An Off Day

Today is an off day.  It is definitely an off day.  Luckily, I know everything that is factoring into, and I'm going to make it better.  So, let's evaluate:

The day started off well with a bike ride and a trip to the physical therapist for my knee (more on that later).  However, I was extremely tired, and I mean really, really, REALLY tired.  Yesterday had been a long day with about 15 hours of straight work, so today I was wiped.

When I got home from PT, I should have gone straight to bed, but I was also hungry, so I grabbed some lunch.

Error #1: Grabbing the wrong thing to eat.
Last night, Hans and I decided to purchase some pre-made ravioli (mine was stuffed with crab).  It wasn't as great as what I'd thought it be last night, but I figured I was just too pooped to notice how good it actually was.  For lunch, I SHOULD have fixed up some of the spaghetti I made a couple of days ago (with a really great red sauce), but instead I went back for the ravioli.  It was not so great, and it left me wanting more.

Error #2: Not going straight to bed after lunch.
Heck, with as tired as I was, I almost feel I should have eaten lunch in bed so I could have conked right out.  Instead, I ate on the couch (not the table which would have been the best option).  I watched t.v. instead of sleeping, so my sleep problem didn't go away.  While I did get a brief nap, it wasn't near enough.  On top of that, my lack of sleep and poor lunch led me to crave snacks.

Error #3: Actually eating the snacks.
Ok, I could have done a lot worse here, but I also could have done better.  I had a lot of carrots, and that's good, but I also could have skipped the pretzels and the peanut bar.  I didn't even really want them, but I was hungry and I couldn't think of something else to eat that wouldn't require a lot of prep.  Of course, I'm just now realizing that I could have grabbed an apple or banana or orange or celery with almond butter or raisins.  There's lots of stuff to eat, but that was right in front of me, so I failed.

I'll be completely honest here and tell you that I kind of felt today coming on.  I could feel my body wearing down, and I knew I would have to work really hard to keep it fueled and not burn out.  Unfortunately, one long day really took its toll, and I was not prepared to deal with it.  That's OK, though.  An error is not a mistake until you refuse to correct it.  So, I'm not waiting until tomorrow to fix it.  I'm fixing it today.  Dinner will be better.  Sleep will come earlier.  Tonight will end better and tomorrow will start better.  Oh, and I'm looking forward to it.

Physical Therapy
I do want to touch on my first meeting with my physical therapist before I sign off here.  It was fun!  I was reminded of a lot of things I already knew but had definitely forgotten (like the IT band's role in knee pain).  I've been given a few fun exercises (aka exhausting) to help strengthen and stretch my hips, and I have more appointments set up.  I've been told I shouldn't run at all for a while (BOO!), but biking and swimming are fine, so I guess I'm thrilled that it's warmer out.

I do have to say, it's really fun learning so much about my body.  I'm pretty sure that if I took all the x-rays I've had over the past few years I'd probably have a life-size person, and I think that's cool.  It's just really interesting, though, to see how things interact and play together.  Here's to learning more, and bettering myself!