Rest Day:
The hard pounding that my legs and body took on last night’s trail run manifested itself this morning as I rolled out of bed. Muscles throughout my body were alive, awake, and suddenly had my FULL attention. I was very, very sore! Wide-eyed, I slowly made my way to the medicine cabinet in search of ibuprofen.
I laughed at myself as I fell back into bed. I laid there for a few minutes waiting for the medicine to work its magic. Remembering that I had already planned to take a rest day, I thanked myself for my wisdom and foresight. Good job, D!
While I would not be running this morning, I absolutely needed to stretch! So, I rolled out of bed for the second time. With just enough ibuprofen to take the edge off the stinging soreness, I started. I took my time. As I slowly made my way through my normal stretch routine, I took inventory of the long forgotten (and perhaps neglected) muscles that were demanding recognition. I began adding or adjusting stretches to address as many of them as possible.
I decided to add the a little bit of comic relief to the morning. I turned on the television to play an episode of Big Bang Theory while stretching. I loved how the laughter added to the release.
While my body repairs the microtears in my muscles, a combination of stretching, movement, and time are essential to reducing the soreness and restoring full mobility. Even so, I know that I will be sore for a couple of days. But, honestly, I don’t mind. In fact, I rather enjoy this kind of soreness. It is a reminder that I did something new, hard, and fun!
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