I got home yesterday afternoon full of energy, I figured I must be getting used to the long Sunday workouts. I did two loads of laundry, posted on my blog, covered three out of four action items from the day's board meeting, put together the desk I inherited from Ken, finally dealt with a nasty cleaning job I'd been putting off, got my run and pilates gear ready for today... It wasn't until I was handwashing my Fuel Belt that I did the math and realized I'd had about four times my recommended maximum daily intake of coffee and the engergy I was feeling had nothing to do with being fit.
Ever watch a cat climb up a tree? It's having a good time up there looking for birds or things to swat at then at some point it looks back and comes to the horrible realization that it has to find a way to get down. I have a pretty good idea how that cat feels. My heart rate was beating out the drum solo from Ina Gadda Da Vida, only slightly louder, and I had the urge to start yowling until someone sent the fire department to help me down.
Instead of caterwauling, I went into super-calm-down mode: ate a carb-heavy dinner, did lots of deep breathing, moved slowly, watched a Miss Marple murder mystery on CBC - everything I could think off. Sadly it didn't work and I still had the Iron Butterfly drum solo going when I got into bed. I did more deep breathing, lots of relaxation exercises and all the clearing my mind techniques I could think of. It was the most aggressive relaxation routine I've ever done. And it worked. I fell asleep, I had high intensity and extremely bizarre dreams but I slept.
Not only did it work, I had a great sleep and I managed to get my butt out of bed on time and got to the bus stop early. I always have to run for the bus on Mondays and Wednesdays. Of course the bus was late, but maybe that's my weekly dose of Murphy's Law.
So I guess if I can sleep after 5 cups of coffee in one afternoon my campaign to cease being a light sleeper must be starting to work. Or maybe I need to drink coffee if I can't sleep?
Ever watch a cat climb up a tree? It's having a good time up there looking for birds or things to swat at then at some point it looks back and comes to the horrible realization that it has to find a way to get down. I have a pretty good idea how that cat feels. My heart rate was beating out the drum solo from Ina Gadda Da Vida, only slightly louder, and I had the urge to start yowling until someone sent the fire department to help me down.
Instead of caterwauling, I went into super-calm-down mode: ate a carb-heavy dinner, did lots of deep breathing, moved slowly, watched a Miss Marple murder mystery on CBC - everything I could think off. Sadly it didn't work and I still had the Iron Butterfly drum solo going when I got into bed. I did more deep breathing, lots of relaxation exercises and all the clearing my mind techniques I could think of. It was the most aggressive relaxation routine I've ever done. And it worked. I fell asleep, I had high intensity and extremely bizarre dreams but I slept.Not only did it work, I had a great sleep and I managed to get my butt out of bed on time and got to the bus stop early. I always have to run for the bus on Mondays and Wednesdays. Of course the bus was late, but maybe that's my weekly dose of Murphy's Law.
So I guess if I can sleep after 5 cups of coffee in one afternoon my campaign to cease being a light sleeper must be starting to work. Or maybe I need to drink coffee if I can't sleep?
(Thanks Joanne for the caffeinated Spider Webs image - I'm scared to go home now in case that's what my laundry looks like!)
4 comments:
A most hilarious post, Alison. I have a bag of chocolate covered coffee beans here at work if you ever feel like you need more practice with your aggressive relaxation techniques. :)
Dude, I found the perfect picture for your post.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine
Under the heading, "Effects when taken in Moderation", look for the crazy caffeine buzzed spider webs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Caffeinated_spiderwebs.jpg
Alison, if I had five cups of coffee I would be up all night even after keeping up with Andrew. Maybe I need to find out what your relazation techniques are and pass them onto him.
Susan, I had to laugh at your comment because it took me a minute to figure out who it was from. There used to be a Susan in my tri club and one of my coaches is named Andrew so for a moment I was very, very confused.
I hope my cousin, cousin-in-law, and cousins once removed are all doing well and enjoying life on the wrong side of the Rockies!
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