I am usually a “no excuses,” “suck it up” and “get it done” person when it comes to my exercise routine. When my work is in overdrive, I still set my alarm for 5:00 to get in my workout–I need to take care of myself, balance the stress, and get a hit of endorphins. On weekends, I get up at 6:00 to fit in a long run before the rest of the day’s activities or a yoga program before church. Even when I’m tired, I get up and “just do it,” and I’m usually glad I did.
But I also am learning when to say “when.” Last week I had a several nights in a row where I just did not get enough sleep (barely 6 hours). While I can keep that up for a few days, it does catch up with me. My business trip to Colorado was the last straw–an exhausting trip out, under 5 hours of sleep at the hotel, and an important meeting took their toll. When I got home at midnight, I decided that I really needed to catch up on my sleep. I emailed my assistant that I was going to sleep in the next day, turned off my alarm, and crawled into bed.
I ended up sleeping for about 7 hours, until 7:30. I felt well-rested, and decided to continue my gentle morning by doing a Rodney Yee program instead of hitting the elliptical and doing my usual free weights routine. Between that and a pot of my favorite Starbucks Komodo Dragon coffee, I was ready to face the day.
This weekend’s heat wave brought me another opportunity to say “when.” As much fun as I had running with my friend last weekend, I convinced her that it would not be a good idea to run outside this weekend, when the temperature would be in the 80s by 5:00 am, never mind the humidity, heat index, or air quality. We made plans for next weekend, and I made a date with my treadmill.
When I saw this weather report at 6:30 am, I knew I had made the right decision.
I wasn’t sure how long I could stand to run on my treadmill, but I had a few episodes of Desperate Housewives to catch up on, so I decided to go for 8 miles (plus my warm-up and cool-down). I chose the “Sport Training” program at level 3. I ran at 6.0 mph when the incline was over 1.8, and bumped up to 6.3 mph when the incline was lower, although that didn’t happen very often. It was a solid workout and I had to dig in to keep going at the end.
(miles, calories, time)
When I finished my cool-down, I checked the weather again:
I think I made the right decision!
I still have one more hour of the Desperate Housewives season finale to watch–I am saving it for my next heat wave-induced treadmill workout.
When do you say “when”?
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I think that was a good decision. 80* at 6:30 AM sounds like torture to me. I think listening to your body is key – when it says "enough", it's usually right.
Oh I had saved DH for cardio too! But have long since caught up. Now I'm enjoying some cooking competition shows. And I still have some episodes of Oprah to watch. Love my recorders. BUT, the TV that we watch from the cardio machines is not working right now and I am going through withdrawal!!
Agree, good decision, sleep always wins! Also smart to bring your run on the treadmill with the nasty heat. It's hard to suck it up and it, but it's better than heat stroke.
You SO made the right decision! Not only is the heat miserable, but it's dangerous. We don't have the humidity here, but it does get HOT! I've REALLY enjoyed my 8/9 pm walks – it's so peaceful out! And of course… there is the pool my friend **evil chuckle**
Sounds like you made the right choice! I have been learning a lot about when to say "enough is enough," lately.
And good grief, it's been hot out.
I've been saying WHEN for 2 weeks now. I cannot get a good run in at all when its this hot outside. It hurts my diabetes and it wears me down to the core so I can barely get 2 miles of running in before I crash.
The treadmill is the right tool for me to use right now, its just killing my back though!
I wonder why the TM hurts your back? Is the incline too high or too low (some say you should chose a low incline to mimic "flat" outside – I do 0.5 on mine)? Are you going too fast? I seem to need to pick a slower pace on the TM, although many people think it's easier to run on a TM.
Ive gots the SADS that Im out of DH.
Im going to try Giuliana & Bill this am but Im thinking it will make the tread fill LONGER rather than shorter 🙂
I definitely know when to say when. I will not run outside if it's hot, humid and sunny… that's the best way for me to get a migraine. I also know that I really need some sleep and hydration before a long run, otherwise I'll also get a migraine… I try to be really mindful of these things the days before my runs, but if stuff happens, I also don't feel "too guilty" about changing workouts or skipping them altogether in exchange for some needed rest! 🙂 I'm just glad I got a membership to a gym last week so I can go workout when the weather is not friendly! (Heat or Cold!)
Good job going with the right decision! I'm proud of myself for going through the same thing today. I knew my body was telling me I needed to rest and gave in despite not wanting to in my head. So true we have to learn to say "when" and it ends up being the best thing we can do.
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