A Random Free Day

Unlike a few months ago, I have had absolutely no problem falling asleep (and staying asleep) lately -- probably because I've been worked to the max.

Monday night, however, was a different story.  I was wide awake until probably 1:00 in the morning.  I just. could not. fall asleep!

When my alarm went off at 4:30 Tuesday morning, I promptly turned it off and rolled over to sleep some more.  This was literally the first time this has happened in months.

I don't skip workouts.

But, I knew that I had a lot to do yesterday, and I knew that I had no choice but to be productive.  After all, today is the last day of school, and I had to make great headway through the piles of essays making residence on my desk.

So, I did it: I hit snooze and passed the heck out.

And it was glorious.

I rolled out of bed at 6:30, took a quick shower and whipped up some breakfast, and headed to school.  And you know what?  I graded lots of essays and didn't hit the wall until far into the evening.

I had other opportunities to workout yesterday: I could've run with the kids after school, I could've gone to a later Farrell's class, I could've gone for an after-dinner walk with The Boy.

But I didn't.  I took the whole day off.

At first I felt guilty about skipping a workout.  I mean, other than one day when I was in Chicago, I have worked out every scheduled day (six days a week -- sometimes seven, and sometimes twice a day) without fail.  Skipping a workout leads to a slippery slope.

I know myself too well.  It's the same thing that would happen if I had "just one" cookie when I was trying to be super disciplined.

Oh, just have one more.  It's only one more cookie.  You can burn it off tomorrow.

Oh, just skip another workout.  It's only one more.  You've been so good lately anyway.  You deserve it.

While most of the day went well, Tuesday did kind of lead down a not-so-great path.  Without my usual routine of working out in the morning, I was not as motivated to eat as healthfully as normal either.  While I stuck to my super-healthy meal plan for the most part, I also added in a few sweets throughout the day: a chocolate chip cookie at lunch, a few candies with my kiddos during school, some ice cream and candies at home with The Boy.

I didn't overdo it, but none of that would've happened had I stuck to my normal routine.  It's like my brain just says, Well, you made a little mistake, a few more won't hurt either.

But you know what?  Today is a new day.

And you know what else?  My body needed a break, and I gave it a break.  And that is important.  It has worked really, really hard the last ten weeks with so few days of rest, and those ten weeks of crazy workouts culminated in a 12.4-mile run -- and then it kept right on working.

I was quickly headed toward overdoing it -- quite possibly to the point of injury.

Rest days are important.  Free days are important.  If your body gets used to eating the same thing every day (or even the same nutrient breakdown every day) and working out in the same way every day, it is likely to plateau, to stop showing progress.  It's good to surprise the ol' bod with an unexpected day to do nothing and eat not-so-great.

Which is why I'm patting myself on the back for a rest/free day yesterday.  After all, today is a brand-new, fresh start.  And I'm ready to kick it in the butt.

Check ya later!