"Rest Week"

E has trained for numerous marathons and triathlons. most of you know he even completed an ironman last year (2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, and 26.2 mi run). he constantly amazes me with what he is able to accomplish when he puts his mind to something. needless to say, he knows how to train for a race. now, i'm not a race person - i really have no desire to complete anything like that. even a 5k doesn't appeal to me. even so, i do feel like i'm training. i try to set mini-goals for myself to keep me motivated and i always feel like i'm working towards something.

with that in mind, E gave me some good advice the other day. my legs were really tired for the third day in a row. i felt tired and defeated almost. E asked me when the last time was i had a rest week. well, to tell you the truth, i hadn't in a while. i actually don't think i have ever had a deliberate rest week. i've had weeks where i have slacked off (like christmas week and my birthday week) but i have never taken a rest week on purpose. it seems wrong almost, counter-intuitive to reaching my current goal (pull-up by january 31st) but E convinced me how important rest weeks are.

he said a rest week is important for your body to recover and rest so you can step up your training again. if you let yourself get too worn out and constantly push yourself at the same level, you'll burn out. when you fully rest your body, you will be ready to get back into your training and push even harder to the next level.

so, this week is my rest week. i am not stopping altogether, but i am taking it easier.  i am still doing yoga (light, stretching yoga, not power yoga) and i am still going to training with G today, but it will be very scaled-down. my cardio will be light 20-30 minute stints.

this also gives me time to think about what my next goal will be (janurary 31st is sneaking up!).