Suicide Swamp Requiem

It's the start of a new week, and I've been getting down to the gym recently, something I haven't been doing recently, I hate to admit. But the good news is, my... what, abilities? Strength? Well, whatever the right word, it hasn't faded. I'm able to pick right up where I left off, instead of having to make up for lost time. I realized that the reason I hadn't been going is not lack of time, nor motivation, it's just that it became a chore and an obligation. Going to the gym, or going running, was always 'me' time. I did and still do track my progress, but the real reason I go is because I enjoy the flow of chi and the fact that exercise can really unwind you. And of course, the massive amounts of weight I can bench press and squat don't hurt, either. It's easy to become obsessive about these things, both your body and exercise, but the important thing is that it remains enjoyable. This is the most common reason I know for people not sticking to an exercise program- it's all work and no play, so to speak. So I like to make it fun, not stress about how much better I'm doing than last week, or anything like that. Being the 21st century hipster that I am, I'm not adverse to making use of technology, and have an application on my phone to kind of serve as a guide and tracker. It allows me to put together an exercise plan, that is, go into a kind of calendar and plug in what exercises I want to do that day, and then how much weight, how many reps, and all that stuff, I did. This is useful in keeping to a routine, and knowing how much of each exercise I can do- it's easy to forget how much you did previously if you don't keep track. Either that or I'm scatterbrained, probably a bit of both.
But the fun thing about this program is that it lets you name your workout routines. The ones that are pre-programmed are kind of basic. So I started coming up with interesting names. One routine is Monkey King Training, which has little to do with the figure of the Buddhist myths, it just sounds cool. I also set up a calisthenics and cardio routine identified in the list as Suicide Swamp training, in a throwback to my early days running trails. There are no real trails to speak of here in Afghanistan, and if there are, well, you'd do well to be running pretty darn fast on them, if you catch my meaning. But Suicide Swamp used to be one of my favorite ways to exercise. The name is a somewhat obscure reference to a video game from way back when, one of the JetMoto games. It was also an 'easter egg' in Twisted Metal 2- an unlockable secret level where you can run around in the course from the original game. But the Suicide Swamp I know and love will always be just off of the Hockanum River on the Manchester-East Hartford line in Connecticut, and was the Laurel Marsh hiking trail. The trail consisted of two parts- one was a short loop, the other was maybe three miles or so of varying terrain, intersecting with a nearby bicycle route at points, and crossing between the two towns. The terrain went from gravel trails to paved roads to difficult, steep terrain intersected with large rocks and tree roots- not good for biking on but great for a challenging run. And this is what makes running enjoyable, I find. Not just going out and pounding pavement for however long you run, but rather getting absorbed in your run, and I found the fact that I really needed to keep my eyes open helps a great deal. Running somewhere is, in and of itself, not one of the more interesting things you can do. However, watching where to put your next foot, clearing rocks, going off on spur trails and generally getting out there makes it enjoyable. A lot of people choose to run trails over city streets, and I definitely see the appeal. Of course, I had to really go nuts and occasionally go out of my way to find obstacles to go off of. New England is not ideal parkour territory, but you can make the nature trails work for you. Parkour is to running what crystal meth is to Red Bull, for those who haven't heard the term before. The basic rule is, don't go around, and it actually incorporates a good deal more of your body (and a great deal more risk) than just straight running. My personal favorite was the 'kickoff'- running at a wall or tree, something that won't get knocked down by you going up it, then jumping in the air, maybe taking a couple steps vertically up the surface (momentum is really your friend here) then, when you're running out of said momentum, kick off with one leg, sail through the air, and hope like hell you know where you're going to land. But my point in all this being, if you're going to exercise, don't make it a drag. Even pushups can be fun. A friend of mine has mastered the fine art of trash talking while doing pushups, making our morning pt sessions more fun. And I find this can apply to the rest of life, too. Life is not all fun and games, true enough. But you can see either roadblocks or challenges, and take that spirit of challenge into your daily life. I'm not suggesting you go catwalking across a railing three floors off the ground (seen this done, don't try it at home), but do know that each of us is a unique force in this world- we may not always be able to change the situation to exactly what we want, but we can always keep that never-say-die attitude alive. Well, that's my motivational poster for today. Keep up the good fight, and remember, we only get one life, at least this time around, so might as well make the most of it!