Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Feeling Tired


Picture found at http://www.atrianglemorning.com/DEARBLOG/?p=30

Monday was my rest day - and rest I did - getting the kids out the door for their first 8 am karate camp. Then for me it was off to work. I needed to get up early for my runs this week so I could drop the kids at karate by 8 am - so it was important that I get to bed early.

Well, 11:30 pm is not really early - not when the alarm is set for 5:15 am.

At 5:15 am I felt so tired, but I pushed myself out of bed for my 5 mile run. I almost skipped it but I knew I needed to get out there. I had an ok run but ran positive splits. As the run went on, I got progressively slower. I promised myself I would get to bed earlier. At 4:30 pm I hit the gym and did my weight training. That went well but the pushups seemed harder. Still a bit tired.

Tuesday night I completed my routine with the kids and was about to get myself to bed before 10 when I got a phone call from a friend. I got to bed at 10:30 - not too bad. The weather report showed a chance of rain in the morning - so I would have to see what the conditions were when I got up.

At 5:15 am I felt even more tired than Tuesday. I got up and checked outside - it was quiet and I could see stars - no rain (darn!). I came so close to just going back to bed. After all, I have stuck so well to my program for the past 3 weeks, what is one day off schedule? I deserved a break and I was sooooo tired. But as I was debating this in my head, I was pulling on my running gear, sucking down a pre-run Clif Shot, and heading out the door. I figured I would wake up a bit more after getting out on the road. 5.1 miles later I was back, and I still could have crawled back into bed and gone to sleep. The run was ok but I felt tired the entire time. Oh and today is two run Wed....

I felt tired ALL day at work. Finally corralled the kids, prepared dinner, then took off for a short, easy 3 miler at around 7 pm. No rain and about 92 degrees and hazy - so it was still pretty warm. I took it easy, and unlike Sun my 3 miler was in the 33 minute range. I was just glad I could even do it. After all - I was TIRED.

So I now am looking at Thurs schedule and with work meetings and the need to pick the kids up by 5:30 pm, it will be challenging to get my weight training in. I won't have time to spend the cross training time on the elliptical.

I miss the extra pair of hands around the house. My husband called me from the top of a mountain somewhere in NC or TN. He sounded like he was having a great time. I really appreciate all he does each day - especially to allow me to train as much as I do!

Speaking of tired, I need to get to bed. At least I get to sleep in tomorrow until 6:45 am!

6 comments:

Maddy said...

I'm impressed that you stuck to your scheduled runs. (My Tuesday run was misplaced and picked up on Wednesday).

It must be a lot of work juggling your schedule without your husband this week, but it sounds like you are tackling it all like a champ!

Petraruns said...

hey chris - it really IS hard sticking to your schedule, especially when you're tired and overloaded. I am really impressed that you have managed to stick with it this week - handling everything on your own isn't easy. But you know - every once in a while an unscheduled but welcome rest is better than pushing yourself too hard - you'll come back stronger!

Susan said...

It sounds to me like you are temporarily worn out! In my opinion, now is the time to take some breaks. A missed run so far in advance of the marathon won't kill ya! You are doing double-time, it seems, and having to go through the day on "E" is no fun! Get some rest, my friend!

That said, I am proud of you for sticking with it through all of this work!

Unknown said...

Hmmm... you mentioned that you thought you had busted out of a plateau and now you are really tired... that sounds right.

In my opinion, your body is building a level of support for your training. Since you have moved into "uncharted territory",your body doesn't know what to do, other than to make you sleepy and kick you back down to the lower plateau.

The best thing that you can do is to stick with it... getting up like a zombie, doing the zombie shuffle and letting your body acclimate again. You should see your energy levels increase...

But you probably will need some extra sleep during this adjustment period.

MarathonChris said...

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I was feeling pretty normal today after getting some good rest. I missed my strength training today but I am not going to fret about it.

Tomorrow I will rise early for one more early weekday run. Hubby returns tomorrow afternoon!

Gearing up for Sunday's 14 mile long run!! :-)

Thanks, Terry, for the advice. I tend to forget the adjustment period - but I can see the results so I will hang in there!

ShirleyPerly said...

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear you've been so tired this week. It's probably a combination of your training and added duties as both mom & dad. I agree that added sleep is important. If you can't get the rest, you can't recover and you may jeopardize the gains you've made in training, even possibly get sick or injured.

So if you can't get the rest you need, I suggest backing off. Remember that training breaks your body down. Your body actually get stronger when it rebuilds through rest and recovery.