When you love what you do, you’ll never exercise a day in your life!
January 13th, 2008, 4:57 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Michelle May, M.D.
My husband Owen just walked in the door from the PF Chang’s Marathon, limping and smiling from ear to ear after completing his first half-marathon.
I, on the other hand, had signed up to walk it and didn’t even go.
As a teenager in New Zealand, Owen played rugby and ran about 10 miles a night delivering milk in glass bottles (so that tells you he’s in his late 40’s). In the last couple of decades, his exercise has consisted of walking the dog and intermittently working out at the Y, so I was surprised when he announced that he had signed up to train with Susan Loken and Team Chances.
He enjoyed the structure of the training schedule, the commaraderie of running with his friends twice a week, the challenge of training for a long-distance event, and the opportunity to earn money for Chances for Children. During his five months of training, he progressed from walking and jogging a mile or two at a time to running all 13.1 miles at a pace of 9+ minutes a mile today. I am proud of him - but more importantly, he’s proud of himself!
As for me, I’ve never liked to run and never had the slightest interest in training for an event like that. For the last eight years or so, I’ve loved yoga and hiking - and I’m actually disappointed if I can’t fit one or the other in most days of the week.
Why then, when a friend asked me to walk the half with her, did I say yes? Because I knew I could and I thought I should.
It turns out that those reasons weren’t good enough because my “exercise personality” is a poor fit for training for a long distance event. My travel schedule can be crazy so I didn’t like the pressure of having to train. I hated missing my yoga class when I needed to walk instead. I resented the thought of carving out long periods of time for distance training.
Then, just weeks before the marathon, I was sick and couldn’t exercise for nearly two weeks. When I finally recovered, I bought a new pair of shoes and developed a deep blister that wouldn’t heal. As the event drew near, I found myself dreading getting up early and dealing with the crowds and the traffic.
Hate? Pain? Resentment? Dread? Enough already!!! Clearly this was not my thing. I had nothing to prove and it was ruining the joy I find in moving my body for the sake of moving my body. So I backed out. No guilt, no shame, just an important lesson learned.
Owen reached his goal and rediscovered his love of running. I’m back to my hiking and yoga and realized how much I love the flexibility of exercising on my own terms.
So whatever your exercise personality is, get out there and try different things until you find something you enjoy. When you do physical activity you love, you’ll never exercise a day in your life.
Join me for an 8-week Spirit of Women/Am I Hungry? weight management workshop at Banner Desert Medical Center and I’ll help you discover joy in physical activity and healthy eating. Call Wendy at 480 512-3852 or visit http://www.AmIHungry.com.
