I was supposed to run the half marathon for this but got way behind on training thanks to the harsh winter, so I instead signed up for the 5K. I figured, even with taking some time off for very minor injuries, I'd be all set. Plus, it was the exact same route as the Irish 5K so I was familiar with the course and figured I would at least beat that time, right? Well... apparently, not running until a week and a half before the race, plus gaining some weight, AND the first 80+ day of the year, means that you'll get an abysmal time. Oops. I finished at 34:52, a complete minute slower than my slowest time to date. But let's not focus on that! Let's instead look at the pretty pictures. I'm getting much better at taking pictures while running.

Aaaand we're off!

Pink blossoms <3

Thinned out pack about 2.5 miles in

Heading for the homestretch!

The official photos of me from the race actually look great too [for the first time ever!] so I'm even considering buying one of those. So I guess, what I lacked in pace, I made up for in photographs?

Next year, though... next year I'm definitely doing the half marathon.

Well, I think winter weather has officially left. We had some frost last week but we're due for our first summer thunderstorm tonight so, it's here [no, spring doesn't exist here in the northeast]. With the change of seasons, I have many other changes in mind. The biggest, thankfully, is that I've been getting back in tune with my body. For too long, I've just been paying attention to the number on the scale and [maybe] the number of calories I've been eating. Not anymore.

Being in tune with my body means eating enough [and not too much], but also eating enough of the right foods. Lots of fruits and veggies, which were sorely lacking in my winter diet. Listening to when I'm really too tired to go for a run, or when I'm just feeling lazy. Knowing, just by paying attention to my body, whether I've gone up on the scale or not.

That was this morning. I had a great weekend of weight loss, but I knew as soon as I woke up this morning that I was up a little. I had eaten well yesterday [chili, lots of salad and fruit], but also some salty things [I do love tortilla chips]. Not bad, and I stayed well within my calorie ranges [plus went for a 50 minute run], but I felt bloated this morning. Stepped on the scale and yep, I was up. Probably not something to celebrate, but I was so excited to actually recognize that feeling, to know that I was in tune with my body, that I was happy anyway. I've been ignoring my body's signals for far too long, and treating it so badly that I think it had stopped giving out those signals, at least where I could hear them. But not anymore. We're back to communicating. Amazing what happens when you do what you're supposed to, right?

Also, the past couple weeks have paid off on the scale as well-- after reaching a way-too-high number in my carelessness, I'm back down to about 178 after only a few changes. My goal is to get back down to 176 by the end of the week [which is totally doable], and then I can work on finally getting below that number I've been stuck at since September.

Of course, this means that the cardigan I bought a month ago, which fit perfectly then, is now gigantic on me but... oh well.

Other changes:

• I will hopefully be switching gyms, to the local YMCA. They have a pool, rock climbing wall, classes, and lots of other stuff to keep me interested. Plus, they're much closer to my house and work than my current gym, so I can even walk there in bad weather over the winter.
• I officially started getting paid at the library. I've been here since October as a volunteer and my hours/days have been gradually increasing since then so it's not a complete shock to my schedule, but it does mean that I have less free time. 
• On the other hand, getting paid also means that I have more money [as in, any] so I'm going to redo my goals/rewards list. It's no secret that I lost momentum, and not being able to actually give myself rewards didn't help, so I think coming up with new rewards that actually cost money will be a little motivating. I'll write up that list soon, I've already got a few picked out.
• I started a youtube channel and I'm going to be, occasionally, posting videos there. I want to do entire vlogs but also, just little videos of me exercising, trying on clothes, etc. There are a few videos up there already, of me attempting to dance to some Wii games. Enjoy.

I've been trying to do new things to excite me about exercising again. As I've said before, I need to add something new to my routine every few months to keep things fresh. For the past few weeks, this has been the Just Dance video games on the Wii. One of my favourites is Rasputin by Boney M, a song I've loved for a while and was excited to discover on Just Dance 2.

I'm not a good dancer at all, but at least it's fun.

Today, I did something that I'd been wanting to do since September, if not earlier: I finally joined a local running club [well, I joined a few weeks ago] and went on a run with them. I discovered the running club last fall, but figured that I'd wait until after winter to join them [since they're in Providence and I'd have to bike there, and biking around here isn't good in the winter]. And their "year" is April-March so there was no point in signing up in October if I'd only get a couple runs in before I'd have to pay again. So, I waited. And it's finally that time of year!

I'll admit-- I was nervous. I had a few moments of anxiety before leaving my house [my HRM was already reading 135, even though I wasn't doing anything physical]. But I figured I'd have to do it eventually, so I went. It was 71 degrees out, hot for this time of year [yesterday it was 35!], so I was already pretty warmed up after the 4 mile bike ride there. I walked into the store and to the back room where they have workshops, yoga, etc., where I could see a lot of other runners just hanging around. Then I just... stood around awkwardly until someone asked, "Hey, are you new?" I said yes, and she said that her name was... Beth? I think? And she takes the newbies out. There were two other new runners, two women who looked to be a bit older than me, so the four of us did a simple 4 mile loop while the other 20 or so did speed work tonight.

Our run was fairly easy, with some hills [mostly small and gradual], and we stayed around a 11min/mi pace. Pretty good. Until, that is, about 25 minutes in. Suddenly, I was very hot and had to take a walking break. I didn't want to slow the others down, but I just needed a breather to cool down. I know I've mentioned before about my body overheating and having trouble sweating, and today being the first 70 degree day of the year, my body wasn't used to it. But, even though I knew I had to take a break, I didn't want to. My body was feeling fine otherwise, my legs were great and I could've gone on for miles aside from the heat. So frustrating! Plus, I didn't want to hold the group back. But the two other new girls went on ahead of me, and the leader stayed with me. I'm sure she's used to it, if she always takes the newbies out, but... I still felt bad. Argh. Next week, I'll be better!

Although, on the positive side, taking a minute of walking here and there meant that I actually got to talk to Beth instead of just panting along. We talked a little about her running history, and the half marathon she's running in DC next weekend, and about her dog [who's not a very good running partner]. So, I guess having to walk was okay, because that was kind of nice.

Anyway, we did about 4 miles in 43 minutes [and the other two looped around the last block to come back to the end with us, which was very nice of them], which was a pretty good pace for me. Then we went back into the store, where there were snacks and beer [apparently there's always beer?], but the more experienced runners weren't back yet. I snuck out as they were coming back, because it was getting dark and cold and I had to bike home still, and I also thought that was enough socialization for me for the first day. Next week, maybe I'll stick around. [Also, I now know that we can leave our stuff in the back room of the store so I can bring my backpack with my sweatshirt and bike lights, etc. next week.]

All said, it was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went, and I can't wait for next week. Well, they have Saturday morning runs too but we'll see if I feel up to running at 8am [which means a 6am wake up]. I've been wanting people to run with for SO LONG and yay, I've finally got a group!

This post is lacking in pictures, so here's a picture from my trip to New York last week, where I spent an entire day walking nine miles around Central Park:

I'm so happy that spring is here, because that means I'm getting out and exercising more! It's so much easier to motivate myself to go for a walk or run when the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming.

So, my scale batteries died a few weeks ago and I haven't weighed myself. And I've been eating far too many cupcakes [I've started getting into cake decorating and you need lots of cake to practice on]. I got new batteries yesterday, and just weighed in. I'm up 6 pounds from 3 weeks ago, which was already up 3 pounds from before. NOT GOOD. At least I'm comforted by the fact that it's tons easier to eat healthy and exercise in the spring/summer, which is on its way, but still. NINE POUNDS. How does one even gain nine pounds in a matter of a month and a half? [Well, cupcakes.]

See, this is why I can't go without a scale. A lot of people are like, "Oh, it's just a number! Don't worry about it!" but for me, it's accountability. I can't go by the way my clothes fit, since most of my clothes are still too big for me so they never give any indication of getting too tight. I can't just go by the way my body feels, because... I felt fine when I was over 200 pounds. I honestly had no clue that I was gaining so much weight [although, it may be the reason my back's been acting up]. I need the scale, and I need it to tell me how I'm doing every single day.

Well, I guess my April starting weight is 185.5. I expect that'll go down a few pounds fairly quickly but still, that's the number it gave me today. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go dig my garden so I can have fresh vegetables all summer long.