Respecting my Body...

Well, today I learned a whole new level of respect for my body. I'm not one to give up or give in, even when my body hurts or is over tired. I generally suck it up and "just do it" as I've been told repeatedly by Nike marketing. However, I had a long week with very little sleep and it was beginning to catch up with me. I was supposed to be able to sleep in late yesterday (Saturday) and then get up today and go do the Fans in the Park 10K downtown... but yesterday we had to get up early and head to the fields for Ryan's 8:30 and 9:30 flag football games, during which I ran and did resistance band exercises. So again, another night without enough zz's (only 4 1/2 hours to be exact). So last night Ryan asked me if I thought it was smart to again get less than 8 hours of sleep and get up and attempt to "run" a 10K. I mulled it over and decided he was right. It's time to listen to my body, which very much needed to sleep in without an alarm to wake it up, only waking when it was recovered. So I bailed out of the race. I NEVER bail out of a race. I paid my $20 and I never just let that money and the freebie T-shirt go... this is a first. Part of me felt like such a loser-jerk, but then I remembered that it's not about me, it's about an unborn baby that needs its momma to be healthy, which not only means good nutrition and regular exercise, but also plenty of sleep. So I'm going to pat myself on the back for this one, instead of beating myself up. :)