Since the debut of 2 Fat Nerds my brother, blogger Jon, has been bugging me about
submitting my weight and logging my runs. My very simple response to all of this
prodding has been, “I don’t run.”

I went through a very brief period when I thought I was going to be one of those
people who enjoys, or at least pretends to enjoy, running. I allowed Jon and Ellie
to push me out the door in my laced up sneakers, cursed at them as they kept me
going, and thanked them at the end of each run. I would go for a few weeks, then
lose interest, my usual excuse being that I was just “too busy.”

That has been my excuse since 2 Fat Nerds has been up. I am in my last semester
at college in Boston. When I’m not in class I am at work, in the library, commuting,
or lying on my couch completely immobile. The semester has been about finishing
my classes and figuring out what I am supposed to do in two weeks when Emerson
College pats me on the back and tells me I did it. My stress is running high.

In an attempt to manage my anxiety and incorporate some accidental exercise, I
have replaced the train with my feet on my daily commute into Boston. I live only
a few miles from school and a few miles from work, so walking is a great option to
sitting on the unreliable, crowded train. I’ve found that it takes only ten minutes
longer to walk, which in the grand scheme of my morning, is negligible. It isn’t
too hard to get up a few minutes earlier when the reward is listening to Ira Glass
through headphones as the sun rises over the Boston skyline, the length of the Mass
Ave. Bridge growing behind you.

I always said I was too busy to get to the gym, too busy and too exhausted to go for
that much-needed run, but I found a way to add six miles and just shy of two hours
of exercise into my hectic life. Everyone can find a way to make some kind of routine
work for them. It’s just about committing when you’re ready, and realizing that it is
so worth it.