Absence makes the heart (and lungs and legs) grow fonder

As I was running this morning, I had a revelation: when we're pushing ourselves physically we complain and can't wait until it's over, yet when we take some time off, we can't wait to return to it. Funny, huh?

Whew! What a week I had - Disneyworld, weekend with college friends, then the K'naan/Lenny Kravitz concert. It's taken me 2 days to get back to reality.

First up: Disneyworld. This was our 8th trip in 3 years. (Yes, my child is spoiled.) It never gets old! Seriously: could you ever NOT want to go to the Happiest Place on Earth???

It is very tough to exercise and eat right when you're at Disney. I tried my best, but I somehow ended up running only 35 minutes one morning. As far as food went, I did decently - not great but not awful. Didn't snack a lot, but did go a little crazy on the all-you-can-eat buffet we did one day for lunch. I figured all of the walking I was doing negated *some* of those calories. Plus, our son was having a super-great time. I can accept making unhealthy food choices and not getting my usual exercise time in so I can experience this:


Next up: weekend with college friends. We flew in from Florida around 9am on Friday, and by 1130am I was getting my long run for the week in: 13 miles. When I was done I had just enough time to speed home, take a quick shower, then head to the airport to pick my college roommate up. She and I hadn't seen eachother in 15 years. We went to dinner that night with 4 more of our sorority sisters - what a blast! Saturday, Sunday and Monday were spent hanging out, catching up, introducing her to my Nashville friends. She does not exercise like I do, so I tried to limit my training to an hour on Sunday and Monday morning before she got up.

The finale: the K'naan/Lenny Kravitz concert on Monday night at the Ryman Auditorium downtown. The Ryman is one of the coolest, most special places to see a show and there isn't a bad seat in the house. Both musicians were incredible, but I truly was blown away by K'naan. If you aren't familiar with him, I highly suggest you change that quickly. One of the most interesting, smartest, wonderful souls around. My friend and I got the privilege of meeting him after the show and talking with him for a bit.

Wow.

By the time Tuesday rolled around, I was truly missing my exercise. I am used to working out 8-12 hours every week, doing something 6 days out of 7. Last week I managed to almost make it to 4 hours over the course of 3 days. Monday I swam for 45 minutes and Tuesday I did some strength training for 40 minutes and ran for 28, but I was so tired that it felt like 3 hours. So this morning I awoke a new person: no more sleep deprivation, back to healthy eating, and ready to hit the track! 1.5 mile warmup, 8 x 800 @ 7:10 pace with an easy 400 jog between each 800, then .5 mile cooldown. Boy, was it a struggle! I got through it though, and am excited about getting back to reality and back to my usual routine. As fun as Disney, reunions, and concerts were, I was ready to return to my normal, crazy life and my sweaty workout clothes.

So my point is this: it is good and healthy to take a vacation from exercise every once in a while. It'll keep you from getting burned out and/or injured, and it'll also help you appreciate it more when you get back at it. My next exercise vacation will be right after Christmas when we go to Utah, and that won't be as bad. Cross-country skiing, here I come!!!