Several years ago (okay probably twenty years although it seems like only ten), I picked up Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within while working in the writing center at University of Southwestern Louisiana (where I did my undergraduate degree), now University of Louisiana at Lafayette…the Ragin Cajuns! I had just started walking and running, and it was painful. I was taking my methods of teaching writing course in English Education that semester so I was interesting in all things related to writing.

On page 14, I read the following quote, and I was reminded of it the other day as I reflected on how my dedication to working out, running, lifting weights, and stadium stairs has had a direct connection to my research and writing productivity (not to mention my stress level.)

Writing as a Practice
This is the practice school of writing. Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some days you don’t want to run and you resist every step of the three miles, but you do it anyway. You practice whether you want to or not. You don’t wait around for inspiration and a deep desire to run. It’ll never happen, especially if you are out of shape and have been avoiding it. But if you run regularly, you train your mind to cut through or ignore your resistance. You just do it. And in the middle of the run, you love it. When you come to the end, you never want to stop. And you stop, hungry for the next time.

I’m curious if this is true for others who work out/run and how it coordinates with the other activities in our lives that take practice. I think most things in life take consistent practice, but the society we live in doesn’t always allow this, and we want gratification right now. And as anyone who has written a book or run a 10k, these practices take time, patience, and certainly don’t happen overnight. This is something I try to teach my student as well when it comes to research and writing practices.

I’m teaching a new class this semester for the first time. It’s an undergraduate course in Scientific Writing, and it’s a course I have wanted to teach for years, but it just hasn’t worked out. With my administrative role as Director of Graduate Studies and all that entails, I teach one class a semester, and sometimes coverage and need usurps want. Yesterday, the students (mostly biology and chemistry majors) discussed their writing processes and writing rituals. I asked if anyone in the class worked out on a regular basis. A student in the back raised his hand and said he liked working out his upper body. I asked him how much he could bench press on a good day. (The class laughed wondering where this was going.) He said, “330.” I said, “dam, that’s good.” (more laughter).

Me: Okay, what if you stopped working out your upper body for 6 weeks?
Student: That wouldn’t happen.
Me: What if you couldn’t work-out for 6 weeks and then tried to go back? Would you be able to lift that much?
Student: No.Me: Why?
Student: Because my muscles would be weak b/c you have to keep doing it.
Me: Right, you have to keep doing it.
Me: It’s the same with writing. If you don’t do it on a regular basis, then it’s really painful to get started and complete. Writing is like any other process or practice in your life, which means you can get better at it with consistent practice.

I let them know that this class would help them with this practice, and they seemed relieved to know I might be able to help them become better writers. They were already quite convinced that communicating scientific information would be important for their futures. There was also a discussion about bearded dragons (reptiles), large-animal vets,  hippos, and jelly fish, but those stories are for another day. 😉

Why all this talk about writing, running, and teaching? Here’s what I’ve learned. I have been pretty consistent in exercising for the past two years by starting small and just doing it. In many ways, I focused on consistency. Do it. Do it often. This gave me specific results in terms of health, appearance, feelings, etc.

But to improve, lift more, get the same rewards, I’ve had to up my game to reach the next level. I’ve had to go faster or change the incline or add in something crazy like stadium stairs or a body pump class. And it’s those things that have helped me improve and run faster (16 minute mile to 13 minute mile for example). I’m at a point now that I want to get faster while also being able to do it longer. And so I’m reminded that pushing ourselves as writers, runners, students, teachers is the corollary to doing things on a consistent basis.

My 2014 running goals includes a 10K in the spring and half-marathon in the fall. I’m excited about doing somethings at 40 that I couldn’t do at 30. These are two.

Thanks for reading!