I've never been a fan of rest days. They made me feel antsy and a little crabby. On top of that, I felt like I was being lazy and in turn didn't want to eat much because of that. Through all my training cycles, I never had a designated rest day. I just took a day here or there as needed, as long as there wasn't a big workout planned. And if I did take time off, chances are I still found something to do to get me moving a little bit that day.
My IM training plan calls for a complete rest day every Monday. In the beginning I thought this would drive me insane. But lately, come Saturday night, I find myself thinking, "just one more workout and I'm done til Tuesday..." It's not that I'm not enjoying the weekend craziness, because I am, it's that this said craziness is making me tired!! I've been getting up at 4:30am on Saturdays for my bike ride and not that much later on Sundays because I'm eager to get my long run done. The sooner that's done, the sooner I'm home on the couch drinking coffee with Andy. (coffee with Andy on the weekend = one of my favorite things)
By the time Monday rolls around, waking up without an alarm is the best feeling ever. Today we laid in bed and played with the cats for a while and took our time getting ready for work. It's such a nice feeling to not rush out the door for a workout while I'm still half asleep and leave for work with wet hair because I'm too rushed to dry it. I even made us breakfast today!! They might have been frozen waffles but hey, that coconut butter, banana slices, cinnamon and agave wasn't on them when I took them out of the box!
So, my attitude towards rest days has totally changed. Not only do I need them right now physically, I need them mentally. I do not feel antsy at all today and I'm not the least bit crabby. I don't feel like walking all the way down the hall to the nice bathroom and I'm perfectly fine being that lazy. And as for not wanting to eat, that's a foreign concept these days.
This is my last build week of this set and I'm already looking forward to my longest ride to date on Saturday. After that, it will be time to think about my next rest day...
I *heart* rest days.
5 comments:
I feel the same about rest days during a training plan. Even when I was training for my sprint, I had the same mental conversation when my rest day approached.
Glad you are embracing the rest! I often find that I need them more mentally than physically... so nice to have a day where your life does not have to revolve around workouts for a change!
Good luck with the big milestone ride this weekend!
Two of my friends went down hard during our group ride on Saturday. Someone swerved when a squirrel darted out, and they were just too close together. Everyone is okay but it was pretty bad. UGH not helping my fears! Glad I was hanging back.
i do think as training gets harder our bodies need that time...or maybe we are just getting older, crap!!
glad you are enjoying training overall
Life is short, always allow yourself a little rest! xoxo!
Happy resting. I know what you mean, though, about feeling antsy.
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