Category Archives: Exercise

Buddy system wins the day

01 Monday May 2023

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The Eugene Marathon (annually, end of April, qualifier for the Boston Marathon) drew me and my friends Liz and Al Cratty. We did the half marathon, 13.1 miles, and we walked. Despite the fact that we live in TrackTown USA, running isn’t our thing. But lining up with some of the best runners in the world, even being at the back of the pack, was a great thrill and it’s because of the community support. Thousands of folks line the entire route, and they stick around even for those of us bringing up the rear. They have cowbells. They yell encouragement. They have posters. They don’t care if it’s drizzly raining. I loved the blond kid with the “Run, random stranger, run!” poster.

You will find our names in the results list pretty close to the bottom. We weren’t last, but we finished in just under four hours, which was better than what we had expected.

This was Liz’s first half marathon. It’s my second, but the last one I did was in 2014. We started training in January. Liz and I are pushing 70, OK? And Al passed that milestone a few years back. We are both active, but we aren’t competitive so this is a little outside the usual zone.

I write frequently on this blog about doing things outside my comfort zone, about long projects vs. short ones, and persistence. In regard to the half-marathon, Liz’s desire to participate carried us forward and the fact that we did it together with Al, was key. The buddy system is a genius tool for a months-long effort.

And on race day, the buddy system got multiplied thousands of times over by all the random strangers yelling encouragement along the way. “You got this!” “You’re doing it!” “Finish strong!”

We got it. We did it. We finished strong. Bragging rights acquired.

Nowness

05 Tuesday Jul 2022

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Last month Craig and I camped and hiked at Humbug Mountain State Park, which, though close to the highway, has a secluded feeling. A fine trail winds through big trees to the top of the mountain and while its elevation gain is 1,700 feet over three miles, the switchbacks make it seem less arduous than I’d expected. We hiked at the right time for flowers: wild iris, rose, rhododendrons, bleeding hearts, and many others I have no names for.

Being in the moment on that hike proved easy. The periodic views of the Pacific Ocean through the fir trees, the spring flowers, the sound of birds. So much visual and audio stimulation to keep the mind in the present.

Day to day, I find myself stuck in thoughts of what has happened and what may be about to happen. I’m not dissing the past and the future, but I have this feeling that savoring now shouldn’t be reserved for special times.

I wonder if my daily activities can include the kind of nowness of the hike. Maybe there’s value to paying attention to the folding of the laundry, the doing of the dishes, the weeding of the garden.

Change is hard, strategies are required

01 Friday Jul 2022

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I like the strategies in “How to Change” by Katy Milkman, particularly because the University of Pennsylvania professor shares the research behind them. My previous blog noted one of those strategies, pairing something enjoyable with the less enjoyable habit currently under construction — Milkman calls this “temptation bundling”.

I used other techniques when I set a goal to take a monthlong break from drinking alcohol, like picking a start date connected to the beginning of the week and the beginning of a camping trip. Milkman calls this the “fresh start” effect. I also had a plan for meeting the moment in the day when I typically have a glass of wine in my hand.

But I decided not to use one of the book’s strategies, a punishment for failing to complete a goal. With this strategy people commit to a financial penalty for failing to follow through. I considered, then discarded the idea. I need encouragement, not fear of a negative outcome, to help me with goals.

This book doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that making changes is challenging. In much of the research that psychologists considered successful just 20 or 25 percent of subjects sustained change. That is humbling.

I don’t recall now if Milkman said much about this but for me taking a moment to let myself be gratified by the small steps I’ve taken — written my 1,000-word daily quota, spent my half hour weeding the garden, practiced my guitar, etc. — often fuels me for the next day and the next small steps.

Gratifying but not easy

13 Friday May 2022

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My nephew Logan at the Eugene Marathon. Logan ran a personal best of 3 hours, 23 minutes, 21 seconds. His mom, Elaine, and Craig and I had the pleasure of cheering him on. A week later, during a Mother’s Day Zoom call, Logan’s Grandma Irene, plus aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. were congratulating him as well as recognizing what a physical challenge running 26.2 miles is. Logan noted that having run the race is sufficiently gratifying to overcome the physical pain during the race. And this prompted Irene (my 96-year-old genius mother) to ask the rest of us to share similar experiences in our own lives, things that are gratifying but not necessarily easy.

Some of the things that got brought up: herding cattle, being an air force pilot, writing, taking on the challenge of a new job. It was a fine family discussion as it helped us all know each other a little better. And that’s why I call her my genius mother. She’s good at drawing us out this way.

It’s cold but that’s cool

26 Wednesday Jan 2022

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Only three of us showed up for dance fit class this morning. Maybe because dance class is outside, and when it’s below freezing it’s hard to get motivated. Our instructor had a great lineup of tunes, though. Got to love a class where Russian hip hop precedes Elvis Presley.

The air was so cold ice crystals shimmered around us. It takes about five minutes to get warmed up. When it’s over, 50 minutes later, you have to scurry to the car because the sweat instantly chills you. But the post-workout natural euphoria is worth it.

Keep getting up

14 Friday Jan 2022

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I am the perpetually novice skier. I’ve been downhill skiing since I was 19. I’ve been cross-country skiing since I was 28. But years (heck, decades) can go by between outings. Every time I do go, the downhill slope looks as daunting as the first. Then I ski down it and a hint of muscle memory returns. Then again, a bit more. Every time on cross country skis, I freak out when the trail turns and drops. I can turn. I can descend, but not simultaneously!

I was feeling somewhat sad about this. How is it I am six decades along in life and still skiing only the easiest of runs. But after a three-day weekend of doing both kinds of skiing, I realized, this is me. Perpetually novice skier. So I will just enjoy all the best parts of it and laugh about the tumbles.

The best parts: three days in a cabin on a lake with the amazing Craig and the wonderful Isaac. Beautiful mountains, stunning night skies. Occasional encounters with people in an actual sleigh being pulled by a muscular clydesdale. Feeling that muscle memory return.