You hear a lot about “listening to your body.†When it says, “Stop, I feel injured,†you’re suppose to stop. When it says, “Wait, I’m full,†you’re suppose to put down the fork. But it can be confusing when you’re body says, “Hold on, I’m too tired.â€
Because… well, long bike rides and long runs make me TIRED… period. I’m exhausted after 4 hours of cycling; I sleep 10 hours a night during the peak of training. But, I don’t just mean crazy 60-mile rides or double-digit runs. I mean whatever is long for YOUR body. Maybe that’s a 5K or a killer Zumba class. Workouts are sometimes just hard.
And when exercise is physically exhausting, sometimes it’s difficult tell when you’re just feeling the distance or if you’re too tired to continue.
Tonight, I planned to run 3.0 miles and then go to a power yoga class. I don’t really know what I was thinking because I rode for 60 miles yesterday, but I drove to the yoga studio, parked my car, and set out on my run. The 3.0 miles felt torturous, and I kept having to stop to walk. I finished in 32:30.
I convinced myself I was OK for the yoga class, and I actually changed, set out my mat, and waited in the studio. But right before the teacher began to talk, I stood up, rolled up my mat, and bounced. My body was saying, “No, no, no, no.†I left. It felt great. 🙂
Body, I’m listening!
I ran errands instead:
Chicken scratch: Buy new vacuum, eye drops, dog food, and new dog beds. 🙂
Pre-workout snacks included grapes:
English muffin and PB with honey:
Post-run Hammer Gel (when I thought I was still going to stay through class):
And dinner was simple and lovely.
I have been craving sunny-side up eggs for WEEKS. Maybe I need the protein? Or maybe it just tastes a-maz-ing? I love dippy eggs.
Plus a tomato and peas:
How do you balance feelings of “I’m tired†or “I’m bored†with “I need a break� How do you listen to your body?
I’m trying to learn how to do that on my own right now, it’s actually very hard for me to differentiate. I find that I continue my routine workouts regardless of how I feel and it’s mostly fear of losing my endurance that I’ve built up – even if it isn’t much – that keeps me from doing things other than running for 30 minutes, etc.