the rest is history

A couple of random, potentially related thoughts on sleep/rest.

1. I had a huge jump in muscle this week, which Patrick attributes to the power nap I took on Saturday. After being out with my kid all day, I crashed about 4pm and sleep a good couple of hours like a dead thing. Not getting the proscribed 8 hours of sleep a night, these weekend afternoon naps will now be required, even if my kids don't/won't nap.
2. Speaking of 8 hours a night, since I get up at 5:30 and can generally get to bed before midnight, the math is easy, and it's not 8. BUT, I feel more energized and well-rested than I ever did, even on less than six hours of sleep.
3. Definitely over-did the exercises the past couple of days. At fighting this afternoon sensei told me to cut out 10 minutes early and let the therapist work on me. So I did, and for 10 glorious minutes I was stretched, kneaded, massaging, and tweaked about my shoulders, arms, and back. Felt very refreshing, but did not solve the core problem: tried to do too much. So this evening, I met up like I do every Thursday with my man at the Starbucks. He was beaten from lots of aikido, I was feeling it, so instead of working out we sat in 'bucks and talked budo and smack for an hour. Was most cathartic and really better than getting even more tired and worn out. So I rested the body and worked the mouth and ears.
4. Spending way too much time at night on food prep. As much I enjoy the calming repetition of chopping, steaming, bagging, I need to be more realistic about time management. Specifically, less time prepping food and give myself time in the evenings before bed to get my sitting practice back online. I did not used to spend this much time prepping food, so part of it probably some kind of something-avoidance mechanism. Anyway, it comes down to discipline: get outta the 8 Week Rut and get back On The Ball!