I wasn’t a natural runner. When I started, I thudded awkwardly along the ground, heart pounding in my ears and cheeks brilliantly flushed. I felt like everyone must be watching and judging me: why is she even trying? It took me years to finally feel the identity of “runner” fit. Why’d I keep up with running, if it was so often difficult and embarrassing for me?
Running, and fitness/strength generally, became part of how I engage myself and the world. Through consistent work of accepting physical discomfort and feeling humbled in the awkwardness of trying something that feels new and outside of what’s easy for me, I learned to access more of who I am and my environment, leading to a richer experience of both.
The practice of working through running also translates to my art. I’m being real with you: I was a natural when it came to art as a kid. I drew from a young age, and continued to draw until that translated eventually into painting. Around the same time I took up painting I also started running. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I took my “luck of the draw” talent of creating images and honed it, borrowing from what I was learning in running. I was unwittingly teaching myself how to self-discipline and work in order to get better. I was becoming competent at being fully alive.
Yes, exercise, fitness, and being outside is that profound to me. When people remark that I’m constantly running up mountains (untrue: my husband does that; I walk) or marvel at my adherence to whatever strength plan I’m on, it’s not because I have some kind of superhuman ability to endure. For me, the draw of what I get and who I am on the other side of challenging exercise is so good, it’s worth the temporary discomfort of a workout.
And when I have a solid routine of challenging workouts, it means I can more easily access places that inspire my art. Fitness enables me to experience awe readily while outside, with less of the physical struggle it takes to hike, run, ski, etc. I then use the same self-discipline required to exercise when I sit down at my easel, accepting that the hard and uncertain moments in painting are what will ultimately lead me to the ease and reward, if only I continue going forward one step and one brush stroke at a time.
I believe better inhabiting our bodies, at whatever level is right for each of us, leads to a richer experience of life.
If you’re thinking about starting or getting back into some kind of exercise routine, here are some tips that have worked well for me!
- Quit while you’re happy. As you’re starting, or starting back up, the most important thing is to create an association of “fun” with your routine. If you push yourself too fast or too long during a workout, you’ll dread and likely avoid it. Your main goal for the first two weeks, or heck month, is simply to start a routine and quit while you’re ahead. You’re tricking your brain that this is something intrinsically enjoyable and rewarding (over time, it IS, but maybe not as much at first).
- Tell the world. Announce what you’re doing. Tell me! Tell your partner, your family, your friends; block it off on your calendar by way of alerting your coworkers: xyz time is dedicated to this activity. Especially in the beginning, creating some external accountability to move helps reinforce the routine.
- Start small and doable. Do not start running every day. One, I’ve had it drilled into my brain that daily running can easily lead to injury. But also, especially in the beginning of a routine, it’s a recipe to set yourself up for disappointment in yourself when you inevitably can’t or don’t make a day. Try, say, 20-30 minutes, three times a week. Ditto with strength training. It actually doesn’t take enormous volume to make a marked difference.
- Pace yourself and do not compare. Goodbye, little voice inside your (and my) head that says you’re too slow; too weak, etc. Get in the habit of cheering and congratulating yourself for showing up and putting in effort, at all. Focus on your own breathing, body, movement, and your surroundings. Do not get side tracked by comparing yourself to others. The race is just within yourself, and especially early on the only goal is to create a routine at all, and follow through with it. Over time, motivation can come from learning/being pushed by others, but especially in the very beginning the intrinsic muscle is the most important one to train.
There are so many more, but I’ll leave it here for now! What are your tips for getting into or sticking with fitness, and are there any activities that you find particularly support you in this time of life?
Various pics of me exercising below. Tough to get shots of the “struggle bus” parts, but there’s one choice pic in there of when I decided to double down on speed training at the track…
