Rest Day
The hard pounding that my legs and body took on last night’s trail run manifested itself this morning as I rolled out of bed. Muscles throughout my body were alive, awake, and suddenly had my FULL attention. I was very, very sore! Wide-eyed, I slowly made my way to the medicine cabinet in search of ibuprofen.

I laughed at myself as I fell back into bed. I laid there for a few minutes waiting for the medicine to work its magic.  Remembering that I had already planned to take a rest day, I thanked myself for my wisdom and foresight.  Good job, D!

While I would not be running this morning, I absolutely needed to stretch!  So, I rolled out of bed for the second time.  With just enough ibuprofen to take the edge off the stinging soreness, I started.  I took my time.  As I slowly made my way through my normal stretch routine, I took inventory of the long forgotten (and perhaps neglected) muscles that were demanding recognition.  I began adding or adjusting stretches to address as many of them as possible.

I decided to add the a little bit of comic relief to the morning.  I turned on the television to play an episode of Big Bang Theory while stretching.  I loved how the laughter added to the release.

While my body repairs the microtears in my muscles, a combination of stretching, movement, and time are essential to reducing the soreness and restoring full mobility.  Even so, I know that I will be sore for a couple of days.  But, honestly, I don’t mind.  In fact, I rather enjoy this kind of soreness.  It is a reminder that I did something new, hard, and fun!

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