SlimCache

Sue me. I cheated. Yup, absolutely DID NOT feel like going into the gym today. But I think I'm starting to understand that that's okay. You're not going to feel like doing the same thing every time. I think that might be why I've started weight loss plans before and ditched them 2 weeks later. Why so many treadmills I've purchased second hand turned into coat racks that took up too much floor space. So what is one to do in the situation where they don't feel like doing the same thing over and over? Find alternatives.

Today I revisited the Back Cove Trail in Portland. I should say re-visited as I've blogged about this walk before. It's the site of GCVC6K - Get Fit on the Boulevard. Today I saw it as a great alternative to a day in the fitness room. My mission was to get in some good cardio today and while I didn't get in the strength training, I feel better about this workout than I have any other in a while.

This is a 3.5 mile loop, and I went into it today thinking I was going to do it twice. That's turned out to be too lofty of a goal. But I found that as I completed the first lap around the cove that I really, truly didn't feel like stopping. The first time around I tried to test myself with a little jogging along the way and found that it is getting much easier for me. I managed to sustain myself for a half mile at a go and felt like I could have kept going. So the second time around I decided to test that. Maybe I was more capable now than I had given myself credit for. I proceeded with a mild jog (maybe little more than a power walk) up to the 1 mile mark then turn around. The intention was to only jog to the 1 mile point then turn around and walk back, to simply prove to myself that I could do a mile. Well, once I got to that marker and turned around I decided to keep going. I finished out the remaining mile at a steady jog, sustaining about 160 bpm in the process.

You have no idea how rewarding doing this was for me. I've been heavy all my life. This amount of physical exertion would have laid me out any more than a month ago. Being physically capable of doing this provides such gratification that I now understand that I've turned the corner and have made the right choices. I am healthier, and that is the mission. I'm succeeding.

Average heart rate during this jaunt was 146. Total calories burned were 975 with 45% from fats. There isn't any number however, that you can place on the pride I have in myself right now.