I had a great 6 mile run last weekend.  Felt a little run down during the week so I skipped my swim on Wednesday but got my strength training in that day.  Ended up getting in some extra hours of sleep taking advantage of my boys teacher work day.

Well Friday night I slept terrible, tossing and turning but got to sleep in because I didn’t have anywhere to go first thing.  I hopped that I could have a better night on Saturday.  I was super tired, achy and just wanted a good night of passed out sleep.  I took two advil PM.  yeah that was a bad idea.  I still tossed and turned, woke up often and then when my alarm went off I felt run over.

Met my friend Paula for our 6 mile run.  We walked for an extra bit to warm-up and then decided to cut the route shorter and do the 4.6 mile loop instead.  About half way up the big hill, I said this feels terrible.  She said it did to her too.  So we ran when we could and walked the rest.  I felt insanely run down and in a fog.  Here is the difference in one week and bad nights of sleep will do.

Found this from the sleep foundation on how we need sleep for athletes to recover.

https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/sleep-athletic-performance-and-recovery

Exercise depletes energy, fluids, and breaks down muscle. Hydration and the right fuel are only part of training and recovery. What athletes do in the moments during and immediately after competition also determines how quickly their bodies rebuild muscle and replenish nutrients. This helps maintain endurance, speed, and accuracy.

Some research suggests that sleep deprivation increases levels of stress hormone, cortisol. Sleep deprivation has also been seen to decrease production of glycogen and carbohydrates that are stored for energy use during physical activity. In short, less sleep increases the possibility of fatigue, low energy, and poor focus at game time. It may also slow recovery post-game.

Whether you’re at the top of your game or in the game for the fun of it, getting the proper amount of sleep is necessary to face the word with your best food forward. Sleep will help you on the road to good fitness, good eating, and good health.

See why sleep is so important?

So today the plan is to get outside, get some Vitamin D and try to de-stress and relax a little while still getting some things done around my house.  I also replaced my pillow because my shoulders have been aching and it wakes me up.  I hope between all of these things that I can turn my bad sleeping can be back to good.