Exercise update:
Ran a three-mile run this morning. Decided to try a different route. Usually when I run in my neighborhood, I just run away from my apartment for a mile or so, then turn around and come back. The only variations I’ve tried take me back through Westmoreland Park. The advantages are that it’s a known distance and it’s very flat. But, knowing that I need to start incorporating hills into my running, I changed it up.
I ran downhill towards the river, then turned north and ran through Sellwood Park. Then along the bluff over the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, turned east, then ran back through Westmoreland Park, and even ran by a tiny little park a few blocks from my house, Johnson Creek Park. I’ll call this the Three Parks Run.
I futzed around with Mapquest, which is a pain when you’re trying to use it to map a multi-point route like that, and it looks like it’s over 3 miles. I came up with 3.47 miles, but that’s just along streets and not through the actual parks like I ran, but that’s as accurate as I want to be. I’ll just call it 3.5 miles.
The route includes some mild hills, both up and down, for short stretches of just a couple of city blocks. I like it, though, more because I get to run on grass and trails, and I get to run through the parks. That’s much easier on myself than running on asphalt or concrete. Some runners say asphalt is easier on the body than concrete, but I can’t (yet) tell the difference. But I can tell a big difference between asphalt/concrete and grass, or dirt trails.
I didn’t time myself, so I have only a vague idea of how long it took me. Around a half-hour, maybe. But I wasn’t pushing myself very hard, since part of my brain was engaged with navi-ma-ga-shun. Next time I run I’ll pay closer attention to time.
Diet-wise… I’m not technically dieting anymore. I’m watching my calories but I’m much less strict. F’rinstance, I had lunch with a boss and another co-worker on Friday, and the boss was buying, so I had a large plate of pasta and even ordered dessert. Lunch was at Pazzo’s Ristorante. Soooo goooood. Dessert was a “semi-frozen” chocolate cake layered with pistachio gelato. I knew that if I had even a small dinner I’d go way over 2800 calories for the day. So I skipped dinner entirely. That’s what I mean by “being conscious of my calories”.
And that consciousness is paying off. My weight has had its ups and downs in the past couple of weeks, but it hasn’t varied by more than 2.5 lbs from a base of 171.5. That’s essentially a flat line when you graph it (which I do), which means I’ve found my stable point of weight. My goal has been reached. It’s all maintenance from here on out… for the rest of my life.
Let me just say: Whoo-Hooooo!!