The pig has awoken and put on his Vibram Five Fingers again.

[caption id="attachment_1911" align="alignleft" width="300"] Too tired to run.. or move.. gimme some pizza.[/caption]

So, here we are past the hump day and on the down ward slide to the weekend.  (Yay Weekend!!!!!!!)  I am afraid that I have to admit something.   Despite the best of intentions,  I didn't get back to running until Weds.  While this may not seem like a big deal - it means that I took FOUR Days off in a row.

I feel like a slovenly pig.

While I know its impossible to add 10 pounds of fat in 4 days (and my scale says it didn't happen,) I certainly feel like it. I used to like just sitting around doing nothing - but last night while resting right after dinner (I have to wait about 30-60 minutes before I run after a meal), I felt horrible. I knew that I hadn't r

(And here it comes....) I've been exhausted - not sleeping at night, tossing and turning, etc.

[caption id="attachment_1913" align="alignright" width="225"] I think I have these standing poses down well.[/caption]

I don't use this as an excuse, it's just... well.. an excuse. Last night I admitted that to myself, grabbed my tablet (yay Battlestar Galactica!) and hopped on the treadmill.  I had previously  decided that my next run was going to be back in my Vibram Five Fingers.  In the interest of avoiding "too much too soon," this meant I was going to be taking a short run, which was probably a wise move after so many days off.Once my feet started moving... I wanted to go for miles and miles. My right calf was a little tight in the VFFs, but the knee pain was (unsurprisingly yet happily) missing.  I started talking myself into maybe doing 3 miles instead of 2.. After all, 3 isn't that far - right?   Well, never let it be said I don't learn from my past mistakes.  I told myself "Self (that's what I call me), do you really want to hurt your calf/achilles/foot some more and have to take far more than four days off?"   Self kept his mouth shut, because he knew that he'd been beat.

[caption id="attachment_1912" align="alignleft" width="225"] It seems my downward facing dog.. Isn't very downward facing dog-like.[/caption]

After finishing my run, I headed back upstairs to do some Yoga/stretching.  I had this odd feeling that if I didn't, then my PF was really going to let me know that running in the good old VFFs was the biggest mistake I had made in.. 5 days.As a punishment for my not running, I am going to show you how horrible my Yoga poses are.  I have to admit - I didn't know that they were this bad!  My daughter wanted to take some pictures of me last night - sos he stood there with my camera snapping away while I was (Apparently) doing my Yoga poses in such a way that showed my complete lack of flexibility AND make me look like a complete idiot..

I keep reminding myself, I can't fix my lack of flexibility if I am not doing something to increase my lack of flexibility.  I really don't like Yoga at this point, as I am terribly self-conscious about my board-like flexibility.

[caption id="attachment_1915" align="alignright" width="300"] As you can see, my flexibility is horrible. And hasn't changed in 7 months of not working on it.[/caption]

Seeing pictures of myself (supposedly) in Yoga Poses is now making me even more self conscious about it.  As a rule I stop - if my wife comes home or walks in the room.  Considering she can get her feet behind her head, I think I will continue this practice.  Perhaps I need to start bringing my yoga mat downstairs and doing it there.  That way she can come in and sit on
the couch on the first floor, and I won't feel like I need to stop. Best of both worlds right? She gets to be comfy, and I

[caption id="attachment_1916" align="alignleft" width="225"] My photographer doing a self portrait[/caption]

don't feel like I have to stop! I think I need to move past just a 20 minute cool-down/stretch routine and do the entire 50 minutes.  Those toes aren't getting any closer after all! (As you can see in the picture)

So my dear readers, have any of you had to face the fact that you had the flexibility of a wooden board?  Have you found success in going from resisting like the mighty oak, to bending like a willow tree? What worked for you?  What didn't?