It’s May Day! Pagans unite for a celebration of Spring and Rebirth!

Today was also my monthly weigh-in day. 235 pounds. Wah-waaahhh. That’s up again this month, but I won’t be yelling “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY” (see what I did there?)

You see, I kept my commitments for April and that’s a WIN.

More importantly, I think I’ve unlocked the code to establishing my fitness habit. It’s really about adopting an existing routine and pinning the desired habit to it.

I have to go to work anyway, so I might as well get my walking in. I get off the bus 5k from work. This has been in place since the fall.

I already have a year-long habit of not eating at my desk for lunch. I take the first half-hour and make it happen. Taking a social approach is helping too. Some beginner yoga on Mondays, weight in the gym at work on weekdays starting with ‘T’ and interval running on the other days (including non-yoga Mondays). This worked well in April.

I suspect that the addition of weight-training might be complicit in the betrayal of the scale. shakes fist

I didn’t gain all my weight at once. Things fluctuate. It’ll come off again once my body adjusts to the new demands. I have to remind myself that the scale is only one measure (and a poor one at that).

For example, today I hit the treadmill and did something I’ve never done before. I ran for 22 minutes straight (4 minute warm-up and cool-down). I focused on my breathing. I was so in the zone that I could have easily kept that pace for quite some time.

I’m pumped for the Bluenose 10K. Will I run the whole length? Probably not, but I’m cool with that. ‘Completion-without-dying’ is my goal. I’ll give it a hook running it though. shrugs

On another note, I had a great month with respect to my writing habit. I was talking with my bride last night. This is becoming something larger for me. I really enjoy the craft as a creative outlet.

I am struggling a bit with Writer’s Digest and the community there. Most of the people are supportive and provide great feedback, but there were a couple of bullies a month or so ago that scared a few people off. It changed the tone of the site a bit. Something is missing now. I needed more if I wanted to train and get ready for the NaNoWriMo ‘marathon’ this November.

Writer’s Carnival started up about a month ago and the community there is extremely active and healthy. Time will tell of course if that remains true. Trolls are everywhere. Meanwhile, I’m getting some excellent feedback on how I can hone my writing chops into something worth reading.

The prompts at WD are great and community at WC is awesome. So, I’ll just write at both sites. I’ll continue to post here of course.

This month’s commitment are straight-forward.

• Stay the course with my health and fitness habits. Hold faith that my body will adjust.
• Get ready for the Bluenose. Enjoy the experience.
• Write everyday. Every. Damn. Day. Make it a habit.

My plan is to take advantage of the interval 8-8:30am between my arrival at work and when I crack open Outlook. Create then.

That means that my posting frequency in May will go up. You were warned.

Anyway. It should be a great month.