Hello! It's your body SCREAMING at you!

You know, I like to think I'm pretty in tune with my body and the signals it sends me. But, like many busy people, I've had to learn to ignore some of the signs.

Monday I had a terrible day. I just didn't feel right. My run was awful. I was an emotional wreck. I was exhausted from a rough night with the kids.

I gave myself permission to take a short running break and not worry about training or miles for a few days. Tuesday morning I got up and did a Turbofire workout (low impact). I felt pretty good after that, but then still had a really hard day. I just didn't feel right. I started to cough and my throat was getting a little sore. I ignored it.

I went to the grocery store after work. I walked away from my cart, and when I went back, took what I thought was my cart all the way to the other side of the store. This poor man had to chase me to get his cart back. I knew then I was a little out of it...

I explained to my children how terribly important it was that I get a good night's sleep. If you have ever tried to reason with a 3 year old and/or 6 month old, you probably know how well that went...

When I woke up Wednesday, my body just wouldn't work. It was done. It's like it had been screaming at me for days, and when I didn't listen, it just hit me over the head and knocked me out. I decided to take a sick day.

After some Nyquil and a LOT of sleep, I felt better.

I seem to need these reminders every now and then.

Do you have to be completely knocked out before you'll let yourself rest? Or, do you listen to and heed the warning signs before it gets to that point?

I hope you have a healthy day and LISTEN when your body screams at you!

Sarah

P.S. Woohoo! We are at 100 followers! Yay! Thanks everyone!

Being a Hero

You know the phrase, “Don’t be a hero?” As I understand it, it means something like “Don’t take an extreme risk that could result in injury to yourself just to look cool..” (I’m sure there are lots of other interpretations as well…).Basically, it’s about self-preservation, right?

Well, today I decided not to be a hero.

I had planned to run today, after over a week away from it due to injury, snow, and sickness. But my cough still lingered. If it was just a little cough and runny nose, I think I would be fine, but this still feels, well, “chesty.”

Ar first, I thought I would skip the run and do cardio inside. But, as I thought about it, I realized my energy was still low, I was still achy (and not in a good way) and decided that just doing the housework and childcare I had planned today would take enough energy.

So, today I told myself: “Don’t be a hero.”

It was rough. I wonder if I’ll ever run again. I feel off, not having worked out since Wednesday. But, I realized it sounds a little ridiculous to use up all my energy on a workout and then be too weak to do anything else today.

However, I think, in a way, making those hard decisions is a little heroic. I’m proud of myself, and know that when I get the chance to run Monday, it will be GLORIOUS… because I will be healthy again.

To your health!

Sarah

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(Originally published 1/15/2011)