Tuesdays are usually a pretty good day for me to get a good run on trails in. I start work at 6:00 am, so I get out of the clinic pretty early. Generally, I like to hit the trail right after work, but this week I was just too exhausted. The toll of waking up at 4:30 am and upping my mileage is catching up with me. I decided to head home to eat and found myself falling asleep on the couch. I was sore and just not really feeling it, so I decided to just skip my run.
I’ve always been a bit of an injury prone runner, so I try to listen to my body and stop before injury starts. When I’m tired or overworked, I don’t get too bent out of shape over skipping a run here or there. Although today made sense for a nice run in the mountains, it simply was not the right thing for my body. If I lack the motivation to get out the door, I try to take that as a sign that maybe I’m a little overtrained or that I need a rest day. Today was definitely one of those days.
Instead, Frank and I used our new projector to watch Planet Earth II. We don’t have a TV and have always walked movies on the computer. However, we thought it would be nice to get a projector and watch movies and shows on the wall. Turns out it works great! Even Elly found watching movies on the big screen to be quite an improvement.
Frank and I are pretty big nerds about our TV watching. We’re in the middle of The West by Ken Burns right now. It’s a series of documentaries about American colonization and immigration to the west. It’s a pretty slow show, but I’m always excited to hear about Utah and how Salt Lake City came to be. So far Brigham Young and his followers have only been mentioned once, but I expect that there will be a whole episode about the Mormon pioneers. Utah has a rather fascinating (and brutal) history.
After watching Netflix on our new projector, I did some photo editing and read a bit before heading to bed. I’ve been in the middle of a book about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. It’s a fascinating story of management and biology and I feel like I’ve gotten a much better appreciation for the hard work the Department of the Interior has put into keeping our parks as pristine as possible. If you’re interested here is the link to the book. And yes, I am very obsessed with National Parks and the West.
Despite a skipped workout, I still had a good night. I have 8 miles on trail up for tomorrow and hopefully my legs will be feeling much more up for the job.
Do you ever skip workouts/runs because you are tired or overtrained? What shows and books are you into right now? Have you ever sat through a Ken Burns documentary?
She Runs the Wasatch 
What a great idea to use a projector, that looks so fun!
“Elly is very interested in the animals of the jungles of Brazil.” This made me laugh so much because I could replace “Elly” with “Adam” and it would fit perfectly. He was recently on a work trip/cruise and was supposed to visit the Amazon, but the person who booked his travel didn’t tell him he needed a visa to get into Brazil. They made him get off the ship at the stop before Brazil and fly home. I felt so bad for him because he had been so excited
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Haha! Yeah. She was pretty into it. Eventually she settled down and sat in my lap while we watched. I’m sorry that Adam didn’t get to go to the Amazon. I’ve been to Amazonia in Peru and the jungles of Guyana and it is pretty amazing. I hope he gets the opportunity to go back.
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Good for you for listening to your body! I have definitely skipped runs when I felt exhausted or just not feeling it. You can always run MORE but you can’t take BACK a run that aggravates an injury or whatever.
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That’s definitely true. I walk a fine line often, so when I’m that tired and unmotivated, I try to listen.
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I tend to really want to stick to the schedule, and it’s pretty rare for me to actually skip a run, but I’ve learned to rearrange & juggle & listen to my body.
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