Butterflying Is Good for Me

[rowyn]

It's been a long time since I was bored with the contents of my own head, but lately I am. I don't know if this is a natural lull between creative impulses or if it's the consequence of too much City of Heroes. I like the game, but it only interests me when I'm playing it. koogrr's characters from CoH spark daydreams and ideas in him, but mine don't speak to me.

I regard this as unhealthy for a reason that has nothing to do with mental health. Quite simply: it's easier for me to exercise when my mental landscape is entertaining.

One of the hardest things about exercising is that it's boring. When I'm out jogging, the easiest thing to think about is jogging. These thoughts are predictable, and along the lines of How long have I been jogging? How much longer do I have to do this? Is that mostly-healed blister on my foot going to bother me? Gosh, my thighs hurt. I'll have jogged a mile soon. How much longer do I have to do this? Repeat for 30 minutes. If you can. After a mile and a half of that I'm more than ready to quit.

People who exercise find many ways to deal with the boredom. This is why gyms have TV sets. Some people listen to audio books. I've not had the patience for audio books (it takes at least four times as long to listen to a story as to read it, and I find it harder to concentrate on an audio book than on a written one.) I don't watch network television and even with a Blockbuster subscription I haven't watched a video in two or three weeks.

Sometimes I avoid boredom by calling a friend and exercising "with" him. But mostly, I escape into daydreams.

Having good daydreams to distract me from the uberdull "is it much further now" line of thinking makes a huge difference. For most of the last few weeks I haven't had anything on my mind while exercising, and I've been doing the bare minimum of required exercise as a result. I was doing well to jog two miles.

So last night, when I left work tob jog, I told myself to *work* at daydreaming. I had to8 come up with something. I bounced around among topics, but mostly stuff centered on bard_bloom's +terrible butterflies+ game. Ideas I had for magic domains if I run my own version of it, conversations my PC might have, things my PC might do, daydreams about possible far future events, and so on. I find that with RPGs I'm playing and books that I'm writing, I'll have some of the same fanfic-style daydreams that I have over books that I've read. The "what if?" daydreams with events that don't match canon, or the ones that extend past the scope of the story, even the self-insertion ones. It's particularly weird to be contemplating what's basically fanfic of my own books, but there you go.

But to get to my subject line: while thinking about the butterfly game, I lost track of time. And nothing gets me more exercise than losing track of time. I jogged for nearly an hour without realizing how long I'd been at it.

I was reminded of a motivational speaker on exercise I'd seen once. "People often ask me 'Is biking outside better for you than a stationary bike?' And my answer on this is mixed. On the one hand, it's technically the same exercise: it works the same muscle groups, burns the same calories, etc. On the other: Have you ever been on a stationary bike and when the timer went off at the end of your scheduled workout, you thought. 'This is so much fun, I think I'll just keep going for a while'?"

So; my thanks to my GM, bard_bloom, and my fellow players, koogrr, terrycloth, and Gwendolyn, as well as to Kalakh and Samanthia, who've since retired from the +terrible butterflies+ game but who contributed a great deal to its foundation. If i ever manage to get into shape, it will be in some part thanks to all of you. <3 Yay for daydreams!

Comments

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

That's one of the things I love most about exercising, and miss most if I don't do it. Something about movement helps me to daydream, and when I exercise I get many more story ideas and characters in my head than when I don't.

[rowyn]

I wish I could make a braintape of my daydreams so I'd remember them afterwards. I'm too lazy to write down my thoughts most of the time, even the ones I do want to preserve for later.

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

sometimes I make private LJ entries for them, and just jot down little notes that might or might not make it into something creative later.

[rowyn]

Mmm, yes, that's a good idea. I have an entry full of little story ideas in my writing journal. I should jot down quick notes more often, even if I'm too lazy to do a full write up.

Especially since jotting down quick notes that I won't lose is Very Easy with the Sidekick. :)

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

*has sidekick envy* ;-)

[sandramort.livejournal.com]

Have you ever been on a stationary bike and when the timer went off at the end of your scheduled workout, you thought. 'This is so much fun, I think I'll just keep going for a while'?"

Often. ;) I think of gym time as a mini vacation from my "job", though. Haven't made time for it in a while, which I regret.

[koogrr.livejournal.com]

Usually only if the TV has something good on, and I've not killed myself getting there. I probably have the settings too mild.

[rowyn]

It's hard not to second-guess this. "Is this too easy and not doing me much good? Am I pushing too hard and will hurt myself?"

I keep telling myself "the exercise you do is better than the exercise you don't do".

I'm glad I don't go to a gym, though.

[sandramort.livejournal.com]

And just to be contrary, I like audio books BECAUSE they take longer than reading visually. As for having trouble focusing, I do too. My auditory skills DEFINITELY need work -- what better way to practice than with something I actually want to listen to, instead of a boring class or phone call with someone I don't want to hear?

[sandramort.livejournal.com]

Hey, have you ever tried chatting AIM on an exercise bike? That's entertaining... and you certainly can't do THAT on the street! ;)

But yes, daydreaming while exercising is probably my primary use of the time. I had a two hour drive home from the in laws house this week when I picked up my car and FINALLY had a few free moments to think about names for the first time. It's about time! LOL

[rowyn]

Heehee! I do use my SK a lot while walking to/from work, and when I'm doing some dance exercises. (In fact, about half of this entry was written while exercising last night). Lut and I were looking at exercise bikes last weekend with just that in mind, though we didn't get one.

And it's still good cardio even if my arms aren't getting any exercise when I'm thumb-typing. :)

[octantis.livejournal.com]

Speaking of audio books, I've been thinking about how quiet my journal has been lately, and have also been enjoying a book series. (The Temeraire series)

As a literature type person, what would you think of me reading aloud a chapter a day like a podcast? Think it'd be worth listening to? Think it'd be too long and slow? Think Naomi Novik would have me thrown in jail?

[rowyn]

I think it'd be a long project for you (you might see how long it takes you to read a chapter aloud first). I don't like audiobooks (as aforementioned) but I would listen to at least a few chapters if you did it. :)

If you made the podcast publicly available, that'd be a copyright violation, but if it's just circulated to your friends I think it falls under fair use.

I suspect you would get a cease-and-desist request if it was an issue, and no lawsuit as long as you stopped at that point, in any case. :)

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

I find it really hard to read while exercising... even stationary bikes and such bounce too much. Watching TV works, but it'd have to be a DVD or something because the first commercial makes me want to hate life. When I broke my toe and *had* to use indoor machines I basically suffered through the half hour with headphones and trying to read, but spending half the time with the book down and my eyes closed recovering from the sort of dizzy eye-fatigue the wiggling words kept giving me.

Walking, I can daydream. Bike-riding too, although I haven't ridden a bike in ilke fifteen years. I've thought about getting one repeatedly, but the two questions 'where would I ride it?' and 'where would I store it?' have only inconvenient answers.

[rowyn]

I'm very lucky in that I've always been able to read in a variety of situations. I know a lot of people who get motionsick reading in cars, but I've never had a problem with that. And many of my co-workers marvel at my walking-and-reading on the way to and from work. :) Some of the new stationary bikes we looked at looked surprisingly stable, with backs that you could lean against. Much nicer than the old models I've seen. Lut and I talked about getting one and putting my old computer in front of it, which might actually work.

I got a regular bike on a whim (a neighbor was selling it at a garage sale when I walked by on the way home) over three years ago. It's been hanging up in the garage for the last two years. :/ It needs the tires pumped, but moreover there aren't any places I really want to bike to, or around, from my house. Every summer I think about getting it out, but I don't.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm glad to ... I wish I were more on top of the butterfly game anymore.