Monday morning started with a simple plan: get out, walk the Starbucks loop, come home, and get ready for Jazzercise.
Simple.
Naturally, I turned it into an entire morning adventure. 😂
The weather was finally inhabitable again, so I headed out around 7:37 AM for my Starbucks Carrot Method walk. I made it to Starbucks, took my obligatory coffee-cup photo at the midpoint bench, and then turned around and headed home.
Because let’s be honest: after walking around outside in Arizona, photographing the coffee is considerably more flattering than photographing myself. 😂
☕ Walk 2 of 5
The walk itself came in at:
2.55 miles
1 hour, 1 minute, 31 seconds
5,727 steps
376 calories
102 bpm average heart rate
20 active zone minutes
Fitbit classified most of the walk as light activity, with 21 minutes in the moderate zone.
Fitbit may have called it light. My sweat glands strongly disagreed.
Apparently there is a discrepancy between the Fitbit heart-rate graph and the amount of water my body decided to personally donate to the pavement. Rude. 😂
Walk Receipts
But the walk wasn’t just about the numbers.
🐕 The Boston Terrier Bonus
On my way home, I got one of my favorite kinds of walking bonuses: happy puppy noises.
I heard the unmistakable jingle of dog tags and suddenly a very enthusiastic Boston Terrier was coming across the street—dragging his dad along with him—because apparently he had somewhere very important to be.
That somewhere was my sidewalk.
He just HAD to come say hello.
10/10 walking experience. Would absolutely stop for puppy greetings again.
⚡ The APS Utility Crew
I also got a front-row view of the utility work going on near the construction by my house.
There were bucket trucks EVERYWHERE, with crews working high above the street on the power lines.
And since I had my phone with me anyway—because carrying a phone on a walk is just common-sense safety—I got some pretty cool photos.
That’s one of the things I love about these walks. I’m not just putting one foot in front of the other.
I’m noticing stuff.
Utility crews.
Dogs.
Birds.
Cats.
Trees.
Cactus.
Random neighborhood characters.
The camera gives me an excuse to stop and look at things I might otherwise walk right past.
🌵 The Prickly Pear Showed Off
And apparently the neighborhood prickly pear decided it was photo day.
The pads were showing off all kinds of colors—greens, purples, pinks—and one of the new pads was absolutely glowing with that gorgeous pink edge.
Arizona really does know how to put on a show when you actually slow down enough to notice it.
🌳 And Of Course… The Aquanet Tree
Then there was the Aquanet Tree.
You know the one.
The tree that has become an unofficial recurring character in my walking series.
It was looking particularly fabulous against that ridiculously blue Arizona sky, so naturally I had to stop and take another picture.
And yes, I brought the camera.
Because apparently I have become the neighborhood woman who photographs trees.
I’m okay with this.
☕ The Feral Cat Smiled!
And then I ran into one of my Starbucks regular characters: the Feral Cat.
She has an army of tattoos, usually looks spectacularly grumpy, and is always carrying what appears to be a coffee cup.
I haven’t seen her in a while, and today I caught her heading out after what I suspect was a coffee-and-chat visit with a friend.
I said something along the lines of:
“Oh my gosh! The weather’s actually inhabitable again! Yay!”
And she responded with a cheerful:
“Yeah! Good morning! Yay!”
AND THEN SHE SMILED.
People.
THE FERAL CAT SMILED AT ME.
I think we’re becoming friends. 😂
💃 And Then Came Jazzercise #49 with Robyn
Because apparently a 2.55-mile walk wasn’t enough movement for one morning, I headed to Jazzercise for Class #49.
And this wasn’t exactly a gentle little stretch session.
The class lasted one hour and Fitbit recorded:
399 calories
118 bpm average heart rate
42 cardio load
66 active zone minutes
Heart-rate breakdown:
11 minutes light
32 minutes moderate
17 minutes vigorous
0 minutes peak
So yeah.
Jazzercise #49 showed up.
And my heart rate definitely knew it was there. 😂
The funniest part is that Fitbit’s little post-workout message called the session active recovery through low-impact movement.
Sure, Fitbit.
Whatever you say.
Meanwhile, I had already walked 2.55 miles, sweated my way home, and then spent an hour dancing, doing cardio, strength work and stretching.
By 10:20 AM, I was sitting at 10,960 steps for the day.
Jazzercise Receipts
💜 Wellness Without Perfection
This is exactly why I love the way my walking and Jazzercise routines fit together.
The walk doesn’t have to be a perfect workout.
• It can be a Starbucks run.
• It can be a puppy greeting.
• It can be stopping to photograph a cactus.
• It can be saying hello to a woman who finally smiled at you.
• It can be taking pictures of utility crews because they’re doing something interesting.
• It can be checking in with the Aquanet Tree.
And then Jazzercise can be the structured workout afterward.
Movement in real life still counts.
• Sometimes it counts because Fitbit says so.
• Sometimes it counts because your legs know so.
• And sometimes it counts because a Boston Terrier dragged his human across the street just to say hello.
I’ll take all three. 💜
Walk 2 of 5: DONE.
Jazzercise #49: DONE.
Starbucks: ACQUIRED.
Puppy: GREETED.
Feral Cat: SMILED.
Aquanet Tree: PHOTOGRAPHED.
Sweat: EXTENSIVE. 😂
Now it’s time to hydrate, cool down, eat something, and give myself a little recovery time before pinball league tonight.
Because apparently Monday wasn’t busy enough yet. 😆
Still counts. Always!💜
Read more
Incidental Exercise Receipts Hub
Starbucks Carrot Method – North Phoenix Walking and Jazzercise series