It's been awhile since I posted on here, and I've had some mixed results.
First I tried to use habitforge.com to send daily e-mail reminders to get into the habit of working out with the P90X DVDs that I brought with me from the states.
It's fine when it starts building and a get a couple of days in a row under my belt, but I really don't like doing the program. Exercise videos feel insincere to me and I've been searching for some adequate explanation as to why it's such a plastic form of self-improvement.
There's that line from Fight Club: "Self-improvement is masterbation. Now, self-destruction..."
When I was in the best shape of my life, when I was serious about what I was doing, there was an honest-to-goodness potential for self-destruction; the possibility of getting hurt. I used to log a lot of hours at the gym, but cycling took over completely. Without scenery and sounds moving around me, curbs and obstacles to negotiate, physical activity feels sterile. Exercising in the living room with a DVD is fine once in awhile, but it's not viable for me as a complete program.
So I decided to get outdoors. For additional motivation, I decided to 'miss' my bus home. Then the only way home was on my own two feet - a 40-50 minute run to the next train station. It worked out for a few days, then a coworker said she was interested in running too.
Running took over. Runkeeper.com is brilliant for this. It logs the distance, time, and date. We decided to train for the Eurasian marathon in Istanbul this November. It looked really good for me, before I injured myself. (http://runkeeper.com/user/misterjohn/profile)
I took some anti-inflammatory/painkiller stuff that the doctor prescribed for me, but it's been three weeks now since I've been able to run at all. It's the back of my heel, and while it's not excruciating, it still hurts. I've been avoiding the doctor, but I'm going to have to go soon even though I already know what he's going to say: Rest it. It's probably small tears in the achilles, a little bit above the place where it connects to the bone. It's from pushing too hard and not stretching properly. It's part of exercising like an idiot. It's part of getting older. It's part of life. There is a surgical option that sounds a little bit involved, but I think it's mostly for serious cases... or screaming mimis and people who simply like going under the knife.
Not being able to run leaves me with no choice but to do the living room thing for awhile while I cool my heel, but it's a little bit tough to bear.
