Woah. Met my first weight goal! 13 pounds down from last year. :)

Don’t mind the swollen looking feet. I’d say they don’t always look like that…but I’m a runner. They totally do.

Operation “Get My Messy Life On Track, Starting with Cleaning and Organizing the Apartment” is moving forward.

Today I put an extra Ikea Expedit bookshelf in the dining room. Now it’s holding all my vintage bowls, Le Creuset bakeware, our meager assemblage of liquor bottles, various cookbooks and dry goods in jars. Love!

Now if I can only extend this motivation to the rest of my work. And maybe do some laundry while I’m at it.

Trying to decide between new running shoes because suddenly I’m not a fan of mine.

Also: yes, I’m aware I basically haven’t blogged with any depth in 3-4 weeks. Life got very hectic. But tonight I plan to drink some iced coffee, stay up past my bedtime and catch y’all up on some exciting developments.

P.S. 10 days until Broad Street! You ready?

Bought a bunch of new workout stuff! Felt good about being so close to my goal weight and wanted to get some fresh clothes for my upcoming races/events.

Target has surprisingly quality items, if you dig hard enough and try everything on. No socks though and I can’t yet attest to how well they’ll hold up, but for now I love the haul: two loose sleeveless tanks, a soft flowy top for yoga, great (size M!) running shorts and a running skirt!

I’ve been meaning to try out a running skirt after seeing some of the miscellaneous fracas about it online. “No one will take you seriously as a runner!” “You’re not a feminist if you need to wear a skirt to exercise!” “Something something patriarchy!”

Screw you, I do what I want. And I wear what I want.

I will note: it’s bullshit how much more expensive women’s clothing is than men’s. Same brand, same general item, twice as much.

“Go run. Go cry while you’re running if you have to. Go be thankful that you can.” - my dad, a 2005 Boston Marathon finisher and my source of motivation to just keep on going.

My heart goes out to all the runners, spectators, volunteers and first responders in the city of Boston today. Now check on your loved ones, turn off the news, and go run.

Well that was fun and unexpected. Not bad for a Monday!

This isn’t my usual topic, but it’s important enough to share.

Today is the first day of hearings in the United States Supreme Court regarding two same-sex marriage laws, Proposition 8 and the dreadfully named Defense Of Marriage Act. The court will hear a series of arguments to determine whether these laws violate the constitution, particularly Amendments 14 and 5 (both of which prevent denying people equal protection under the law).

I’m not a lawyer. I can’t really explain the intricacies of what’s constitutional and what isn’t. But I am a (mostly) open bisexual woman and a (very) open LGBT ally, who feels strongly about this topic.

My greatest hope is that eventually, we live in a country where all of our citizens are equally supported under the law. Equally protected. Given the same basic rights as any of our neighbors. Given the opportunity to make lives with whomever we choose and not discriminated against by the law because of how we were born — gay, straight, bi, trans, black, white, brown, male, female or otherwise. All treated the same. Allowed to marry whichever living, loving, consenting adult we desire.

My hope is that “eventually” comes pretty soon, perhaps even this year.

In my life, I have been infatuated with both women and men, taken them to bed, kissed in secret, thought of what a life together might mean. And at this point, I count myself pretty lucky that I’ll be able to marry my (male) fiancé next year without any concerns more pressing than “how the hell are we going to pay for this” or whether it’s appropriate to include cats in the wedding party. But that’s not the case for many many people and that’s not fair. Not at all. And if my private relationships had unfolded in a different way, it could have just as easily been a much different story.

Through the years I’ve lost friends and family members while sticking up for LGBT rights in the face of religious, familial and social pressures. I have no regrets, except for the times I stopped speaking out out of fear. For me, it comes down to this very basic idea: every single person deserves to be treated and protected equally and our country should uphold that idea the very best it can.

Share your support today with this symbol of love and equality, and while you’re at it, sign the Human Rights Campaign’s Majority Opinion petition. Thanks. <3

A word cloud of my blog recently.

I know I haven’t been writing as much about running, and instead posting lots of recipes and reviews. Just trying to be helpful and figure out what types of content my readers would like to see!

The other truth is that I find writing about my personal exercise a bit boring lately. I haven’t been sticking to my Broad Street Run training like I’m supposed to and feel a bit embarrassed about that. I had lofty goals for this year, and while I know it’s not too late, I kept finding it difficult to get motivated and feel like I lost a lot of momentum in February and March.

But now I have some great projects on the horizon and a top secret super awesome fitnessy partnership in the works (!!!) so that means I’ve got to work hard hard hard! I’m actively trying to be positive and cheerful to combat my tendency to get really mopey and negative during the winter. 

My weeks lately have looked like this:

Monday: 20 minutes of stretching and weight lifting at home with 10lb weights. Abs and arms, mostly.

Tuesday: burlesque fitness class for an hour at a local dance studio

Wednesday: more lifting at home with 10lb weights, possibly a 3 mile run

Thursday: 3 mile run

Friday: nothing

Saturday/Sunday: long run on one of those days, lifting and ab work on the other

At least it’s something, but starting this week I’d like to see myself running at least four days a week and having weights the other three days.  

I’m tired of seeing photos of myself and being embarrassed for one reason or another; being insecure about my appearance isn’t going to change anything, it’s not helpful or kind, and in the end it’s only going to make matters worse for myself and my relationships with others. So that’s got to change. One step at a time.