Thursday, March 5, 2009

Rest & Recovery

Last week was exhausting. Tough workouts, lay-offs at work and fending off the flu. Combine this with the fact that my body was already worn out from the cold, dark days of winter and just getting out of bed in the morning can seem like the biggest challenge of the day.

Last Thursday was probably the worst day I have experienced in a long time. I heard rumblings of lay-offs well before Thursday and I knew HR had blocked off usage of all the conference rooms for the day. But nothing really prepared me for the gut-wrenching feeling of hearing an unsuspecting co-worker say, "Hey guys, where is conference room number two?"

That was 8:45 in the morning. For the next seven hours, I sat in the stunned silence of the office, watching familiar faces trudging towards the conference rooms. I felt trapped and nauseous; I had to remind myself to eat during the day so I could handle my workout that evening.

A week later, I still cannot put all of the feelings from that day into words. I was thankful to leave the office that day still being employed, but I couldn't stop thinking about those people, especially with families to support, who hadn't been so lucky. A tough tempo workout helped put things in perspective for me; all I could hope for was that this happened for a reason. I had to believe there was something more rewarding, more fulfilling waiting for them.

I busied myself during the weekend with projects around the apartment and running errands. All day Saturday, I felt exhausted. I could feel the stress and anxiety of the previous few days as a heavy weight on my chest; it seemed to resonate in every muscle in my body. I went to bed early Saturday night and slept for almost sixteen hours.

That's right, I said sixteen hours. I didn't wake -up until 12:30 PM Sunday afternoon. I knew there was no way I could put my body through a long run; just standing up seem to take every ounce of effort I could muster. I tried not to feel guilty about it, I tried reminding myself that I would only make it worse, but it didn't help much at the time.

Luckily, this week has been much better than the last. My body recovered from Sunday and has felt strong through all of the week's workouts. Morale in the office is closer to what it was pre-doomsday. The eather has been miserable, but the weekend holds the promise of warmer temperatures and Daylight Savings Time. I am so incredibly ready for the Spring days, just around the corner.

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