Central City Fitness: Gym Motivation for Nerds and Recreation

[art by Mitch Ludwig] Comics get me hype. Action montages, too. And Anime? Forget about it, I’m already outside in Under Armor trying to go beast mode on mile 9. So when I think of my life as an athlete, I also think of my life as a nerd. This nerd life gives me more inspiration than anything outside of sports themselves – the motivation to do one more set, one more rep, one more mile. Running through Central Park, sometimes I look around at others and wonder what they’re thinking about for motivation. Harlem Hill is rough and we’re all struggling – do they imagine climbing a mountain? Maybe they’re quoting a mantra, like “pain is temporary” or “just keep running.” But for someone like me? Even if it’s Apollo shouting, “there is no tomorrow,” my mind goes to Rock Lee, and that’s when it’s really go time.

In November I ran the New York City Marathon, the first marathon of my life. I had run seven half marathons at that point, but training for the full 26.2-mile course was a challenge in consistency, discipline, and patience. I tested my shoes, alternating between Saucony Triumph and Saucony Ride to find which was perfect, the one that would carry me on race day. Anyone who’s run a race – or any fitness challenge, for that matter – knows the emotional rollercoaster it can be. Some days you feel like you can knock down walls and conquer anything, while others feel like absolute anger, terror, or defeat. It took weeks to realize it, but I had a champion for them all. Compared to…