Guess I Needed That?

On Monday, I walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes, at about 3 miles per hour. Then I went to talk to M. the Awesome.

"At what point do I just give up and call it a day?"

The cold I had last week had been getting better, but a weekend of running, swimming, and concert-going had wiped me out and brought back the worst of it--total fatigue, a sore throat, and a general inability to feel human.

M. assured me it was a total "win" that I even came to the gym, as tired as I was. He suggested I do my strength training on Tuesday instead, and that I "get some rest" on Monday afternoon.

What is this "rest" you speak of, M.?

One of the side effects I've noticed of becoming an athlete/gymbo/runner is that even when I'm under the weather, I have this go-go-go mentality. I find it very hard these days to sit and watch a movie without having the Kindle or the iPhone or a crossword puzzle book...you get the picture. When I do manage to sit down with no other distractions and watch a movie, about halfway through I get an urge to get up and move around. It's a blessing and a curse.

You can imagine, then, that when M. walked past me on Tuesday morning as I wearily made love to the foam roller, I was still tired and funky.

"Feeling any better?" queried my chipper friend.

"Eh," I said, waving one hand from side to side. "Did I get any rest yesterday?" I just shook my head dramatically, so my ponytail whipped from side to side.

I got an understanding laugh in response. "Noooooo..."

Tuesday and Wednesday passed in a blur of working out (no cold will keep me from my strength training, though I left out the running and swimming) and helping Mom prep for her Independence Day party. I taught a few piano lessons, mixed margaritas, played bartender. You'd think today I would sleep in but alas, no, I was awake at 6:00, and off to the gym early to run on the treadmill (my first run since Saturday) and do some easy swimming.

I managed a mile of running, and 100 meters of swimming. I'm feeling much better now but I'm still tired and I don't want to hurt myself by rushing back into my usual routine.

The beauty of today is that there was nothing I had to do. With party clean-up finished and my workout on the books, the most pressing item on my to-do list when I got back from the gym was to shower and put on my pajamas. I had some lunch, played on the computer a bit, and then I thought it might be nice to lie down, maybe have a quick nap. I played Words With Friends on my Kindle for about three minutes before my eyes started drooping and the Kindle started slipping from my grasp. I fell asleep and woke up three hours later with a cat on each side of me, happily snoozing.

I can't tell you the last time I had a three-hour nap.

It was glorious, of course. And apparently, much-needed. I'm still tired, so tonight I think I'll climb in bed early and watch a movie until I can't keep my eyes open anymore. Tomorrow it's back to the gym for some strength training, and hopefully an easy outdoor run.

While physically, I've had no desire whatsoever to get up and move, mentally, the break this week has been killing me. I am convinced a good deal of my sluggishness comes from not running, swimming, and babying myself through my strength training. I'm ready to get back to my usual butt-kicking ways.