Week In Review – Crawling to the Finish!

So much for getting back on track with consistent workouts as the school year drew to a close. Early in the week I got hit with symptoms which were either some kind of virus/cold my body fought off, or a product of complete and utter exhaustion. Either way I felt like death warmed up, set aside any effort to train and instead limped my way to the end of the week and the summer holidays.

Monday – Hatha yoga
Tuesday – 4 miles
Wednesday – rest
Thursday – rest
Friday – rest
Saturday – rest
Sunday – 4 miles

It all started out fine. I was about as refreshed as one can feel in the final week of term and enjoyed a relaxing Hatha class on Monday evening. I’ll not have another for about 3 weeks, so made the most of the time on my mat.

Even Tuesday morning was fine. I ran my usual 4 miles and felt better than last week. Naively, I thought I might actually make it through this last week, but later in the day I began to feel a bit of a scratch in my throat accompanied by the lethargy and achy feeling I usually get ahead of a cold. Certain I was just too tired (I get the same symptoms when I get really tired) I went to bed to sleep it off.

But this time sleeping it off didn’t work and I didn’t feel at my best heading to work on Wednesday. No coughs or sniffles, just a sore throat and those same aches so I was straight out of there at the end of the day and within an hour of the school bell I was tucked up in my bed and slept for a couple of hours. I actually did feel a bit better when I woke up so had some food, nipped out for my sports massage then had a bath before bed (where I had no problem getting right back to sleep!).

I knew a run on Thursday morning would be a bad idea so didn’t even bother setting my alarm. Instead, I got a bit more sleep then headed off for the last full day of the school year. I definitely felt better, but not back to 100% and actually by the end of the day was feeling really tired again so I skipped yoga and had another sleep. I woke up when Steve got home so that was my cue to get up and have dinner. My sister popped in for a bit then I opted for another bath before bed. And despite all the extra (and lengthy!) naps I had no problem sleeping so must have REALLY needed it as that’s not like me.

Funnily enough, I felt quite a lot better on Friday morning (nothing to do with knowing I only had a half day to work, I’m sure!).

I had a couple of classes first thing but then was done not just for the day or week, but the WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR!!! I got tidied up and enjoyed a bit of space to chat to colleagues before the bell – I even had a visitor!

For the first time in days I didn’t have a nap as soon as I got home – in fact I think I stayed awake for the whole rest of the day! The weather was good for much of the week and I was able to spend a couple of hours in the garden reading during the afternoon. So nice after weeks of pretty “meh” weather.

I had considered parkrun on Saturday morning, but was still feeling really worn out and decided it was much more important to me to feel refreshed and able to run/train lots in the coming weeks than to squeeze in one parkrun that might result in me later feeling ill or being more prone to injury. I’ve no idea where this startling level of common sense came from, but I also knew it was the right decision when I didn’t feel too bad about missing out. Instead, I had a quiet morning getting some of my stuff tidied up then joined Steve and his brothers for a bacon croissant before going to get my hair done. Steve picked me up afterwards so we could run some errands, after which I needed a nap before an evening in front of the telly. So rock and roll haha!

By Sunday I felt ready to try a little run. I’d been keeping an eye on my resting heart rate and it was back to normal after plenty of rest. My throat was no longer sore and no other symptoms had materialised, so with a quick visit to my parents’ house needed, I decided to run there the long way round so I would have a 4 mile loop. I felt absolutely fine and probably could have done more but stuck to being sensible since I hadn’t run in a few days.

Steve was away at a race just outside of Edinburgh so with a bit of time to myself I decided it was finally time to have a go at the craft project I’ve been wanting to try since Easter. It should be noted that I don’t have an artistic bone in my body so trying something that needed craft supplies (and repeated watching of a YouTube tutorial!) was a firm step outside of my comfort zone. Presenting, my first pair of DIY mouse ears. They may not bear terribly close scrutiny, but I’m pleased with the results.

Once I had cleaned up the sequin storm from making the bow (damn, those things get EVERYWHERE!) Steve and I headed out for a refreshment.

And now with some work-free weeks stretching ahead of me, it’s time to turn my attention to my holiday – pretty sure some sun lounger time will soon sort me out!

Are you good at arts and crafts?
What are your summer plans?