Back at it

The last several days, I've been focused on getting back on track in all areas of my world. Finance is an especially key one for so many obvious reasons, but fitness is another big one.

I spend much of my time in March-May training for my second half marathon. I was burnt out by the last month or so, and I didn't let myself enjoy it the way I did the first time around. Long runs were a chore, I cut out activities I love for the sake of getting runs in, and I ended up kind of miserable. And to top it all off, the race didn't even go well. After that, I took a bit of a hiatus, and if I'm being totally honest, the hiatus went a bit longer than planned.

Almost a month later, I was feeling sluggish and lazy, and I knew it was time for a change. So last week, I got back on the #freefitness bandwagon, and I'm so glad I did.

technically unrelated picture, but whatevs.

On Thursday, I rode my bike (The Mauve Avenger) to work, and made plans after work to go to a free yoga class on the Boston Common. On Friday, I started off my day with hills for breakfast at November Project, and then rode my bike home at the end of the day - I had left it locked up on campus overnight.

On Saturday, I was sore, but happy. And then I didn't leave my apartment for two days.

I'm going for a moderate approach right now - doing things that sound like fun, and letting myself rest when exercise sounds miserable. I know the baseline I need to maintain in order to feel good and healthy, and I also know that if I push myself just a little, I'll feel like a strong badass lady, and like I can tackle anything. That's the feeling I want, but I can't get there overnight.

That's also the feeling I want when it comes to finances, but again, I can't get there in one go. I need to take my time, give myself breaks and allow myself to have off days occasionally, but generally stick to a plan and keep moving forward. And so far (yes, this is four days later) I am right on track.

Three months later

Did I forget about you, blog? Mostly. Life got busy. I got lazy. Things got off track.

The good news is, one of those things was *not* the payment of my student loans. I've continued to pay $719 per month at minimum toward my loans, and if I'm being totally honest, this is during a period where I let my finances get away from me. Summer has made me want to sit out on a patio with a beer, or go out and get an ice cream cone every day. It's definitely made me more social. If it hadn't been for automating my loan payment I almost definitely would have let myself slide a bit in May and June. Luckily, that wasn't an option. Thanks, past me!

So here we are, getting back on track. It's still early in the summer, and there are still a lot of things I want to do, but I can't keep spending at the rate I have been and expect to come out the other side without a problem.

I'm lucky to live in a city with abundant options for free activities. My plan for the summer is simple to take advantage of them. Most of the activities I want to explore are outside, enjoying the summer weather, and many are fitness-based. I'm already a big fan of the November Project, a free fitness movement that meets outside, year-round, for a weekly dose of sweat and smiles. This summer, I'll be exploring free yoga and Zumba classes, biking alone and in groups, and maybe some outdoor movies to round it all out.

I had a bit of tunnel vision when I started writing here, and I made a rookie mistake - I took on too much, too soon. Now, as with many things in my world, I'm trying to find balance. I want to be able to pay off my loans as planned, but I don't want to sacrifice the next two years of my life to the cause. Life is too short to go without the occasional ice cream cone.