Time for More Rest

Today is my daughter's 33rd birthday.  Wow.  I remember the day that she was born, almost like it was yesterday. The plan was to run this morning for the fourth straight day, putting me over the half way point for the seven straight days of running 8 miles.  I went to bed at 10pm last night, and when I woke for the first time today, I was still tired.  I went back to sleep.  When I awakened at 8am, I knew that my body was sending me a message. I fell back for another half an hour of sleep.  Today is my daughter's birthday.  It's bad enough that I have a three hour meeting in the middle of her birthday party.  It's bad enough that all I think about is work.  I've been tired all week, which hasn't been helped by daily runs in heat and humidity. Which hasn't been helped by the feeling of being a bit overwhelmed with my life.  Today is a day to celebrate and to savor.  It's time for more rest.

My coach and I often talk about the importance of listening to my body.  My body was definitely talking to me this morning.  A fifth straight week of 8 mile runs will not happen.  My body has pressed against its limits and knows what they are.  Numbers don't matter.  Extra data points don't matter. Rest and recovery matter.  Peace matters.  Ironically, in the back of my head, I'm already considering turning tomorrow's 8 mile run into a 16 mile run, in order to catch up.  Of course, that might only lead to fatigue doing the catching up.  We'll see how I feel after another day of rest.  We'll see what my mind and body want to do tomorrow.  

The one fascinating thing about Ironman training is that feeling of training despite, or rather in spite, of the fatigue.  I've had many days where I've run on Ironman legs, or run with an Ironman body, feeling the fatigue, but letting it bathe me rather than sink me.  I'm not sure what that means, except that it's a valuable part of Ironman training.  However, I'm not training for an Ironman right now.  I've got a long way to go before I begin that process again.  Right now, I've become a runner.  I've been looking for the feeling of being a runner.  With that in mind, I'll get some more rest today, and see what tomorrow brings.