I am the first to admit it, I'm a bit obsessed when it comes to running and working out. It is a joke that anyone who spends a significant amount of time with me will partake it; there may be a question as to what I'll be doing on any given day but I can say with nearly full certainty that I'd have gotten in a run no matter what. I have ridiculous stories that can attest to this very fact (running in place in some pretty funny locations) but my mind will not be at peace unless I've gotten my sweat session in. This, I admit, is probably not the healthiest outlook in that it is actually better to take a day off now and then, but for my own peace of mind I forgo it. There are some that say it's just that I'm addicted to exercise, and that may be; but I guess better this than crack, right?!

But the point that I will eventually get to is that sometimes you have to back off. I finally allowed myself to do this (albeit it was wrought with some anxiety and discomfort) but I could tell and feel in my runs and workout program that I was tired and need a bit of a break, or at least to ease up. I tend to err on the side of 'more is always better', but the truth is that there is a point that needs to be drawn in the sand. Where you're just over training and instead of progressing and building up muscle you're actually tearing it down and getting catabolic.

The body is a complex creature and this pertains to training and sports performance as well. On any given day you are never certain just how you'll 'feel' or do; in distance running for example, you could be in the best shape of your life but come race day you could be left feeling flat, off, and finish far below what your workouts would have predicted. So in training and working out it's always going to have an element of unknown; one training program may work for one person but not another. Everyone is different and it is up to you to then learn your own body and be able to read its signals.

It took a lot for me to admit that I needed to back off; but sometimes the hardest part of training is knowing when to cut back or even *gasp* take a day off. I chose to cut back, and you know what, I've been feeling better on my runs. When it comes to your own training, if you are like me and feel compelled to do exactly what was planned to a tee come hell or high water and no matter how you feel, sometimes the hardest and best thing to do is to listen to your body. You will be able to come back stronger and feel better; if you dig yourself into a hole too far and become too depleted you may be left so tired that you'll have no choice to then take a significantly longer time off.