REST?!?! What’s That?

So how many of you knew EXACTLY what that title meant when you laid eyes on it?   I know some of my running friends are ACUTELY AWARE of what going TOO HARD,  means!  How many of you are guilty of pushing and pushing yourselves until you have NOTHING left to give?  I have been on that ledge MANY times, but I think I was sufficiently HURLED over the edge this week.

My Dad has not been doing well, and Saturday, we almost lost him.  But he is improving and even got to go back to his nursing home last night from the hospital.  Prior to then, I had been “burning the candle at both ends” so to speak for awhile, and not getting proper rest.  I would try to take rest days, but I would just get stressed out and end up doing what I would call “active rest”, but really, I was just pushing myself too hard.  Depending on your way of thinking, either there IS or there ISN’T such a thing as over-training(And to be honest, I do NOT feel that is what was going on with me at all).  But I DO, 100%, fully believe that there is a such thing as UNDER RESTING!  And that is where I have been falling in lately.

Stressing constantly about if I am doing all I can to help all the people who are out there and need or want my help on their fitness journey.  Stressing about making enough money.  Stressing about job security.  Stressing about my Dad.  Stressing about not getting enough rest.  Stressing about the holidays QUICKLY approaching.  I mean….You do realize that Thanksgiving is in 2 DAYS?!?!?  RIGHT?!?!?

But when I could take no more, and I felt the panic attack coming on…You know the ones?  Tightness in the chest.  Can’t breathe.  Head spinning out of control.  Emotions on the scariest roller coaster EVER.  I knew that I had to just take a minute and breath.   And at that moment I took a look at my picture from Saturday with the Girl Scout Daisies, and just HAD to smile and literally LOL!  Because if you can look at that without doing a full belly-laugh, something just isn’t right?

Need a little more help with your smile?

PICTURE THIS -I got the call while I was still in town that my Dad was being rushed to the ER Saturday.  YUP!  I was still dressed like this when I entered the Blessing Hospital Emergency Room!  Talk about some looks!  But maybe I brightened that sick little girl’s day who was waiting to be seen just a little. 🙂  That makes it ALL worth it!

My plan is to MAKE time to rest on Thanksgiving one way or another! 🙂  I am even skipping the YMCA Turkey Trot this year 😦  But sometimes you have to do what is right for you over what you really WANT to do.  And for me.  For now.  It is REST!

So make sure you take your rest days.  Better a day off here and there than a week, a month, a year…off later because you get burned out and injured.

MAKE today GREAT!  AND GET SOME REST! 🙂