Find Your Happy Pace

I participated in two things this weekend that got me thinking about how to keep going in fitness. Our weight loss support group met at the studio on Saturday, and the topic was how to keep fitness commitments throughout the tough winter months in central Ohio. Then on Sunday, I went downtown to be a spectator at the Columbus half and full marathon.
Here are my thoughts on how to stick with fitness:

1. Find your happy pace. It is going to be different from other people's pace! It doesn't matter, we all finish together. One of my favorite things about an event like the marathon is that for most people, it is a walk or run towards their own personal goal, not a competition. Which means we can all cheer for one another along the way.
2. Find your fitness friends. These are the people that are going to provide you with support, encouragement, and friendship on the path. But more importantly, they'll be your accountability. When you don't show up, they are the ones who will call and say, "What's going on? You OK?"
3. Connect it to self love. Every time I decide to exercise, I am choosing an act of self love and care. You'd think this would be easy, but we don't seem to be naturally wired like that. We have to practice, over and over, remembering who we are and that we matter. That our health matters. And our joy matters. How we are is how we show up in the world, with ourselves and others.

When I don't exercise, I don't feel good about myself. My brain doesn't work exactly right, my body doesn't feel its best, and my soul aches. I learned this by starting and stopping, starting and stopping, over and over until I finally decided to quit stopping. I just keep going.
The runners are so tired at mile 16, 21, 25. They keep going. Something clicks that says, "I want this, and it is up to me". It was inspiring to watch. Some are smiling, some are crying, some are grimacing. But they all have one thing in common. They've made up their mind to keep going no matter what.
We can do that! Lifelong fitness as a way to honor this amazing marathon of a life.
Find your happy pace. Find your fitness friends. And keep going no matter what. You're worth it. You're loved.