happy 2006

happy 2006, everyone. my Christmas-new year period was filled with lots of food of my favorite sort, apart from pizza. to match, i began jogging a couple weeks ago, again.

i’ve tried quite a few exercises over the years but you always come back to the one that really suits you. my favorite probably ends up being jogging and i’ve jogged on and off over the years. and by favorite, i mean the one that hurts the most but still has me wanting another go at it a couple days later. which is to say that jogging totally sucks but it’s the only exercise i can get up the will to do with any consistency.

more than half a lifetime ago i signed up for high school football. mind you, i was not even in high school yet, technically, and was young for my class. yet that summer’s training whipped me into shape something fierce, at least in terms of cardio—i was still too young to grow substantial muscle, though not for lack of trying! i think i actually suffered from heat exhaustion during one session but wouldn’t quit and kept on doing my sprints. all i know is i was still chugging along, but i couldn’t really see anymore. that can’t have been good.

so i suppose i learned a good bit of discipline mixed with stubbornness, for fear of peer-ridicule. it was probably the only thing i learned that season, but it’s lasted. i can’t live with an exercise regimen that doesn’t hurt. it just doesn’t seem worth it to take the time to train and barely get my heart rate in that narrow “fat-burning zone,” which is usually at a surprisingly easy pace.

one nice benefit of jogging has been that it’s always brought with it good things for my art. maybe it’s just the whole getting-outside aspect of things, but i find that while jogging i can usually only concentrate on maybe one other thing, and if that thing is art it gets my full attention in what amounts to an altered state of consciousness. maybe it’s because my brain’s left hemisphere is tied up in coordination and so my right side can work freely. whatever it is, it works and if i could remember that more often i’d probably jog with fewer long-term breaks. i can usually start out with a visual problem i need to solve and come back successful. oh yeah, it also does wonders for staving off the ill-effects of holiday bread pudding and stuffing.

so have yourself a great 2006, get outside or to the gym and get some exercise going. consider it an investment in your artwork if that’s what you happen to do too. otherwise, consider it an investment for your spouse if you have one. find a reason. if i can do it in literally freezing temperatures, so can you!