Hooray for Rest Day Monday!

 So week 2 is done.  Only 28 to go!  Good memories from this past training week include:

• A good, high-cadence workout on the bike.  I'm getting better at keeping a higher cadence at a little bit of a higher speed than in the past.  I'm working on changing my comfort-pace from an 84-86 cadence to 90.
• The realization that for the first time EVER I actually look forward to swimming laps!  It is the most exciting (and the most frustrating) piece of my training right now.  Exciting because I have so much room for improvement, which I think will really come out during a race...frustrating because I'm not used to being a slow learner.  I normally pick things up quickly, with little instruction.  Not so with un-learning bad form and learning proper and efficient technique.
• A fantastic long run on Sunday in perfect weather with good friends, new and old, with my form feeling good.

But what I really want to talk about is rest day!  For years I have read about the importance of incorporating a rest day into a training plan, whether it applies to running, cycling or triathlon.  Rest meaning just that--rest the muscles and systems that are being put to work and taxed during the remainder of the week.  Some (extreme, in my opinion) athletes take no rest days, but I've always been a believer in them...at least, in theory.  You see, I've never actually stuck to a plan and hit all of my workouts on the other 6 days of the week, so my understanding and true appreciation of the rest day was lacking.  Essentially, I have always taken more than my fair share of rest days.

In the past I focused on "making up" missed workouts (of which there were many), continuously shifting my schedule, week after week.  At the end of a training plan, the calendar hanging on the fridge resembled something John Madden had gotten hold of, with various scribbles, lines, circles, arrows indicating what really happened rather than what was planned (did speedwork on THIS day, not THAT, switched with strength work, NOTHING on that day though two things were scheduled, etc.).

I have now come full circle and understand the peace of mind (and body) that a rest day provides.  Okay...so I'm only 2 weeks into a 30 week plan.  Hardly a strong representation of how I'll feel at week 20.  So what?  It's 2 weeks that were more successful than any training I've had in the past.  I know that as my training volume and intensity increase, I might need an unscheduled rest day, should I feel worn down, burned out, in need of a "skip" day rather than just a rest.  That's fine and I'll deal with it when it gets here.  But right now, on my 3rd rest day of the plan, I am guilt-free.  I have no shame from missing a workout, no anxiety about having to make up speed work or a swim session.  For the first time ever, I have stuck to a training plan with 6 days on, one day off.  And it feels good!  It's not only a break for my body, but also a break in the planning, packing, anxious-to-get-moving feeling that accompanies every other day.  I can "sleep in" until 6:30, I can go home after work, or to the grocery store, catch up on things I didn't accomplish over the weekend.  And then by the end of the day, I'm ready to get going again, to start my training week. So hooray for Rest Day Mondays! (Check back with me in a couple of months...I'm sure I'll still be thankful for my rest day, but maybe wishing I had more of them?)