I hear new-agey, yoga folks always say thing like, "Listen to your body. Pay attention to what it's telling you that you need." I tried that for a while and what my body said it needed was brownies, pizza and lots and lots of cheese as well as a daily dose or two of Starbucks, and to sit on my butt and do lots of reading but not a lot of moving. My body LIED.
Today though...I think I am finally understanding the "listen to your body" message.
I was going to go to the gym today with my friend Ellie (who seriously, is built and looks like a super model and going to the gym with her would be intimidating if she wasn't such an incredibly kind, goofy person.) Half way through my day at work I could feel that I was worn down and probably should not go, that a break was needed. I sent her a text apologizing for being a flake, and she said not to worry because she had totally forgotten and was deep cleaning her house. (We are both kind of flaky, it works for us.)
As the day wore on, and the calories started to add up quickly, I realized if I was going to eat all I wanted to, I needed to work out anyway. Off to the little gym at my apartment I went. 20 min on the bike. 20 on the treadmill, 20 on the eleptical.
Waddled back to apartment, up the stairs, walked in door, inspected knees...oh dear.
Swollen. Quite a bit. Right worse than the left by a ways. Is THAT what that stabbing pain in my knee was? Huh.... Probably should have paid attention to that...
This isn't the first time this has happened. Last summer I did a really hard hike, almost made it to 10,000 ft. It was REALLY steep. The thing about being on a mountain is, you sort of can't just stop the workout. You have to get back down or people start to worry and search and rescue calls are pretty damn expensive. Plus, pride is kind of an issue there for me as well. Totally bit off more than I could chew that day but that's another story. So, despite being sore, bruised and scratched up, I made it safely home (somehow.) For about two weeks after, my right knee was huge and stiff. Eventually it got better.
Anyway... Here I sit, wrapped, iced, full of motrin and glucosamine and other natural anti-inflamitories and I am taking mental stock of what hurts and why. Left rotator cuff, the one that JUST started feeling better around Christmas that I seriously damaged a few years ago (like, 17 yrs ago to be specific) snowboarding: hurting in a bad way again. Feet: charlie horses for the fourth time this week. Knees: see above description. Back: miraculously totally ok. Legs: sore and begging for a break.
I get it. Listen to your body. When it says, "Rest," do so. It's ok to take more than one day a week off. In the long run, it will be worth it, and that's what my life is about these days. What's going to be best in the long run?
(My spell check is not working tonight so I apologize for all the errors. I rely heavily on that little tool.)
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