Steps for Sips Saturday: When Spotify and Fitbit Think You’re Climbing Mountains 🎶☕🚶‍♀️

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Sometimes you go for a walk.

Sometimes you go for a walk while your fitness tracker insists you are apparently scaling the Himalayas, your music decides you need a movie soundtrack, and the Arizona weather briefly remembers that fall is supposed to exist.

Today was one of those walks.

Welcome to Steps for Sips Saturday. ☕👟

I headed out this morning for my usual walk to Starbucks, because apparently I have accidentally turned “go get coffee” into a legitimate fitness activity.

And before anybody gets confused: I don’t have to earn my coffee. 😂

Coffee is coffee.

Walking is walking.

I just happen to enjoy combining the two.

—

🎬 Apparently This Walk Needed a Soundtrack

Spotify fell directly down the soundtrack rabbit hole this morning.
• First came the Outlander theme.
• Then the theme from Xanadu.
• Then When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt.

At this point Spotify apparently decided:
> “Oh, you’re walking?
Clearly this woman is on an EPIC JOURNEY.”

And honestly?

I’m not mad about it.

Then Kevin Costner & Modern West showed up with Find Your Way, which felt pretty damn appropriate.

Meanwhile, according to Google Health, I’m apparently climbing mountains.

According to Fitbit, however, today’s return trip had 10 feet of elevation gain.

So somewhere between the two apps, I have either become an elite mountaineer or technology is full of shit.

I’m going with technology. 😂

—

🌳 The Neighborhood Was Showing Off

This is one of my favorite things about walking.

I get to actually see my neighborhood.

Today there were big beautiful trees against that ridiculously blue Arizona sky, plenty of greenery, and all the little details you simply don’t notice when you’re driving past at 30 miles an hour.

Then, there was the guy sitting at the light, in his car, singing “Dust in the Wind” at the top of his lungs, living his beast life. So, I joined in and he looked at me like I was crazy! Go figure. Lol

I stopped to take pictures because, well…

That’s part of the walk.

The whole point isn’t just getting from Point A to Point B.

It’s noticing what’s between Point A and Point B.

—

☕ And Then: Starbucks

I made it to Starbucks, got my coffee and egg bites, and settled into my usual midpoint routine.

Coffee was fantastic.

One egg bite was good.

The second one?

Meh.

So the second egg bite went into the category of “I’m good, thanks.”

Because apparently I’ve reached the point where I can simply decide I’m done eating something without feeling obligated to clean the plate.

That’s growth. 😂

Then it was time to head home.

—

🚶‍♀️ The Return Walk Was the Interesting Part

The walk to Starbucks Receipts:

1.38 miles
45:32
3,144 steps
Average heart rate: 90 bpm

The walk home:

1.33 miles
39:12
3,041 steps
Average heart rate: 112 bpm
250 calories
34 active zone minutes
10 feet elevation gain

And this is where Fitbit Coach got particularly excited.

It pointed out that my average heart rate on this route was 22 beats per minute lower than it was just a few weeks ago.

It called that evidence of increased heart-rate efficiency.

And I’m sitting here thinking…

Or maybe the Arizona sun isn’t actively trying to murder me anymore. 😂

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking through temperatures that felt like the surface of the damn sun.

Today was considerably more pleasant.

So yes, fitness adaptations are absolutely part of the story.

But so is not being cooked alive.

Both things can be true.

—

📊 And Apparently I Had a Pretty Good Week

After today’s walk, Fitbit says I finished the week with:

15.46 miles of tracked walking

and

452 / 311 weekly cardio points — 145%.

And that doesn’t include all of the random movement that happens throughout a normal day.

Which is exactly why I’m not terribly interested in turning movement into some kind of mathematical purity contest.

I walk.

I Jazzercise.

I wander around.

I go places.

I climb stairs.

I chase life around.

And sometimes I walk to Starbucks because coffee sounds good.

It all counts as movement.

—

🌧️ And October Is Looking Interesting…

Next week is October 1.

Which means the American Cancer Society 62-mile challenge officially begins.

And apparently Mother Nature has decided to provide some entertainment.

The forecast is currently showing a pretty significant cool-down early in the week, along with a chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Which means there is a non-zero possibility that Steps for Sips becomes Steps for Sips & Possibly Swimming.

I may need to add a swimsuit to the walking gear.

Just in case I have to swim down the sidewalk.

😂

But seriously, if we get rain, I’ll adjust.

If it’s safe to walk, I’ll walk.

If it’s pouring and the streets are turning into rivers, I’ll stay home.

The goal is to move, not reenact an Olympic whitewater event on the way to Starbucks.

—

💜 Still Counts

That’s really what these Saturday walks have become for me.

Not perfection.

Not punishment.

Not earning food.

Not proving anything.

Just getting outside, moving my body, seeing what’s happening in my neighborhood, listening to whatever ridiculous musical journey Spotify sends me on, and occasionally stopping for coffee.

Some days it’s hot.

Some days it’s windy.

Some days Fitbit thinks I climbed a mountain.

Some days I see birds, butterflies, cactus flowers, neighborhood projects, beautiful trees, or something else I would’ve completely missed from the car.

And some days?
It’s just a walk to Starbucks.

And it still counts. Always! ☕🚶‍♀️💜