Weekly Bread #166

Some people think that long trails with significant elevation changes are harder than shorter, flatter trails. It isn’t true. We did an 8 + miler this week with almost 1100 feet of elevation. But it was really pretty easy. The trail was well built and maintained with long gentle switchbacks. There were very few roots of even rocks to watch out for. The slope was gentle, not flat as it was all up and then all down on the way back, but nothing particularly steep at all. I have been on other trails that had very little elevation change and have gotten really tired climbing up and down and over rocks and tree roots, needing to watch my step constantly. Even a few miles on a trail like that is tough. The scenery is of course important, but since there are so many beautiful trails around here (yes, I know I am lucky!) I prefer the ones that I can walk at a decent pace without the fear of tripping and falling slowing me down.

There is a moral in there somewhere. When I was still losing weight, it was a steady easy trail for me to follow. It is harder when the path isn’t quite so clear. Losing a little weight is harder for me than losing a lot it seems. The ups and downs are more challenging without a clear goal, without a map. There are steep sections, rocky and slippery slopes, and sometimes you don’t really know if the trail is going up or down. This week was the trail trended down.

L’Chaim!

My average weight this week is down 1 pound for a total loss of 161.1.