"Hop Scop"

First, here’s an update regarding the great water debate. I asked the question of my facebook friends, and I received some great insights. Here’s what they had to say:

Sherrie said: “consider what your body is doing while you are working out and what starving it of water (hydration) is actually doing ??!! I say, if you can, DRINK!!”

Leah said: “I think pre-run hydration is a big factor in staving off your drinking needs during a run. I never drink during shorter runs of 1/2 hour-45 min and I don't like sloshing in my stomach. But (and I haven't got there yet) I might hydrate for longer ones a bit.”

Shilo said: “Keep in mind that you are a nursing mother and your hydration requirements are much higher than a non-nursing individual. Any program I have ever researched or used cannot say enough about the importance of keeping hydrated to rid the body of excess salt and toxins. I say...do what you are comfortable with:)”

Awesome comments girls – I agree with ALL of them. Hydration is so essential to the lubrication of joint and supplication of muscles, that really I’m just hurting my performance (not to mention body!) by not drinking. Drink on friends!

Now, for “Hop Scop”... Little people are sooo awesome! And by ‘little people’, I mean children, not the other little people (I’m sure they’re awesome too, I just don’t know any personally.) Today, my sweetie pie Darius was playing “hop scop” outside on the driveway. His Daddy and he had drawn a massive hop scotch out front yesterday, and then Darius and I added to it today. Full speed ahead, Darius motors through the chalk lines, weaving this way and that, until he reaches the end. Hitting the ‘otctipi’ (or octagon to the rest of us) with the big “40” drawn in it, Darius double fist pumps the air and yells “FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS!!!” before racing through the ‘hop scop’ again. I love his celebration – seriously so cute to watch!



Running down the 'iron man triangles'





After supper I asked him if he wanted some dessert, and he picked out the left over DQ birthday cake in the freezer. So, Uncle B and Darius had birthday candles and cake together. And yes, we had to sing happy birthday first. I didn’t get the camera button depressed fast enough however, as my first photo is of Darius’ candles fizzling out. Oh well – at least it was just a pretend birthday!
 

Darius blowing out ALL the candles at once



With a day full of so much cute-ness, I am feeling like I had a full on workout, even though today was a rest day. Respecting rest days can be tough at times, but are you aware of all the benefits? According to About.com  “[m]ost athletes know that getting enough rest after exercise is essential to high-level performance, but many still over train and feel guilty when they take a day off. The body repairs and strengthens itself in the time between workouts, and continuous training can actually weaken the strongest athletes.

Rest days are critical to sports performance for a variety of reasons. Some are physiological and some are psychological. Rest is physically necessary so that the muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen. For recreational athletes, building in rest days can help maintain a better balance between home, work and fitness goals.” Click here for the rest of the article.

Do you respect your rest days? Do you have a certain day/days that you set aside for rest? Or have you pushed through a full week, and regretted it?