Happy Sunday!
I rarely blog on a Sunday but I wanted to stop by with a quick post as I think it’s a relevant topic for many readers.
So often, we push ourselves harder than we realize. Whether it’s through work, exercise, volunteering, or personal commitments, we find ourselves exhausted on a daily basis.
This morning, when the alarm went off at 6:30 AM Bo and I both stepped out of bed in a state of exhaustion. Our muscles hurt from seven hours of yard work yesterday which included laying sod, shoveling rocks and moving large pavers. Our eyes were heavy with sleep as the night unexpectedly didn’t end until midnight after a spontaneous grilled dinner and movie night with Russell and Meg.
Instead of forcing ourselves to get ready and head to the Upper East Side for the 8 AM New York Road Runners race, I turned off the alarm and we each slept for four more hours until the sun woke us up at 10:40. When I woke up, I was in a state of shock as I rarely sleep this late even when sick. I immediately felt a pang of guilt for missing the race we signed up for and shared with blog readers that we were doing. As I scrolled Instagram and Facebook I saw friends finishing long runs, half marathons and workouts. Luckily, I took a step back and put things in perspective:
- The money that we paid for the race still went to a good cause.
- I’ve worked out for the past eight days straight including last Sunday’s half marathon.
- If I want a chance to run the NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon in two weeks, I need to give my hamstring a rest from running.
- Some days, spending hours in your back yard enjoying the fresh air and sunshine is more gratifying than any race or workout.
- Our bodies often know best if we can take the time to listen.
I don’t write this post to make excuses for why we slept through this morning’s race. Instead, I want to share with you all that like each of you, I am human and I rarely pause to listen to my body and I constantly over commit. This Summer, in an effort to ensure I have time to enjoy lazy Summer evenings with friends, sunny days at the beach and quality time doing the things I love, I am going to think twice before saying yes to things.
Humorously enough, I wrote a blog post similar to this almost a year ago. I guess it was time to have a little reminder today.
I did the same exact thing this morning! I was signed up for the run with plans to add miles to it as a BK half training run. I also blogged about it. But my ankle was sore and my legs needed a break so I just didn’t go. The weather didn’t exactly motivate me. I skipped it. And I decided to be OK with it.
Running is something I love. I don’t want to turn it in to something that bullies me.
So did anyone run it on Sunday? 🙂 Haha I joke, I joke! Hope you have a great week Nicole!
This post really resonated with me. Thank you for sharing.
YESSSS so much and so many yes.
When we dont slow and listen to our bodies—-they definitely let us know later.
It always comes back around <3
I couldn’t agree more Carla! It felt so wonderful just sleeping in and waking up RESTED!
I often over commit my body (and mind) and get burnt out. I think we all need a little reminder sometimes! I’m glad you let yourself sleep in and get some rest!
Yes Jess it is so easy to do but SO important to say NO!
<3 I was just coming off of three rest days in a row (NEVER happens) and was feeling guilty about it. This was a good reminder to let go of the guilt, accept the rest, and start the week fresh. Thank you! 🙂
Great job listening to your body Annie! Hope you have a great week of workouts!
Clearly your body needed rest and after all the traveling and training you’ve been doing lately, it’s probably the best thing you could have done! Great post!
I agree Cate – thanks!!
Been there myself, and some times I feel guilt, but it is usually for a very solid reason. I am sure your body will be thanking you for it in the long run!
Yup Gianna it felt so good to just not worry about things yesterday. My body is very thankful!
Amen! There is a lot of power in saying “no” and so far I’ve never had a regret from that. 🙂
It’s so true! It’s easy to get caught up in social media and think you need to do MORE, but only we know ourselves and what’s best for us as individuals. It’s hard to “listen to your body” amidst all that other noise out there! But way to go on actually listening 🙂
Thanks Kara! It doesn’t happen often but at least it happened this time and hopefully will get easier.