Gonna keep it real here. EVERYONE burns out eventually. No matter how immune you think you are, or how well you operate off 6hrs sleep, or how good you are at pushing through. We all hit that wall when our body yells “hold up, it’s time to slow down”.
Suddenly everything aches, breathing hurts and even the things you love becomes a chore. This is the point where we have to listen to our bodies and accept that we are tired and need a break. Unfortunately for me, this comes 10 days before GeoQuest in the form of abdominal and rib pain, making breathing and walking sometimes unbearable. I love being active; I love having multiple projects going at once, like Hike it Out, and this Blog; I love training for adventure racing, and giving my time to Scouts; but unfortunately, my body doesn’t love all of this while working full time and never properly resting….so now I’m paying the price.
The heartbreaking search for my replacement GeoQuest teammate started today, ready to fill my spot if my pain doesn’t improve in the next week. I’m flooded with disappointment at the thought of not racing, but all the training hasn’t been wasted; it’s still something I genuinely love doing, and aside from injury, my health is really good because of it. GeoQuest is always a journey, regardless if you finish (or start), and now I get to see it from the other side as part of the team’s Support Crew.
For now, it’s time to lay low, rest and recover. I’ve had almost twice the sleep I’d normally get over the last few days, and already I’m starting to feel back to myself and smiling at the thought of “tomorrow” when I plan to start all my usually little jobs again.
I’m super proud of getting this post written in time for my usual Wednesday post. A small part of me considered using my pre-written “Morning Person” post talking about how productive I am burning the candle from both ends, because usually that does work for me. Once I’m back to myself and at full capacity I will post it, but for now, this is just me being truthful, a little disappointed and tired. Keeping it real so you don’t all believe you have to be invincible. Tired is ok.
“You owe yourself the love you so freely give to other people” – Unknown
