This week was my "rest week" for the marathon training. Of course, this doesn't mean that I didn't run at all, just much less than last week. But my so-called "rest week" made me start thinking about the concept of resting.
"I'll rest when I'm dead." That used to be my attitude. This body was just a shell and I wanted to ride it hard. As the saying goes, I wanted to skid into my coffin sideways and shout, "Wow, that was a wild ride!" But I've learn a thing (maybe two) about rest since then.
Rest makes me stronger - I didn't truly discover this until I tried P90X for the first time. I was getting results, so I was all geeked up and ready to lift more weight. When the first rest week came, I was mad. I was saying to myself, "I don't need no stinkin' rest!" But I listened to Tony Horton and rested. And when I came back, to my surprise, I was much stronger.
Rest makes me smarter - Sometimes when you are driven or when you love what you do, you're tempted to keep pushing past all reasonable limits. If you are anything like me, you need to force yourself to take a step back in order to take two steps forward. I've learned over the years that I only I get dumber is it gets later. I can be much more effective in half the time when I'm fresh rather than tired. So often, rest is the most effective use of my time.
The Real Decision - It comes down to this for me, one decision. Every day we must decide between what we want right now and what we want the most. The most successful person - the person I want to be - puts the highest priority on what they want the most. That means looking at the big picture. That often means getting your butt to bed rather than running the streets. And that sometimes means checking your ego, putting the weights down and resting.
It took me a minute (or 40 years) to learn this, but I think I grasp the concept now. :)
Training runs completed
Monday (7/16) - 4 miles
Tuesday (7/17) - 4 miles
Wednesday (7/18) - 4 miles
Thursday (7/19) - 6 miles
Congratulations Brian you are truly a success story! I too have struggled with weight. But at 55 I'm about to embark on my last battle to keep it off forever. People have always thought I was selfish or sick because I tell them I need my 8 hours a night. Without it I don't think or function as well as I can. Being sharp is important to be able to study & be effective regardless of your profession. Learning about sleep has helped me be a better person, a kinder more gentler person.
ReplyDeleteSome biological facts: your brain needs time to process the 16 hours of information it has absorbed. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is deep sleep where your mind is processing, filing and organizing all the information you did the day before. Understand that this is part of the cognitive ability process of the brain. Children need 8 to 10 hours because they are learning & physically growing so much that both the body & the mind need the extra sleep. I hope this info was helpful!