Recovery

While I was on the trail last week, taking five days to cover over seventy miles on the Idaho Centennial Trail, I never felt very tired. Most days, I hiked between eleven and twelve hours. (The last day was a mere eight.) And, because my body hurt a lot by the end of the day, I ended up sleeping less than eight hours every night. I mean, I went to bed on time, even early, but I never fell asleep before nine, woke up every night in the middle of the night and was up for at least thirty minutes before going back to sleep and waking up before six.

And yet, I would get up. I would get my butt on the trail and start hiking. My energy never felt particularly low; I was sore in my body, but not tired. It was a strange way to feel.

I think now that I was somehow holding all my tiredness at bay. I was able to convince my body that it only needed to go a few days with less than ideal sleep and constant motion during the day.

And now that I've stopped moving. Now that I'm sleeping in a bed next to my husband at night and working at a desk all day.

I find myself exhausted.

Perhaps, I need some recovery.