Thank goodness this post isn't scratch 'n sniff. I'm too excited to shower just yet.

Since the weather started creeping above the 0C mark I began once again taking advantage of Big Boy's school days (when all the kids are at school and I have the house and myself all to myself) to do my around-the-neighbourhood 5k run. Turns out it's only 4.4k, as calculated by MapMyRun.com. Hmpf. I'm still proud of myself for getting my heart pumping hard bi-daily, but 4.4 ain't 5.0. So I went back onto the site and tried to find a better, longer route. Weekday mornings are great for running because I can run on the actual streets (better for my whiny knees) since everyone's at work. But on the main, main streets (which, up here, have a maximum speed limit of 70km/hr), I like to keep to the sidewalks so as not to become sweaty roadkill. Unfortunately, in an still-ever-developing new neighbourhood, it's hard to tell where the sidewalks are. It actually took me 20 minutes on the site trying to figure out my new route. But I just got back from it, and I love it. I ventured into the older neighbourhood and admired the mature trees, excellently groomed landscaping and my daughter's (& cousins') old school for half my run. Once I got back to my own neighbourhood, I decided to just take a turn further in and see if I could handle adding a bit more distance. At the end of it, I'd covered 7.0k! I'm so happy. I know it's not remotely what a lot of my peers do regularly, and I'm quite slow by most standards, but for me, this is my longest distance ever, and it gives me confidence that I can definitely handle a 10k this year.

The funny thing is, right now my soundtrack of choice is Lily Allen's It's Not Me, It's You (I know that I hit about 4k when F*** You starts). Something about the mature subject matter that's not suitable for all audiences that keeps the energy going, I guess.