Rest weeks!

Resting is not something that has always come naturally to me. I am someone who loves being on the go, and especially when it comes to training, I love working hard and giving my all. However, in order to do that to the best of my ability, I need to be able to take a step back and refresh, and sometimes, taking a few steps backwards allows you take much bigger steps forward. You just need to see this before it is too late. Rest usually needs to be had before you NEED it, so you never go into a state of burnout. 

Week 1.
Therefore, I did just that. Last week involved zero training for me. When I say zero, I literally mean zero. I didn’t go for any light jogs or do any cross training. I allowed my body to completely refresh and recover from the past year of hard work. I also coincidentally came down with a cold so it gave my body every chance to come back fighting fit by giving it the recovery time it needed. I made sure my week was filled with things I do not always have the time to do, so I did not have too much time to wish I was training. I still wished I was, but I was busy enough for my mind not to overthink. 

Week 2.

This last week also continued the trend of rest. Whilst I didn’t do no training, I had a small build up week. Therefore I started the week with a 20 minute run, and gradually added 5 minutes each run in order to reintroduce my body to running without diving straight back into fully training and causing an injury. Whilst it was only a week of completely no training, it was enough for my body to get out of the feel of running. Therefore, the first few runs have all been easy running pace, but they have definitely felt harder than I would have liked. This is ok though, the conditioning will return. 

Just as I said at the start of the blog, sometimes you need to take some steps backwards in order to take bigger strides forward. Therefore, this period of training feeling harder than it should is ok for now. There is a valid reason; I have taken some time off, and I know the refresh will mean I feel much stronger when my body gets into the swing of things in the near future. 

Why take some down time?

It would be very easy for my mind if I just kept ploughing on through with full training because I love it. However, I would likely get half way through the winter season and feel more tired than I would like to. Therefore, resting now will allow my body and mind to feel much stronger for the winter ahead. It means my body can recover from a hard summer of training and racing, and be ready to go again! It also helps reduce my risk of injury by insuring I do not constantly keep pushing my body to the limit. My muscles can repair, I can rest up, and be ready to go with a strong and resilient body when winter training gets going. 
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Even if you don’t think you need it, it also gives your mind a refresh. For me, even after just a few days, my mind felt so driven to get back to hard winter training. I didn’t listen to it, as it wasn’t time just yet, but it made me so excited for the hard work ahead of me. This is another great value linked to rest; it boosts your drive and motivation. 

I can’t wait for the winter ahead.