I've been very fortunate, or smart, or just genetically robust enough that I have not been injured very many times in my life. I have only ever broken bones twice and this is my first time with a set of bones that they can't really wrap up in a cast to immobilize them for the sake of healing. In a way I prefer the freedom that not having a cast offers but at the same time it is left up to you to not overuse your body when there is no cast.
That probably sounds simple but with pain killers being so easy to access in Vietnam it would be very easy for me to wander around in a opioid haze causing more damage to my shoulder without even realizing it. Lucky for me I am not the kind of person to abuse pain killers or really anything else.
I've been taking it very easy for the past 30 days and yesterday was the first time in a month that I have so much as attempted any sort of real exercise.
I didn't do anything major and set my goals very low. I popped on a podcast and headed down the beachfront walkway as I have done so many times in the past. The difference this time was that I wasn't trying to run or job but instead, just walking at a normal pace.
I read somewhere not that long ago that it doesn't matter whether or you run or jog or walk a certain distance, the overall benefit to your body will be the same with any of them, but one of them just takes longer than the other.
I was moving for about an hour and 20 minutes and wasn't feeling any sort of pain because of it, and I guess that is good. Here I am a day later and I am going to go and do it again but this time I think I will actually walk on the sand a bit.
There wasn't a ton of people around yesterday and I definitely liked that. I also noticed that the heat is starting to fade but don't get the wrong idea, it is still very hot and humid but I wasn't dripping sweat like I suppose I normally would be out there.
I was a bit fussy though, and even though I know a lot of it was in my mind, it seemed to me like everyone that I encountered was intentionally trying to get in my path. I know I was imagining it but it irritates me when we have all this open space and it seemed like everyone I encountered, despite having all this open expanse of vacant area, really wanted to be in the tiny bit of space that I was occupying. I really don't understand people a lot of the time. GTFO of my personal space you!
I don't know what the seasonal tourism is like here in Da Nang, I have never really bothered to check. But I would guess that things are dying down a bit because of school summer holidays being over for most of the world and anyone with kids needs to get back to their home countries. In the middle of the day if you position yourself correctly along the waterfront you can still spend most of your time in the shade. Any time after 2 pm the coconut tress provide shade for the most part and the really tall buildings do as well.
I suppose getting some sun is good for you, or at least that is what they say, but one thing I definitely don't need to add to my woes at the moment is some sort of sunburn, so i'm happy to stay in the shade.
I take these photos not because I think this beach is special, I mostly don't think that is the case. I take them to put up here to show to other people in the hopes that perhaps you will think they are nice and then tell me that they are. I have a tendency to start to take things for granted in my life and not even see the beauty anymore. I think everyone that has lived in a nice looking place tends to do this just like you know, people in Switzerland or Norway look around and don't even see the wonderful mountain views anymore.
Unfortunately, I cannot bring Nadi with me on these long walks because at least for now, the objective here is to get me some exercise but a 1 hour walk for me is nothing major, seeing as how her little legs are only 5 inches long, well that would probably be murder on her little legs. We have to keep in mind that she will soon be 12 years old.
She is still loving the fact that I spend an awful lot of time at home but for my own sanity I find it necessary to get out of the house for a while each day. I don't think it is healthy for a person to be indoors looking at screen all day long. I get "cabin fever" and find that I really need to get out. Until I can do more, I plan on making these longer walks a daily thing.
The increased metabolism that I was experiencing immediately after the injury has faded, so I also going to need to regulate what I eat and drink a bit. Many years ago when I got injured with a broken leg the 3 months or so that I was wrapped up resulted in me eating and drinking like a slob and I ended up getting pretty fat. I do not want to end up like that again.
All we need a little discipline, right?