Matt’s Mix Tape, Vol. 143

May 13, 2022

Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson, and this is Matt’s Mix Tape: ideas on using writing and exercise to remix ourselves in middle life.

This week’s Mix:

My ~~sha~~Rona
COVID and exercise
Drawing for writers
This week’s Florida photo

My shaRona

Finally caught COVID this week.

Day one, 2AM: “Oh my God, I’ve been hit by a truck.”
Day two: Somewhat scratchy throat. Occasional cough.
Day three: Ran six miles. 95% back to normal.

(The brain fog is real, though! Apparently the right foods can help. And coffee. Is there anything coffee can’t do?)

COVID and exercise

On my second day of COVID—or at least the day after my positive test—I went for a five-mile walk in the sun. On the third day, I ran six miles.

Was that smart? Stupid? It depends:

"Exercise is medicine. If you have symptoms above the neck, things like runny nose, sneezing, of the common cold, such as nasal congestion or runny nose, or minor sore throat, you're OK to exercise," says Dr. Montero.

Dr. Montero says skip the workout if you have a fever, stomach issues, or a heavy cough.

Considerations in my decision to exercise:

If it felt off, I would stop. It never felt off.
Walking and jogging are the easy end of my workouts. I’ll get back to sprints and strength training next week.
The point was fresh air, sunshine, and light exercise—not overexertion.

My energy and focus improved after the light workouts, and there were no downsides.

Of course, I found other articles with doctors advising a much more cautious approach.

Disclaimer: I just learn, try stuff, and write about it. Some sunshine and sweat helped me. But you’re a grown-up who makes your own decisions.

Drawing for writers

Two talented and awesome people, Salman Ansari and Nate Kadlac, hosted a free session last week to help writers draw using Procreate.

(Procreate, at $10 for the iPad, is the best software value of all time.)

Nate is the reason I started drawing logos for this newsletter. He and Salman created a safe, fun, and achievable on-ramp so anyone can start drawing.

And this was cool: they featured this newsletter as an example of how their techniques can be used.