Running On Empty

On December 24th, my husband returned from a 7-month deployment to Afghanistan! I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift. The day he was scheduled to come home, I got a text from a guy he works with that said the flight was delayed a couple hours. This worked in my favor as it gave me time to knock out 3.5 miles:)

But what also came with his homecoming, was a trip to the ER for our little girl. As we stood around waiting for the Marines to return, I noticed her eyes were getting increasingly redder and swollen. After asking several other mothers what they thought could be wrong, I gave Jason a quick hug and kiss and told him we were heading to the ER at the Naval Hospital for the official diagnosis. Yup, she had pink eye. For most of that day and the entire night, she cried if I was more than a foot away from her, and she wasn't too sure what to make of this "new guy." So on Christmas Day, I felt totally drained after no sleep and an emotional reunion. I took a much needed day off. I truly was running on empty.

What a mess!

But the following day, things started to get better. My husband played with Reagan while I set off for a stroller-free 4 miles and I savored every minute of it. And on the 27th, we headed out for a family run...just what I needed to recharge.

I think it's important to recognize when you need time off. I'm following a plan in preparation for a half marathon in March, and I'm trying to be flexible and take rest days when/if I need them despite the schedule. Luckily it's still early on in the training, so I'm not stressing about it yet:)

Do you have days when you feel like you're "Running on Empty?" How do you recharge?