Me: I'm tired.
Me: It's okay.
Me: Rest, you'll be back.
Me: To rest is to grow.
Does your t-shirt say, "I like words and winning?" someone asked me last night at dinner. I responded, "No, it says, 'I like words and running,' but I do like winning too."
After racing 51km through the undulatingly fast trails of Rotorua, I've felt pretty tired. In the mornings, I feel fresh (apart from 3 ankle cracks and some tender Achilles), but in the afternoon, I'm exhausted.
This is not an uncommon feeling after running an ultra-marathon. As per the universal law of gravitation, what goes up must come down. This applies to humans, too. If you have a big day, a big week, or a big year - you can surely expect a down of equal proportion. The deeper I venture into the running world, the more often I discover that most people don't really care about the 'come down' side of the equation.
Everyone wants to race fast, get their marathon medal, and get back to life and regular programming without ever taking a moment to pause or, more importantly, break. As our boy, Ferris Bueller, said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” He's not wrong.
The problem is that we don't stop.
In a world obsessed with the utility of speed. Do more. See more. Be more. Make more. etc etc. I encourage you to stop and rest.
If I kept going at the speed I raced at last week, my risk of injury would undoubtedly skyrocket. But injuries aren't just physical. Injuries can be emotional and psychological. They even impact us socially and creatively, too.
So, yesterday - I took my third rest of the week. For context, my training schedule usually has 3 per month.
I made pancakes with a friend. Ate lots of bread, with lots of butter. I embroidered a t-shirt and caught up on podcasts I hadn't listened too because I was moving too fast to absorb them.
Other things I’d suggest on a rest day or during a rest week:
- Cards.
- Sauna.
- Coffee catchups, but don’t overdo it. Let your system recover.
- Sleep ins.
- Cooking really slow dishes. Soups, risotto, hand-made pasta. (See proof below.)
- Walks and long phone calls.
- Personalising and revamping old T-shirts.
To the people I coach and mentor, I often give them this equation to think about:
"Rest + Strength = Growth"
Do with that equation what you will. I'm mainly here to encourage more pancakes, bread, butter, and embroidery.
Big Love,
JL
P.s I mentor people on managing the wobbly Venn diagram of running, work, rest, and socialising. Once we’ve worked out how to balance and counter-balance this fun tightrope, we talk all things creative strategy and personal branding.
If you want to apply for The JL Mentorship program, you can apply here.