Rest day, priorities out of whack, or priorities in line? You know when the alarm goes off at 0500 (that’s 5am for you non-military folks, also if your alarm goes off earlier, I feel you)? The problem with that alarm is that you were stupid (priorities out of whack) the night before and didn’t start writing till like 10:30 pm and then didn’t go to bed till like midnight.
I don’t do well on five hours of sleep. I mean I can function if I have to, but to wake up and try to go to the gym, it’s probably not going to happen. Much of my morning routine is set by the prior night’s priorities. That is usually how my rest days come about (especially on weekends), 0500 alarm, too tired, I think to myself, “I’ll go to the gym later,” then later I remember that I want to spend time with and prioritize my family rather than getting fitter or stronger.
So yea, rest day today. Didn’t make it to the gym this morning. Planned to go this evening, but got busy looking at a new house in Hahnbach, Germany. It had the most amazing view. The living room has a huge open window wall with views of the green rolling hills, farmland, and trails of Germany.
After our house tour, we decided to go to Amberg, Germany, to a vegan restaurant and have dinner. This trip turned out to be bit more than dinner though. We decided to walk about and look through a few shops. Got a couple of German board books for Ashur (really for Angel and I to learn as well), then tried to find some new running shoes, my Skora Tempos are slicing my heel (review coming).
After our shopping escapade we went back to the car to discover that we received our first German ticket. I felt like we were on the amazing race, trying to not get frustrated with each other, trying to find we can pay the ticket off (it was only €10, roughly $11. Still to no avail. Angel finally figured out we could pay the ticket at our bank here on post. Then we had the typical Amazing Race Post-explosion makeup moment.
I tell all that story to say that we didn’t arrive back in hotel till about hour and half before the gym closed and I decided to prioritize time with my family of getting swoll.
I think with knowledge that I don’t have any big races on the horizon, even though a 50k may be looming. I don’t have my priorities lined up like I would have it there was a 100k or 100mi race coming. I’m excited to get to work, but with work brings traveling and less time to run/lift/ride.
In the end though, I will be able to keep running and lifting. Just have to do it at the right time.
Your thoughts? How much sleep do you need? How do you prioritize your day? (Leave an answer in the comments)
Thanks for reading about my story today.
- Alex (trying to figure out how to use the word ‘prioritize’ one more time)
PS: Check out Tailwind Nutrition, they have been great to me the past few years. I’m still working out how to get it here in Germany (stupid import laws). Their product simply works. I’ve used it in many races and training runs, it's never let me down. That’s why I’m a true believer in their slogan, “All you need, all day, really.”
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