As you may know, my resolution this year is to take 1 rest day a
week- that's 52 rest days this year!!
As you may also know, those 52 days are not going to be very enjoyable for me.
You might not want to talk to me on a rest day. (Most of my rest days will be a
Tuesday, so maybe just avoid me on Tuesdays!?)
I will from time to time give you an
update on how this whole "rest day" thing is going. I am sure there
are a lot of people like me that hate rest
days and do not take them… even though they
know they are beneficial. So my hope is to prove that if I can take 52 days of
rest this year, anyone
can!!!!!!!
My plan this week was
to take a rest day on Tuesday. My Tuesdays are super busy. Normally I go hard
from 5:15am-6:00pm. I have work, then four piano lessons after school. Using it
as a rest day would mean my day would start at 7:00am instead of 5:15am. That’s
good, right!?
So this Tuesday, I took my rest day. Mentally,
the hardest part was the night before- anticipating what
was to come. I got a little blue, not gonna lie. The phrase, "What's the point of even
getting up tomorrow?" went
through my brain a couple of times. Dramatic, I know.
Since school was closed to extremely cold
temperatures (-22 windchill), I ended up sleeping until 10:16am. Wow- rest day
to the extreme! Once
I was up and drinking my coffee, I wasn't too bummed about the day of rest.
Maybe it's because I didn't have to go to work and could just lounge around my
house until piano lessons... Who knows? But for this rest day, the actual day was not so bad, it was
the hours leading up to the day.
One of the first things I did Tuesday
morning was pack my gym bag for the next day. It made me really excited for my
work out on Wednesday morning, which would be intervals on the arc trainer. Who
gets excited for that? These rest days are magical, I tell you.
So there you have it! On this first rest day I simply learned that
the anticipation of the actual day is worse than the day itself. I’ll update
you in a few more weeks about how these rest days are going! Remember, if I can do it, you can do it!
Do you take rest days?
Are they scheduled or do they happen organically?
I need to schedule them or they don’t happen.
What's your favorite
thing to do, other than work out?
Ummmm…. I don’t have many other hobbies. Maybe I should get some.
Suggestions!!!???
I usually have an idea for a rest day [based off my training schedule] but sometimes I take one if I can just tell my body needs it. It's important to be flexible and keep listening to what your body wants.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I am in the habit of resting body parts. My legs have always gotten 2 rest days a week due to lifting upper body... but I want to get a full day of rest in there. And I figure if I announce it on my blog, I can't chicken out, right??
DeleteI'm with Cori, I always have a plan for my rest day. Usually I use Friday as my dedicated rest day, and since I do most of my running at night Adam and I make Friday nights date night <<<<< good distraction ;)
DeleteGenius!
DeleteI have scheduled days but will switch around that schedule if my body needs it :) it works for me and probably works out to 50ish days a year.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds very balanced!
DeleteOther hobbies? I could teach you to knit cat sweaters?
ReplyDeleteHahaha yes please!!!
DeleteEnjoy your rest days! I am always finding stuff to keep me busy so I don't mid the rest days. I don't really schedule them, I just base them on how my previous workout has gone!
ReplyDeleteThat's very balanced! I hope to get to that point.
DeleteI totally relate to this post. I had to "learn" rest days about 2 years ago. At first it was SO hard and now, honestly, when I plan them and can make sure I stay really busy. Stick with it...it gets better. I promise. Plus, for me, I run more pain free miles and am staying injury free so it makes it totally worth it. When I have a rest day, I work on my art work. I can get really lost in it which takes my mind off the fact I am not getting an endorphin high :) Keep us posted on how you are doing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the words of encouragement. It is good to know things get better. I should totally clean/organize my house on rest days. :)
DeleteI have scheduled rest days. I love them! I typically run in the evening, so I like Friday as my rest day so I can have date night with the hubby. And when I'm not running? I'm hanging out with my hubby and 5 mutts.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like bliss :) I love hanging with my hubby and cats, too. :)
Delete52 days a year...when you put it that way, it seems like a lot! Good work sticking to your goals...I know it was hard for you haha!
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like a lot!
DeleteIt's so funny that we dread rest days! I haven't taken one in SO long. I have ran 6 days a week for months (on top of plenty of strength training). Today, I decided running would do more harm than good for my body, so I took my first unscheduled rest day from running in months. I dreaded it all day, until I came home and did a completely different workout and didn't even miss running for a second.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome. I am not running a ton now because of my knee but I did run this morning and it felt GREAT! Taking time away from it definitely makes you appreciate it more.
DeleteI take about three rest days a week...but that doesn't mean that I enjoy it. It just means that's the amount my body needs so that I don't get injured. Some weeks it's REALLY HARD for me to take a rest day, other days, I'm so busy that I don't have a choice. And for me, I try to have my rest day stay the same each week but sometimes (like this past week) I have to rearrange my running schedule a bit. I don't have any other hobbies (at the moment) - one of the many reasons why I started running was I needed something to do for myself.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a really good balance! Running is the best hobby...
DeleteI schedule rest days on Fridays with this marathon training cycle. They are usually days when all I do is think about running...lol. I 'know' I need to rest, I just don't always choose to do it....which often leaves me feeling burnt out. :S I'm really working on it this time, I promise!
ReplyDeleteTake the challenge with me!! ;)
Deletelol! Since I've started training for the 1/2 I've taken 2 rest days. I can deal with 1, but 2 makes me feel like I'm a sloth, but I need it because my legs just haven't been able to recover quickly enough. Grrr. But, as soon as the race is over...!
ReplyDeleteI know! The best part about not training for anything in particular is that you can just run whenever you want for the pure enjoyment of it and not take into consideration long runs that MUST be accomplished.
DeleteHa, you remind me of my old self! I usually alternate the days I work out. Having that rest day makes me look forward to my workout so much more, not to mention I get heaps more stuff done on rest days!
ReplyDelete