Well hello there. You may remember me from such places as “Suggest An Idea Then Drop the Ball On It.”
I’m pretty good at that game. This particular time around, I’m talking about the Catholic Exchange Virtual 5K, where people from all over the world (and I can say “all over the world” because I know people in Australia are all over this idea. They even have their own country-specific graphic. It’s pretty rad.) come together on September 29th and run, walk, limp, and/or crawl their bodies across 3.1 miles. It doesn’t have to be fast. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It just has to remind us that God intentionally created us to have bodies and souls, and we’re supposed to take care of both of them.
For my part, the extra attentive care I’ve been giving my physical body culminated when I came to this shocking revelation: do you know that running errands does not actually count as running? Completely unfair, and I think that whoever coined that term should suffer for it.
Also not counting as running, though it should: beer runs, running for the Border, running out of cash, running short of patience, run-on sentences and listening to Run DMC. All of which I’ve participated in since last we’ve talked. None of which have added anything positive to my training efforts.
I did, for a sold 10 days, participate in the spasm of swearing and exhaustion known as Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred. It was awesome and horrible all at once. Over the course of those 10 days, I could actually feel myself getting stronger. I was focused. I was intent.
Then I took a trip to my sister-in-law’s house in Atlanta, had Chick-fil-A for the first time in my life (three times over a one week period. That stuff is like crack), and missed a couple of days of the workout. And by “couple”, I actually mean “haven’t seriously tought about starting the 30 days over again.” We could blame it on my slothfulness; we could blame it on Ms. Michael’s abrasive personality, but really, why point fingers?
Because none of that matters. What matters is we’ve still got a month and a half ahead of us before the Big Day. A month and a half to lace up those shoes, grit those teeth, and move those bodies. I don’t know about you, but I find that my exercise habits are pretty good indicators of other areas of my life. When I’ve got a sensible exercise routine going, my house seems to be in decent order. My lesson plans are generally up to date. Meals are planned. Daily prayers are said. Sometimes we can even sneak in a daily Mass in there, too.
When my exercise habits are out of whack, either because they’re non-existent, or they’re too harsh and demanding, my life is out of order.
I’m not saying exercise is a magical thing that sweeps my floors or does my laundry or says my Rosary for me. But I am saying that when I’m able to organize my time in such a way that makes room for regular exercise, other things reap the benefit.
What about you? Do you have a favorite running routine? How do you fit exercise into all the other demands of your life? I would love to hear about it.
Since my last attempt at a linkup was a horrible failure, we’re going to try something different this time.
