I took Monday off from work because of an insanely busy weekend with visiting in-laws and a late night on Sunday at a VERY fancy celebration that included a limo and dinner at the Mansion at Turtle Creek in Dallas.
So my first day to work out this week was Tuesday. I ran 2.5 miles, as was the plan. Wednesday morning I completely overslept and rushed out of the house with only the essentials (read: coffee) and forgot my gym bag at home. BUT, I did try to make up for it by doing my legs workout while watching So You Think You Can Dance (lunges and other various means of torture designed to [hopefully] reduce the size of my thighs).
Thursday morning I got up after only getting about 3 hours of sleep for some reason. This is where all the old bits of advice to "listen to your body!!" started haunting me. I needed to run 2.5 miles. I told myself I'd do that 3x a week no matter what. Then I started hearing that obnoxious line in the back of my head again...
Listen to your body!
I wasn't feeling great. I felt really run down and tired. My right knee was a bit sketchy. And the rash that had been bothering me on my side was especially irritating. So I got on a stationary bike instead and rode about 6.5 miles in 35 minutes. Then I went downstairs and did arms/back/abs work.
By the time I got to work, I was feeling kind of yucky, still, so I called the doctor and made an appointment to have my little rash area looked at. She could fit me in at 2pm, so I went in after lunch....and found out I have shingles. Shingles. Ugh. Even my doctor seemed surprised.
Apparently, it's the chicken pox virus, which NEVER EVER GOES AWAY in your body once you've had it. It just lies there, waiting dormant, to screw with you. It can be "awakened" by stress, aging, or disease/low immune system. I don't feel particularly stressed....on the contrary, I've been feeling pretty good . I'm not letting the Summer Financial Woes get me down...I'm just trusting that, as always, God will provide and take care of us. I'm keeping myself healthy. I'm enjoying not being in a show right now. I'm reading. I'm sunbathing. But, maybe subconsciously my body is taking on some stress. I don't know. All I know is that OW this hurts and PLEASE give me some medicine now that you know what it is.
So I got some drugs for the Shingleshanks (what I'm calling them because it sounds more fun), and today? I have been completely worthless. I didn't run. I didn't bike. I didn't stretch. I didn't do yoga. I didn't do ANYTHING.
I slept for 12 hours last night, woke up and went to lunch with the hubster, barely stayed awake on the drive home from lunch, and then took a 3 hour nap.
Because my body told me to.
There's a part of me that feels stressed (stop it, Mandy. You want more shings??) and disappointed in myself for not meeting my weekly goals...but I know deep down that listening to your body and knowing when it needs a break is much more important than running the 7.5/8 miles I was hoping to get in this week. If I don't let myself recover, I'll have more bad weeks.
Here's hoping I get the rest I need, recover, and come back even more ready to kick some butt next week!
Listening to your body is one of the most important things you can do - good for you! So sorry to hear you have Shingles. I'm one of those people who doesn't normally get sick at the height of a stressful period, but after it's winding down. Just be sure to continue listening and truly taking care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally!
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