no run = sleepy?

Okay, so my tiny little book of all things running says that I should skip days between my runs, to let my body recuperate. I have ignored that advice up until this week, because what I have been doing is so low-level that I can't imagine my body actually NEEDS a break. This week, since I have finally moved to jogging 30 uninterrupted minutes, I thought maybe it was time to start alternating days instead of just cramming the run into any 3 or 4 days that work for me.



So yesterday was my "off" day for the run. Know what? I got sleepy by lunch and felt ready for bed by the time I got off work at 5 PM - if I hadn't made myself go outside for a walk, I'd have been asleep by 7 PM.


Now, I know part of my being sleepy/tired is due to the simple fact that for the past 9 months, my work day has been 6 hours plus a 1 hour lunch break, and now it is 8 hours plus a one hour lunch break. Adding 2 hours to the "productive" part of my day is bound to take some adjusting, though 8 hours of work is not exactly a day in the salt mines, you know? Also, in Chicago I had bursts of intensity at work but also periods of lulls - here in Rock Island, my work days tend to be an almost uninterrupted mental challenge. This is not a complaint; I actually enjoy that about it. But I suppose the lack of lulls probably contributes to tiredness by the end of the day, eh?

There is also the factor of the massive change of almost every aspect of my life. That seems likely to be a bit fatiguing at first. But what I am guessing the biggest factor in that tiredness was boils down to: I didn't start my motor running first thing in the morning. I think I'll listen to what my body says to me today, after starting with a good run...and if it says what I think it's going to say, it looks like I'll be up and out for another one tomorrow morning.


Meanwhile, I don't have a reliable internet connection yet at my new place, so my blogs here and especially at my other blog will be less-that-regular until I am able to remedy that situation, which is probably almost a month away. If you don't "see" me here, don't give up!