cypress grove park and tofu meatball sammie

on August 26, 2008

Just as running on the treadmill quickly gets routine and monotonous, running the same route outside gets old fast. It’s nice to go somewhere new and occupy your mind as you run. In a big city like Orlando, there is always a new place to go…

Since we only moved to Orlando a year ago, I’m still exploring the area. A great trick is to go to your city or county’s website and search for for the Recreation and Parks District or Department. Use the map to find new parks near your house or work. They usually describe the type of facilities each park offers (like a running trail!), too.

That’s how I found Cypress Grove Park, which is only a few miles from my house! There are two large estate homes situated near this wonderful lake, and you can get married there! It’s so beautiful, I wish I had known about it when we were searching for a reception site.

North of the estate homes is a large lawn area with soccer, baseball, and basketball fields, volleyball courts, and a few playgrounds. Around the lawn was a 0.8 mile running path (with distance markers, woot woot!).

Here are my statistics for my 5.0 mile run + walking lunges (3 sets of 12 reps) + inclined pushups on a bench (3 sets of 12 reps):

Duration: 53 minutes
Average Heart Rate: 163 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 18 bpm
Calories Burned: 440

And… here’s the meals! Going backwards in time….

Dinner – Tofu Meatball Sammie

I made a YUMMY and thoroughly delicious Tofu Meatball Sammie…. for only 400 calories, I had this insanely indulgent-tasting sandwich. It contains a toasted WW hoagie roll, melty cheddar, and a meatball-inspired tofu and pasta sauce mixture. On the side I had some broc. OHMIGOD. SO DELICIOUS! And messy! 🙂

Ingredients:

1 serving extra firm tofu, cubed
Cooking spray or EVOO
1/2 (each) tablespoon garlic salt, pepper, and dried parsley
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup pasta sauce
1 6-inch hoagie roll (check for that HFCS!)
1.5 oz cheddar cheese

Preparation:

In a wok, combine first four ingredients and stir-fry until water evaporates and tofu begin to brown.
Turn wok to low and mix in pasta sauce.
Slice hoagie roll open, place cheese on 1 side, and put in oven at broil (500 degrees) until cheese melts and bread browns (3 – 4 minutes).
Pile tofu mixture on roll, squish together, and enjoy!

Pre-Run Snack

A big old handful of raisins and pecans…. in a coffee filter. 🙂 Best dish ever.

Afternoon Snacks

Lunch was kind of light, so I had a Larabar and a banana and PB around 4 PM.

Lunch

I made two biscuits with Hodgson WW Instant Bake and had little turkey sandwiches. I had a side salad and a bowl of fruit.

Whew! What a day of eating. I went to bed horribly hungry last night (I hate that!) and definitely needed to make up the calories! Tomorrow morning I’ve got a 6.0 miler, and I can’t wait to tackle my run bright and early!

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