Three Things Thursday

#1 Exhaustion - I woke up tired, but didn't think much of it because who isn't tired at 4 am? I got ready and headed to the track for 1200/400 intervals. The workout went great, but I had no energy for the rest of the day. I felt like a zombie getting ready for work and when I walked to the bus I took another bus to the station, with only 1/2 mile to go, without really even thinking about it. I usually look forward to my walks, and take any chance to add a little extra milage, but today I didn't have it in me. I took a quick power nap when I got home and that seemed to help, but it will be an early night and I'll probably skip yoga tomorrow in lieu of extra sleep.

#2 Fit at Work - I mentioned yesterday that I started the "Fit at Work" track on Daily Challenge. Today's challenge was to do the stretch where you bend your leg back and hold your foot. They called it a hamstring stretch, but I've always known it as a quad stretch. It felt great after this morning's run. Since I was so tired and achy, I set a timer to remind me to take a stretch break every hour for 1-2 minutes. Along with a 1 minute plank leaning against my desk, I did a total of 10 minutes of stretches throughout the day. I think I'll keep that up, and maybe add walking up the stairs or around the lobby when I'm not so tired.

#3 Yoga - I really believe that yoga has greatly improved my life. I usually do yoga for the stretching benefits to counter the tightness from running, but I've come to enjoy it for the relaxation and meditation too. I've been doing it for so long on my own with podcasts, that I now can wing it for 10-30 minutes without a problem. It's second nature to me and I find myself doing yoga stretches at the bus stop, on the bus, at my desk, in the break room, etc. As I left work, I planed to come home and do a restorative yoga sequence, but I was just too tired to even try. After the power nap and making dinner, I took 10 minutes to do some relaxation poses, including a whole 5 minutes laying on the floor on my back with legs draped over the safe. It felt great on my legs and back, but it was great for my mind because there was nothing to do but lay there and breath. Those 5 minutes energized me enough to do another 5 minutes of active stretches and I feel much better now.