DAY 48: 17 days to go: TRUST YOUR REASON

I even felt like HER yesterday. I'm glad it's solved.

I got people pretty pissed yesterday and have been called names, mostly nouns circling around the word: "idiot"; imbecile, moron, stupid, mad, débile, con and the arabic ones too mastoul, mou3aq, ahbal ...etc

I mean, yes, you're right. Is it worth fucking my body and having the injury "get in the way of everything I might want to do in the future" like snowboarding, the marathon I've been telling you about, swimming, or maybe even training for a bodybuilding competition (that would be mad but an even more crazy challenge). Another very good point is that although I've been training only for Halloween and becoming Leonidas, I've been really appreciating the body I'm started to shape. Would I want to just drop my 6 pack and soon to be vein-y physique just because Halloween is over? I mean I want to get my Super Sampler at Roadsters and GO TO TOOOWN with this badboy but do I have to do it day in day out? Do I have to order 220 burgers with fries and 6 types of dip? my selection had been honey mustard, thousand island, hot buffalow sauce, hot barbecue sauce, barbecue, cocktail sauces SIMULTANEOUSLY up to 48 days ago – dipping fries in different ones in one go creates new and exciting flavors to add to your palette :P  Do I really wannt stop working on my body? Even If I won't do it as intensely as now, wouldn't I want to maintain the fruits of 2 months of non stop grueling labour? Is Halloween truly the end like I had planned and is another Nutty Professor phase going to settle in instead? Now that all of this is laid out on the table, is Halloween still more important than not getting injured permanently as to not even have the option of maintaing a new healthy lifestlye? I doubt it.

It 's more clear to me now. Halloween should be the beginning. I want to maintain Leonidas and not drop back to becoming pathetic Gerard Butler right after the movie, stuffing his face with whatever he could see. Gerard Butler has nothing to do with this. It's the role he played, actually, he's the body, the vessel King Leonidas manifested himself in after more than 2400 years to give reach out to some specific people that took him and his message serioulsy. Haha! If I put it that way, as awkward as it might sound, I'm a "disciple" of Leonidas! (No Blasphemy intended ok? So don't burn me at the stake).
This Halloween project started out as a fun challenge, but it's so much more than that. It's proof of what I (we) can achieve when setting ONE SPECIFIC GOAL, and focusing all our energy on it.

To be honest, I don't know how I managed to train and keep a whole working day going; it's just that:
1. The Reason I had (you know, it's not banal for me, I've been wanting to pull off this costume for a couple of years. You know what 300 means to me.)
2. The Leverage – what would happen if I don't pull it off? What kind of pain would I feel if I dont? versus what kind of pleasure if I do? What would happen if I would pull it off?
3. The Plan/Deadline which makes you RUN and panic and figure it out all for this day
4. The Fun of it all – the blog, the ridiculousness, Karly, the adventures, the new nutrition, sports, philosophy, psychology, motivational material ...etc all that new information and action that the project demanded
5. The input, feedback and all the awesome reaction I got out of you guys
... All of those just kept the boat sailing and it seems hopefully will get me to my destination.

Hellie said something very nice yesterday, a bit aggressive and demeaning at some point but the message got through:
"you re an idiot. REST! you know better. You re gonna get injured permanent if you don't stop! Leonidas is a myth you moron! he didnt look like that!! FRANK MILLER MADE HIM LIKE THAT HE S A FUCKING COMIC BOOK CHARACTER AND A MOVIE! Who cares if you get veins and remove all your fat!! You changed your body like crazy and we all see it! Take a break for a couple of days. We wont know the difference I promise."

Rami said: "Slow down, take a step back, look at what you have achieved. And be proud of it. Stop pushing yourself into injury, you know that's not good. You have come a long way. I think your outfit is complete. Your challenge now is to keep what you have achieved in the long run, and maintain it. Create some sort of balance.

Dont be a fool. Nothing is worth injuring yourself for. Because it will get in the way of everything you might want to do in the future. It will also hinder you from maintaining the physical fitness you are currently in."

 

I'm gonna come to a compromise: I'm not going to train if any pain comes along. 5 days are a long stretch. They're not gonna happen. They'll ruin everything. But 1 day's rest as soon as pain comes along – or enough days for the pain to subside – is more than reasonable. I'll make sure to keep treating the inflammation with cream and meds and although it's not ideal, will try to trail it with me till the 30th, where I'll take a good week's rest – and hopefully start over. 

For wasn't Leonidas that answered "I'd prefer you trusted your reason" when one of the Ephors advised him to "Trust the gods"? 

One of my favorite parts:

"The old ones say we Spartans are descended from Hercules himself. Bold Leonidas makes testament to our bloodline. His roar is long and loud"

"Stelios: It's an Honor to die by your side
King Leonidas: It's an Honor to have lived at yours."

One thing I have to understand though; Leonidas dragged 300 of him men to Thermopylae where he waged a battle against 10 000 men of the persian empire (not a Million like the operadic version of Miller) as a symbol of his unshakable Spartan principles: "No retreat, No surrender". He did this to inspire the greeks to wage war and face the persians instead of simply knealing and erasing their culture from the pages of history. Now this is extreme. Is it reasonable? Well it lead to a Greek victory in Platea a year later. 

Extrapolate to my case: If I train through the pain, I might not even get to Halloween day and would ruin everything; I might not be able to persue sports and keep in shape; I would not accomplish ANYTHING for later on. If I train through the pain, I'd be only losing on the short run in Halloween and on the long run.

I didn't end up training yesterday – to be honest I started with some triceps extentions but decided to stop! And believe me that's already great with all my obsination and immaturity.

By the way, I need to start thinking of costume building. If I want to make as genuine as it is, I need to start planning and looking for different materials, props, a blacksmith, maybe even a dressmaker from now. Any suggestions on where I could find someone that could help me build the Sword, Shield and Spear? 

By far, the favorite piece in my collection

For best proportions and results, I'll base everything on my Leonidas Action Figure. It's not a toy. It's an action figure and a collectible so shut up.

Here's to Reason!

HAOUUUUU!!