It's so easy to remember the things I hate about exercising, and I'm reminded of them, often painfully, every time I'm actually exercising or even just thinking about exercising. So I thought it would be beneficial, or even instructive, to list the things I like about exercising so I can refer back to the list when the "I hate this" feeling comes over me.
I like the clothes. More to the point, I like the idea of the clothes. I love the cool high tech wicking materials and the sleek compression tights and the cute running skirts that are coming into fashion and the colorful cycling jerseys and the precisely engineered jackets for keeping out wind and rain and keeping in warmth. Mind you, I don't own most of this stuff because it's all crazy expensive and I can't really justify most of it when I already have a drawer full of things from Target that do just fine. But people buy clothes based on how they'd LIKE to be seen by others, not how they really ARE, and I'd like people to think of me as one of the uber-cool women from the Title Nine or Athleta catalogs, who spend their days rock climbing or surfing and who have jobs like archeologists and ecologists specializing in dune management. They have rock hard abs and no hips, and I'm sure if I buy a running skirt I could be just like them. I'm thinking of taking up yoga just so I could buy some of the clothes.
I like those occasional moments during exercise when everything feels just right. This doesn't happen very much. Often never, sometimes once or twice in the 45 minutes that I'm sweating. But occasionally I'll realize that after stuggling up that hill, my heart suddenly is not straining to burst out of my chest and my breathing is normal and nothing hurts and I'll feel like I'm flying along and everything is in sync. It only lasts for maybe 15 seconds before my lungs start burning again or my ankle hurts, but it feels good while it lasts. I could see that if some people feel that way a LOT while they are exercising that they might be one of those odd creatures who just loves to run or swim or bike or whatever their sport is. For me, it happens more often while biking where I feel like I could just go on like that forever, but that's probably because we live in a place with rolling hills so when I hit a downhill I feel good.
I like it when it's over. You know that feeling you get when an exam is over or when you file your taxes or when the dentist hits the "chair up" button after you got a filling? That's how it feels to finish exercising. Painful horrible thing accomplished, don't need to dread it again until the next time. That's nice.
I like feeling smug. I may as well just be honest about it, and I think everyone who goes on and on about how great they feel because they exercise needs to admit this too. They don't feel great when they exercise. They feel great because they feel superior to the schlub next to them whose only exercise is walking into and out of McDonald's. We listen to the studies about how lazy Americans are and read the statistics about how little we move compared to our grandparents and we just feel smug because we know they aren't talking about us. This works even if you only exercise once a week. You're still ahead of most people, so you can feel smug. You know what the absolute best smugness was? Remember that super-sprint triathlon I did last year down in Bethesda? It was early in the morning and I got up, drove down, swam a few hundred meters, biked 10 miles, ran 2.5 miles, got back in my car and drove home--and my family was still in bed. I felt awesomely smug that day.
5 comments:
I know what you mean about how everything feels just right sometimes. And most of the time when things don't feel perfect and something hurts, it's a hurt that makes sense and that you understand and can control to some extent. I went to the gym yesterday despite the stomach thing, and for an hour I didn't even remember I was queasy. I recognize that this wouldn't work if I were actively vomiting everything down to my shoes, but for an annoying won't-go-away-won't-get-worse stomach bug it was perfect.
It kind of made me understand cancer patients who take up marathon running -- the whole time they're moving they're feeling pain they can control and are able to push aside the pain they can't. And it's good pain that they know can help them fight off whatever it is that's eating them. If I knew I were going to be queasy every day for the rest of my life, and that the rest of my life still wasn't likely to be all that long, I still think I'd exercise when I could, just to be a little bit in control and NOT to feel the nausea!
That is why I like yoga - the clothes. And the feeling that things are working the way they are supposed to work. However, Sarah, didn't I come over and babysit you the morning you did your tri-sprint? If I recall correctly, your whole family was still in bed when I was done and I didn't feel smug at all! 8-)
Great post, Sarah. I think I may have to come up with my own list.
Amy, you could have felt smug if you had done some yoga while waiting for someone to wake up!
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