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Wednesday afternoon my friend and I went running. It was cold and windy, but once we got onto the tree-lined gravel road, the wind wasn’t an issue.
We started running, and it felt good. The first mile is a mix of uphill and downhill, but the entire second mile is one long, long incline. Thankfully it’s not steep, but it is relentless. Despite that, we kept running. We turned around at the two mile mark and coasted downhill for a mile (the benefit of going uphill first) before tackling the mix of uphill and downhill again.
We ended up running 3.75 miles, then walking the final quarter mile back to her house as a cool down. It was an unexpected workout for both of us, but it felt good, so we just kept going.
I share this because I wanted to show how my body sometimes works against me. The run felt good at the time, but the next morning it didn’t feel so good.
I was exhausted. I didn’t have sore muscles, but I was exhausted. Tired in my eyes exhausted, which I haven’t felt in awhile.
I’ve been trying to figure out why. I’ve pushed myself harder before, so I don’t think it has to do strictly with my run. I suspect it has to do with my diet. I’ve been doing GAPS for the last month now and this was the hardest workout I’ve done in that time. Physical exertion while low carb is a whole different ball game than physical exertion while not low carb. But I need to stay on GAPS for the healing, so I’m going to have to figure out how to make it work. Last time I did GAPS I trained for a half marathon, but I don’t remember feeling so crummy back then.
I took it easy on Thursday, so we didn’t go on a hike like we normally do. Friday I felt better, though still not 100%. I forced myself to walk on the treadmill Friday but didn’t feel up to doing more.
Saturday I did some speed work on the treadmill. My legs felt like I’d run a marathon- they were that tired. I managed a decent workout, but it was not as intense as I’d hoped. I just didn’t have the energy. Though a less intense workout was probably a good idea so I didn’t end up feeling worse again.
I was disappointed about missing our hike last week. We couldn’t reschedule it because Thursday morning is the only available time for us to hike. I was also disappointed that I was feeling so blah. It’s been several months since I’ve felt this bad, and it was a rude awakening.
As it always is.
I can go months without too many problems, then something I eat or do knocks me flat. It keeps me humble, but honestly, I’m just tired of feeling crummy and would welcome a good long stretch of time where I can work hard and play hard without feeling crummy afterwards.
The key is to do as much as I can while still paying attention to what my body is telling me. As much as I might want to push through when I feel bad physically, sometimes rest is the better choice. On the other hand, if it’s just mental fog I’m experiencing, pushing through is the better choice since I’ve found that physical exertion helps push the fog back.
How do you bounce back after a set back?
