Switching Gears

It's a hot and humid Monday here in Austin, and though I welcome the heat with sweaty arms, I could do without the humidity. But, beggars can't be choosers, and I will gladly take the humidity if it means wearing shorts and t-shirt every day - the real world is going to hit me hard! Anyway, this Monday started off nice and early as I got out of bed around 7:30am and immediately got to work. I have quite a few major papers due within these next few weeks, so I have been neglecting much of my other work in favor of the papers.I had quite a bit of reading to catch up on, so I worked on that until about 10:30am, when I finally made my way over to the gym for a workout.

All that's left

This past weekend I read my favorite blog (Peanut Butter Fingers), and saw that she posted a workout that was all over the place. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do today at the gym, so I loosely followed her workout plan.

I started my workout off with ten minutes of running on the treadmill. I ran at a 7.5mph pace, so I covered approximately 1.25 miles in ten minutes. When my time was up, I hopped off the treadmill and set myself up in a corner of the gym with a jump rope and a few free weights. I complete a ten-minute mini-circuit that looked like this:

Burpees never fail to leave me gasping for breath, and today was no exception. They are just so tough! And I think I was scarred from burpee experience in eighth grade, but that's a story for another time. Anyway, after I completed the mini-circuit, I jumped on an elliptical and pedaled away on that for ten minutes. Ellipticals are not my favorite cardio machine, but if you bump up the incline, you can really get a good workout. After my time on the elliptical, next on the agenda was round two of my mini-circuit. Once again, the burpees just about killed me.

This is me after burpees (Source)

Finally, I hopped back on the treadmill and rounded out my workout with another ten-minute run. I didn't have quite as much energy as I did when I started the workout, so I ran it a bit slower than I did to start it off. I was nice and sweaty upon leaving the gym, and I caught myself thinking about how productive I had been before it even hit noon. It hit me that I only have one more year to take advantage of this college schedule before I'm forced into working normal people hours.

And before I sign off, I just caught word of the explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line. Why anyone would want to ruin such an incredible event is beyond me. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the marathon - participants, spectators, and volunteers. It truly breaks my heart to read of this tragedy. What is supposed to be a day of joy, perseverance, and celebration has been overtaken by darkness, and I pray that Jesus' everlasting light can shine through it.