Rest...A Good Decision, I Believe.

After a few intense days that included a couple of threesomes and the start of a strength program, I found myself standing at the edge of a great big recovery deficit.  I was extremely sore, avoiding complete lock up by never sitting still and when the big blanket of exhaustion fell over me yesterday, I knew what was happening.

I am very light at work this week and felt I could push the envelope just a bit.  In addition to adding two lifting sessions, I wanted to include an extra easy 60-90 min. bike ride (because I wanted to ride with a friend).  I did the ride yesterday and then took the dogs to the park for an hour.  While I was sitting there, I went from feeling fine to being so tired I could barely stand myself.  I didn't initially decide to postpone the remaining two workouts (the two DW had written) because I thought I had the night off, which would have allowed for a lot of good quality sleep and recovery.

When I got back to the Airstream, I looked at my phone.  Two little text messages were waiting to ruin my day.  I had to work that night.  I had been fairly casual about getting enough sleep that morning in anticipation of a large block of quality pillow time that night.  THAT would not be happening.

I made an executive decision and scrapped the rest of the days workouts in favor four hours konked out on the couch.  Then when I got done with work this morning, I logged another solid 7 hours.  Apparently I was tired.  Fortunately, I also feel rested and ready.  I am blogging right now because I decided that I needed more coffee before I could tackle the challenge of figuring out where to re-insert these two missed workouts into the rest of the schedule without overloading myself.  It may mean that I have to workout in the morning after work this weekend, which I HATE.  (After work is for sleeping and sleeping only.  Such is the life of a night shifter.)

Aside from creating a scheduling challenge, and perhaps being a bit overly ambitious with my schedule (I don't doubt I will hear about that on Monday), I am really pleased with one thing.  I had noticed that Tuesday night I had started to be a little cranky.  Wednesday the fatigue set in.  Rather than beating myself down that black hole called overtraining (a place in which I have been known to pitch a tent and stay a while), I recognized the signals, backed off, got the rest I needed and am once again feeling fairly fierce!  For once, I was smart enough to recognize the signs and make a better decision.  I also don't feel like I have failed, only that I may have made a mistake.  I can live with that.  Plus the upside is that I pushed myself close to my limit, then rested adequately and came back feeling strong.

Tonight I have bike intervals and then a bodywork session that will mean that there will be no further training today.  I figure if I do my missing run on Saturday and then the swim Sunday morning, I will be able to get it all done and still have Sunday night off!