Make Me Feel Proud: Days 8 and 9 - The Art of Knowing Yourself

So, it turns out that flouride makes me nauseous. At least, I think it does. It's the only thing I can think of that might have caused me to feel so ill after having my teeth cleaned yesterday afternoon. I felt slightly sick as I walked out of the dentist's office, but by the end of the evening, I was barely able to move without wanting to vomit. That's why I didn't check in yesterday.

Today, I'm feeling better. I was able to get up and go to the gym and do a good tempo run on the treadmill, but I ran out of fuel to do any strength training afterward. I decided to pack up and hit the showers early instead of pushing myself into injury later on. It wasn't the best work out, but at least I did some of it.

That's the way it is: sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it's not.

Today, I'm proud that I know my limits. It's tough to balance knowing when to push yourself and knowing when to back off. Those two states can be hard to recognize when you're sweating away on a treadmill. I'm much better at recognizing which one to choose while I'm in the thick of it, and I think it's because I have much more faith in my body. I now have enough experience with testing the limits of my endurance that I no longer fear the fatigue, but I also recognize when I'm hitting the breaking point. That knowledge makes me feel unstoppable, even when I do have to stop. Knowing when to stop means that I can be ready for the next attempt sooner.

Here's to making a few more steps towards being kinder to myself.