Caffeine and Exercise??

I was at the gym this morning at 5:30, and let me just say that there are only two reasons why it's good to get there that early. (1) Because you can pick pretty much any piece of equipment you want, and (2) you can accomplish more before 6:30 than most people do all day.

At any rate, I was on the treadmill and this girl jumped onto the one next to me, and all of a sudden I got this strong whiff of coffee. Not something you normally smell in a gym, but I quickly dismissed it. Several other times I swore I was smelling coffee (and I loooove that smell) but I just ignored it because I was too engrossed in doing my running-up-hills drills (ugh!).

But about the 4th time I caught a whiff I finally spared the New Girl a glance and, sure enough, there was a Venti Starbuck's coffee cup neatly tucked into the cupholder of her machine. Coffee and running?? Of course, I had no way of knowing if it was caffeinated or not, but the I-want-to-be-helpful-so-this-is-how-you-should-do-it part of me wanted to reach over and politely tap her on the shoulder, inquire as to what she was drinking, and then kindly explain that caffeine is a diuretic, which means it dehydrates you, so it's not really the best thing to be drinking just before or during a workout.

But who am I to tell her what to do? If she wants to guzzle a hot, caffeinated Caramel Macchiato or a fizzy Pepsi during a workout, that's totally up to her. Hey, at least she's working out. There are much worse things a person could be doing! And plus, I didn't feel like being a Buttinski. ;)

P.S. For those of us who hate to get up really early to work out (which is probably most all of us) just remember the second reason I listed above: you will accomplish more before ____a.m. than most people do all day. That should make you feel good! :)