Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Listen to Your Body


I am frustrated.
I tried running this evening. After my 5 minute warm-up walk (where I felt great) I started into a jog. Immediately I knew my knees felt "off." They didn't hurt, but they felt strange. I did an insane amount of walking last week, and probably did a number on my legs which are not used to walking obscene distances daily. I just thought that I would be ready to run today. My knees kind of felt like they had air in them, if that makes sense. I didn't want to risk an injury, and it felt so weird (I felt like I was leaning forward a lot while running) so I stopped.

I am a little worried now because I am behind on my training and if I don't start running soon, I will be running every single day until my race! I am going to take another couple days off and try again on the weekend. :-( EatMoveLove gave me some good advice in her comment on my last post: "Rest your legs girl!!! Walking does way more than you think..." I am going to listen to her and my body, and rest my legs.

I listened to my body this morning when it told me it was craving protein.

I had 2 eggs with hot sauce, and 1 slice of toast:



I had no leftovers to take for lunch, so I put together a pitiful mishmosh lunch. I had some edamame, 2 pieces of toast, an apple, orange, and yogurt with granola:





For dinner I made a very healthy and delicious curried lentil soup:



Check this post for the recipe (and some info on how I puke a lot ... in case you are interested :-))

How do you know when you need a rest either physically, emotionally, or mentally?

I knew after last semester, I needed a MAJOR rest before I completely broke down mentally and emotionally. I was going non-stop, leaving work at the end of the day to go to the university to run my experiment, then coming home to do homework, write my thesis and study for the GRE tests until I went to bed. I was exhausted, and unhappy. Two week-long vacations later and a semester off, and I am finally well rested mentally and emotionally.



15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just plan at least one rest day a week as your body needs recovery time. I tried to do an hour a day of walking at the start of the year but quickly found out that was a recipe for disaster. You should be able to train for your race on 3 days a week if you so choose. I know my knees prefer it. Jeff Galloway promotes this in his training plans.

Kat said...

i am sorry about your knees. I am actually horrible about listening to my body. I refuse to. Each time I have had a sprained ankle or sore knees, I have ran or played my game. I refuse to let an injury stop me. Ive played a game with a chipped ankle bone before. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced, but I refused to sit out. Of course, once the adrenaline stopped, I could'nt walk at all.
Resting is good for your body. Just try and stretch real well.
Maybe I should take my own advice...

Alaina said...

Not to worry - you will be fine for the 5K! Training works so much better when you are ready (both physically and mentally) to really do it.

Amber said...

Definitely listen to your body! I recently cut WAY down on my running mileage because of my shin pain and while in a way I hate it I know it's the best thing for my body right now!

Also, ice those knees after EVERY run and big walk!

Simply Life said...

I strained my ankle last year while marathon training and my doctor said REST and good supportive shoes (and don't wear flip-flops except on the beach!) She said the body is amazing - it will tell you when it needs to rest and will often heal on it's own (if resting), but if you push it too hard that's when other more serious injuries are likely to happen! So I had a hard time taking that much time off training but I'm SOOOO happy to run now without ANY pain! So I think you're doing a smart thing by resting! :)

Alanna said...

It can be really hard to understand what your body is telling you, I still have trouble listening. You definitely did the right thing by taking it easy.

Right now I feel like I need a serious mental break, I am at the end of my degree and about to start my masters in September and I feel like without a break I will be burnt out before I even start.

Take a break and then get back at it :)

Anonymous said...

listen to your body! better to be careful then to injure yourself! There was a time when I was trying super hard to run alot and I just couldn't anymore..my body couldn't and turns out I had a stress fracture!

Anonymous said...

I feel off my game when I know I need a rest.

Kenzie @ A Healthy Purpose said...

I think resting your legs is a great idea. But I know that sucks because sometimes you just want to get going! ANd my body definitely tells me when I need to slow down--I just get really tired. I'm not easily fatigued so I know this means something.

Christine @ Grub, Sweat and Cheers said...

Sorry to hear about your knees. You were totally right to rest. Better a small delay in training than having to give it up altogether. It's a lesson I had to learn the hard way - I pushed through pain for a few weeks and ended up with an injury that took me out of action for over 6 months.

Hope you feel back to normal soon!

Kyle and Darci said...

Bummer on the knees...but it is SO much better to listen to your body rather than push yourself & get injured!

Anonymous said...

I used to be so bad at listening to my body. I would run to the point of stress fractures (and then keep running- eek!) and balk at the thought of a rest day. Now that I am older and wiser I know how important taking some time off can be!

Kacy said...

It's definitely good that you're listening to your body and resting. It will thank you!

sophia said...

That was smart advice...you gotta rest up, girl! Your poor legs need some recuperating....but I'm sure there are other ways to stay adequately active. Maybe yoga...or stretching...or swimming?

Anais said...

Definitely take some rest, and ice your knees! Ibuprofen (or Motrin) also really help me when my knees are bothering me!

Hope you're back on your feet in no time!