A national park sits outside my backdoor and it is riddled with paths. I made heavy use of these paths when I worked for Gargantua Computing. Gargantua had a facility six miles to the north and, for three quarters of the year, I cycled the six miles to work.

When I wanted a longer run, I would leave the house and bicycle south, cross through the Experimental Farm, traverse the canal, continue down to Hogsback, cross to the the east bank of the Rideau and then proceed north along the river. After making a second crossing of the Ottawa River, I followed a path that traced the banks of the Gatineau River until I arrived at Gargantua’s facility.

After the injury, I did not trust myself on the bike. For exercise, I resorted to taking extended walks of three to six miles in length. I thought this was sufficient but, using the new cellphone, its associated apps, and its embedded GPS tracking, I discovered this walk routine delivered minimal benefit. I was shuffling along at under 3 mph. With app feedback, I quickly pushed that up to a speed of 3.5 mph over a defined 5 mile course. The next stage involved linking a series of forest paths to create a 7 mile course. This was followed by an out-and-back 12 mile course.

As my conditioning improved, I was able to cover 5 miles at a walking speed of 4.58 mph. I have shed more than twenty pounds and added a lot of leg muscle. There were problems pushing a 63 year old body to its maximum speed. I overcame those issues by throttling back for a day or two before once again increasing the exertion level.

This increased level of exercise has had a number of benefits.

First, it made volunteering economically possible. The total round trip to work is around 10 miles and my best speed over this distance is 4.18 mph.

Second, there was a very noticeable improvement in my mental capacities. I appeared able to think better, I noticed an improvement in my sense of smell, I appeared more ready to undertake challenging tasks, and I gained the confidence to undertake volunteer activity.

I recently came across a news item reporting on research into the brain’s capacity to regenerate itself. I lost the article reference otherwise I would include the URL here.

The gist of the research was that the brain has the capacity to regenerate both neurons and neuron connections. I realized that walking pumped well oxygenated blood to the brain and this perfusion continued for the duration of the exercise. While walking, I was pumping nutrient rich medium directly into my cranium and this nutrient bath would be a positive boost to the process of regeneration. I have no idea if this is medically accurate. But the idea made me even more of an exercise obsessive.

Third, and perhaps most important, there has been a significant change in the cognitive model which shapes my interaction with the world. This insight derives from a discussion with Dr D. During one of our meeting she stated that writing was a key mode of [word not remembered]. I thought about what she said and later discussed it with Dr H.

The dominant model I use is one learned in childhood or early adolescence. When I encounter a painful situation (my peers beat me up) I will socially withdraw and seek to gain an intellectual understanding of the immediate issue and the situational dynamics. This drives me toward introspection and intellectual understanding (social psychology, sociology, Spinoza and ethics, epistemology, Robert Burns and “man’s inhumanity to man”).

The model I am now using is very different. It appears similar to the way a child learns to walk. When Colin went through this phase he was absolutely fearless. He would launch himself into space and collide with a wall, or some piece of furniture, and then immediately pick himself up and continue the attempt to master this strange adult skill of bi-pedalism. He was going to walk even if he killed himself in the process.

This is the model I now appear to be using. I force myself up and down the rocky ridges of the park until my feet bleed and my ankle screams in pain. I return home, rest, and throw myself back upon the trails the next day, and the day after that. When it comes to volunteer work, I throw myself into that milieu in exactly the same way, make mistakes, and just continue pushing forward.