I started my day today with a little self-chat.  Do you ever have these…these back-and-forth conversations where you try to play devil’s advocate, you try to be objective…with yourself?  Impossible, right?  Yet I try all the time!

Today’s “conversation” was about whether I should work out today or not.  When I lay out the details for you I’m sure the right answer will be ridiculously obvious.  The “right answer” is often glaringly obvious when it’s someone else’s problem!  So here goes….

• Monday morning I woke up feeling less than stellar – slight headache, super tired. I took a look at the sleep data from my Oura Ring & saw that my body temperature was elevated by 1.1 degrees (an indicator that a body is repaired damage from exercise or fighting off a potential illness) & my Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was lower than normal. Needless to say, I went back to bed, slept another 2 hours & didn’t work out at all.
• Tuesday morning I woke up feeling a bit better. But my body temp was still quite elevated – 0.8 deg over normal. I did a light, short swim & called it a day. I fully expected to wake up on Wed feeling great & showing good numbers.
• Wednesday morning (today) I woke up feeling pretty good & looking forward to an awesome workout. My numbers, however, told a different story – body temp up 1 deg & HRV low. Ugh….! My Oura readiness score was one of the lowest I’ve had (I’ve been wearing it roughly 3 mo’s) & it recommended that I “Make recovery your number one priority today.” It also asked me to switch to Rest Mode, which turns off all activity tracking, in order to prioritize rest.

But…….I feel good…!!

So, on my walk to work the self-chat started. It began with me grumbling about how I hadn’t had a good workout in 3 days (Sun is my usual rest day) & how I was soooo looking forward to a run today. Then it went to thoughts of ignoring the data & going with “how I feel” instead. I feel pretty good…why shouldn’t I work out? Maybe the ring data is incorrect? I could ignore its recommendations “just this once”. What can it hurt to work out if I feel good…regardless of the numbers?!

After wallowing in self-pity a bit my thoughts drifted to the reasons I had purchased the Oura Ring in the first place. I had several really good reasons.

1. I wanted to learn more about the different variables that affect recovery & readiness to train.
2. I wanted to see how hard workouts affect readiness.
3. I wanted to see how changes in sleep affect readiness.
4. I wanted to see how meditation & naps affect readiness.
5. I wanted to see how HRV changes with fatigue & recovery.
6. I wanted a way to help make my training & recovery more efficient.

The last reason resonated. I got the Oura Ring to help me better understand when I’m ready to do hard workouts & when I need more rest. If I was simply going to ignore the data…well then what was the point of getting the Ring!?!

I also reminded myself that I’m going to St. George next week to mtn bike & hike. If I ignored the data, exercised today & then got sick for my trip, I’d be really angry at my poor decision making skills! Better to “run away & live to fight another day”…or something like that.

All the data pointed to something being amiss in my body…something being not quite right… And yet I hesitated to follow the recommendations. I asked for help & when I received it I had to talk myself into accepting it. How many times have you gone down this same path? Is it denial, ego, fear of change, justification of your current reality? Believe me, I’m right there with you. Here are the steps I went through:

• Denial – I feel good. The data must be wrong.
• Ego – I feel pretty good…why shouldn’t I work out?
• Fear of Change – I haven’t had a good workout in 3 days…I am soooo looking forward to a run today.
• Justifications for My Current Reality – What can it hurt to work out if I feel good…regardless of the numbers?!

For me this was a good reminder that we all tend to resist help. We get excited about the potential for change, but when it comes down to actually making the changes, we lean out, step back, we dig our heels in. My experience this morning was great – it reminded me to empathize with others struggling with these same hesitations. Instead of being frustrated with someone’s hesitation I can support them & encourage them to accept help. Together we can make necessary changes. Together we can help each other lean in!