Exercise and happiness

Today, the treadmill and I hung out again.  We're still good.  It was a great feeling and what do you know, I can still run 5 miles.  This is great news since on Sunday I am seeking to run 13.1.

I read an interesting article today in Good Housekeeping about exercise.  Before you say anything, I am a MASSIVE fan of Good Housekeeping.  It is one of my favorite magazines.  I'm very cool that way, sort of like your grandmother.  But honestly, I would recommend checking it out if you like....well, girlie stuff for adults.  And great recipes.  And awesome cleaning tips from Heloise.  I'll stop plugging GH now.

Anyway, recently, they hired Gretchen Rubin, who embarked on something that she called the happiness project.  In sum, the happiness project was to find more happiness.  She succeeded.  She now writes a monthly column for the magazine.  This month's was about finding ways to exercise and I wholeheartedly endorse reading the whole thing.  Two of my favorite tips:

4. Remember one of my favorite Secrets of Adulthood, courtesy of Voltaire

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Don't decide it's worth exercising only if you can run five miles or bike for an hour. A friend of mine falls into this trap. "Just doing the StairMaster for 40 minutes doesn't seem like real exercise to me," she told me. "I like to push myself hard; train for a marathon, or something like that." I felt bad about my easy workouts — until I realized that I exercise regularly, and she never does.

 AWESOME!  Do you want to know why this is awesome?   Because I like to push myself hard and generally I have been very successful with that.  Like training for a marathon.  Bring it.  This made me feel better because it was a good reminder that even though this year has been frustrating, I've accomplished some big goals and stuck with challenges.  Plus I've been good about regular exercise.  These are accomplishments.

The other one that I liked:

5. Consider the context

I used to think that I disliked weight training, but actually, I disliked the guys who hung out in the weight-training area at my gym. Do the grubby showers in your gym distress you? Do you try to run in the mornings, but recoil from going out in the cold? Do you get bored during your swim? Examine the external factors that might be discouraging you from exercising.

No, I'm good with the cold, it's the hot.  I can say that I've never put off exercise over grubby showers or boredom.  Everyone has these barriers.  Even Gretchen, and she's happy!

I will say that many, many years ago, before I started running, I had to have big talks with myself about going to the gym and not caring about what I was wearing.  I was a bit ridiculous, fashion-wise, back then.  And you know what?  Not once did someone at the gym criticize my outfit.  At least not that I overheard.

And now I can go out wearing a 'hydration belt' when I run and feel no shame.  Go me.