer games all afternoon, so I went for a bike ride from home. I did DH's ride. It was tough, especially that last stretch, but I put another 16 miles in the bank! I don't know how many more days like today we will get, so I'm glad I got out there and made the most of it. Daylight Savings Time is officially over, boohoo.

I have decided to try to kick the coffee habit (again). I took advantage of no train rides over the last 4 days. Friday was the only day I didn't make it. Sitting in meetings all day, listening to the Provost talk about "mission creep," and trying to stay awake. So I had coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. On the bright side, I didn't drink any coffee on the other 3 days, and today I didn't even notice that I hadn't had any. Tomorrow, when I get on that train....... "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I need a plan to help get through tomorrow without coffee. Hmmmm, ice cream? Fig Newtons? Snapple?

Gearing up for November--

November Focus
1. An opportunity to start November off coffee--Faculty Senate meeting October 27-29. Four days with no train ride, the perfect opportunity to kick the coffee habit (plus coffee prices are going up on Monday! Save money! Buy workout clothes!). Increase H2O. Do not substitute tea for coffee. It still involves sugar.
2. Food--Focus on breakfast, reduce white foods, spread out the calories across the day, balance protein.
3. Fitness--Buy new sneakers.
4. Start building weight program using free weights, moving off the circuit.
5. Two trips to Orlando-do not obsess when options are more limited.