Random Entry #1 Choosing Activities

When I started this challenge I wrote up a list for myself of activities I would consider trying. This challenge started as, and remains, a genuine opportunity for me to stay active this winter and find activities I like for the longer run. As a result, the activities need to be things that I am willing to do, that fit in with my schedule, and that I would be able to repeat over time if I liked them. And so, even though there are outdoor activities on my list, I really haven’t been drawn to try any of them. That’s what got me here in the first place. I love Minnesota, I love Minneapolis, but I really, really do not like being cold or being out in the cold for very long. So it takes either a supreme act of will, or a lot of social support, to participate in outdoor winter activities.

This is not the first experiment I’ve tried to get more active in the winter. I used to run outside all winter long. It was a lot more effort to get myself out the door than it was worth, though I will admit to feeling very, very tough after having done it. I have all the right gear, too -- the fancy jacket and pants, tights, gloves, a flashing red light. But I would procrastinate, be miserable, and only run for twenty minutes. And I'd be cold for half of it, running in the dark and cold, trying not to slip on icy patches. I could tell myself all about learning to love it, and the benefits of staying out longer, and it is a great option for some people. Plus it's free. But after three years of disappointing results I really had to just face it -- there had to be better option.

I played hockey for a season. I liked it a lot, and it had been dream of mine for a long time to play. But I didn’t have the time to keep traveling to weird ice times in South St. Paul, and I didn’t have enough time to play to make myself skilled enough to fully enjoy it. And when you’re bad, it makes it even harder to pay a lot of money to drive 45 minutes to put on equipment for twenty minutes to play badly for twenty out of sixty minutes as a member of one of three lines.

I played basketball for a couple of seasons through the Minneapolis Park system, and that was fun. The fact that I was terrible didn’t stop it from being a good workout, and I really liked the women I was playing with. Once a week wasn’t enough to really keep me in shape, though, and once I was a candidate it was really hard to make the regular Sunday evening game time (though I did my best!).

I started with a The Trainer in part because I thought it would help keep me accountable over the winter months, and that has worked. But I can’t afford to see her as often as I need to work out.

So here I am! Casting my nets more widely for fun winter activities I’ll actually do. I have vowed to try at least twelve things. I vow to do each twice because I know that the first time I try anything, especially anything remotely sporty, it’s awkward and I don’t know the right level of effort or how the equipment works or where I’m going or who else will be there or what to wear. There’s a learning curve.

Doing something twice helps mediate the Jackass Factor, basically.

In the past, not knowing what I was doing has prevented me from, well, doing anything. But not doing anything leaves me feeling restless and unhealthy. Not doing anything also makes me really crabby – I need regular physical effort to work through my stress, and when I don’t we can all tell. Trust me. Working out is a cornerstone of my stress management plan. I do it to stay healthy and maintain weight, sure. But mostly I do it to stay happy and on a more even keel in my daily life.

So I will continue to focus on realistic activities for me, my interests, and my tolerance levels. My activities might not work for you at all – but I am certain there is something for you that will work with as much research as you can figure out to do. It’s kind of fun to find out what they are, too, Jackass Factor notwithstanding.