Official Last Day of Summer

I actually woke up when I planned to this morning! Be proud; I am. After the customary dark chocolate pre-run fuel, I headed over to the fitness center to take a stab at the treadmill again. Once more, I started cramping up, but was able to cope with it better this time and adjusted my running plans accordingly.

Total Distance: 2.97 miles
   - 5 minutes @ 3.5 (17:09/mi)
   - 10 minutes @ 6.2 (9:41/mi)
   - 5 minutes @ 3.9 (15:23/mi)
   - 10 minutes @ 6.2 (9:41/mi)
   - 5 minutes Cool Down

Breakfast was the usual, new-and-improved oats: old-fashioned oats cooked in Raspberry Zinger tea, mixed with cinnamon, flaxseed meal, and chia seeds, and topped with Grape Nuts, PB&Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, raspberry preserves, and almonds.

I guess now that classes start tomorrow I can tell you all about the courses that I will be taking this semester. Before this year, I was a Biochemistry/Biotechnology major. However, after working in a Biochemistry research lab all summer, it made me realize that that is not actually what I want to do with my life after all. So, I re-evaluated my interests and I came to the conclusion that I wanted to major in Dietetics and hopefully work in a hospital one day instead. Since I am technically a junior, even though this is only my second year at university, I had to actually apply and be accepted into the program and at the end of last week I was! I had most of the first-year requirements taken care of already and this is what my new schedule has ended up being for fall semester, all of which are required for either my Dietetics degree or because I’m a member of the Honors College:

Honors Organismal Biology -- Diversity and basic properties of organisms, with emphasis on genetic principles, ecological interactions, and the evolutionary process. Historical approach to knowledge discovery.
Honors Organismal Biology Lab -- Basic procedures used by organismal biologists, including experimental design and statistical methods. Development and implementation of research projects to test hypotheses in genetics, ecology, and evolution.
Introduction to Microeconomics -- Economic institutions, reasoning and analysis. Consumption, production, determination of price and quantity in different markets. Income distribution, market structure and normative analysis.
Food Safety and HACCP -- Sources of microbiological, chemical and physical hazards; minimizing microbial growth and survival; good manufacturing, cleaning and sanitation practices; Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Programs in food processing and food service.
Introduction to Human Nutrition -- Nutrition needs in life stages from a human ecological perspective. Domestic and international factors affecting the availability of a safe, nutritious food supply. Relationships of food choices to health and disease.

This amounts to a 14 credit workload which in and of itself is not all that intimidating (I took 15 credits both semesters last year and three honors credits at once and never really felt burdened or behind), but looking at my assignment calendar certainly is. I received the last of my syllabi last night and was able to finish my planner to hang up for September and I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be kept pleasantly busy for the next few months.

I won’t be posting about the rest of my day because I have a To-Do list what appears to be a mile long, and just don’t think I can deal with having to stop my day to write about my food and goings about. But I’ll leave you with a snapshot of what I hope to accomplish today:
- Shower
- Put together binders
- Pack backpack for classes tomorrow
- Hang up new poster for room
- Read for Nutrition and Biology (yes, already)
- Groceries