As you know, I’ve not been able to exercise since being sick with H1N1. This means I have not moved since my 4.5 mile walk (in heels) through Detroit Metro airport Tuesday night .. six days!

Seriously, unheard of for me.

I admit that for a fleeting moment it drove me a bit batty to realize I’m not burning*anything* through physical activity — all I’m doing is moving from the couch, to the tea kettle or fridge, to bed, to the toaster.  

But I quickly got over it when my rational brain spoke up and said, “Hey, you’re sick, cut yourself some slack. The gym will be there next week.” (or whenever).

Though I feel a lot better today (each day I’ve felt progressively better), I am listening to my body and not pushing myself.

This means 1) I am not  at work (today is the last day I’m on TAMIFLU and after that I won’t be contagious), and 2) I’m definitely not exercising until I feel like my body can handle that kind of exertion.

This is huuuuuge progress. (I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot lately; sorry if I sound too self-congratulatory!)

In the past, I’ve pushed myself at the gym, or returned to work too soon, and ended up not beating the upper-respiratory infection or bronchitis or whatever it was that I had … ending up sick for twice as long because I didn’t give my body proper time to heal.

Well, not this time.  It simply isn’t worth it to me to not give my body the adequate time it needs to heal. Sure, my muscles might be atrophying and work might be piling up … but at a time like this, it just doesn’t make sense to push myself.

Truth be told, I am REALLY sad to miss my monthly girls’ night dinner tonight (it’d be the first time we’re all together in like four months), but again, not sad enough to do something stupid and put myself (or others) at risk.

Sometimes it really is best to learn when to hold ’em … and at 30, I’m finally “getting it.”

How about you? How do you handle being sick? Are you able to let yourself heal, or do you tend to push yourself too far, too soon?