Body talk

I have been so physically exhausted lately. I think it is because of last week's challenge (7k on the ladder and 1k on the stepper). I usually try to rest and recover from the weekly beat downs (err, workouts) by lightening up on the weekends, but last weekend was all work. When Saturday rolled around, I was still 2000 short on the ladder and 450 short on the stepper. I spent myself trying to hit that goal.

Monday is usually a day I can sleep in a little, but I ran with Michael that morning (4 miles at 9:54/mi), then finished off my last 150 on the stepper before going to work. Before weigh-in, I squeezed in another three miles at Lutheran. On a day that I had just run seven miles, Rick announced the new challenge of 21 miles over the next week.

From there, we went into the regular weekly schedule, but it included a public evening workout with Amber on Wednesday (two-a-day with Amber ... what kind of crazy is that?). My wife did the workout too, and her first comment was "you weren't exaggerating. She's just like you said."

This morning we did the pool workout, which usually takes a lot out of me, and today was no exception. So, I sat in front of my locker after getting out of the pool and I'm not sure how long I just sat there blankly staring at nothing. I had not slept well the previous night, my body just felt abused. How in the heck was I going to make through the day?

I wound up calling into work as "exhausted" and took a previously unplanned personal day. I really didn't like the idea, but I knew I would have been far less productive than usual. My boss was gracious and understanding. I went home, climbed into bed, slept til noon then went and got a nice massage.

If you're as unfit as I was when I started, your body will complain. Most of those complaints will be because you're out of shape, but sometimes it will let you know something is wrong. Be sure to listen to your body. It will talk to you. Mine was saying, "okay, you made me do laps, burpies, wall-sits, etc. I obeyed and cooperated. Now it's my turn to call the shots. Shut it down, Sherman, and get me some rest." (I'm still kind of flummoxed by the whole "Sherman" thing.) Pushing yourself is good. Pushing yourself too far is bad. You can get hurt and then you won't be pushing yourself at all for a while.

It helps to talk to somebody (especially trainers) about what your body is saying, and when it says "rest" then rest.