Recovery Week

"How important is rest in the training equation? More important than most runners know." Paul Goss

After my first marathon, I was told to take a day off for every mile I had just run. In other words, take 26 days off. I took a week off and did my first triathlon exactly one week later. Then for the rest of the summer, I just did what I wanted when I felt like it. No training plan and no stress about getting a workout in. I'm not sure I could do that again, but I do take a rest break after my marathons....at least for a little bit.

Monday when I got home from work, I took my dog Roscoe on a walk. We use to be in the habit of walking every day and then my training increased and the temps got hotter and suddenly we weren't walking anymore. We had a great time yesterday.

And then Monday night I went for a massage. I'm on a list at a massage school and they had called Saturday afternoon to see if I could come in. What better way to recover after a marathon than to get a massage. Today was my typical Tuesday yoga class.

I probably won't do much the rest of the week - just something light each day. Then I'll get back to working out on a regular basis, but doing what I feel like doing and nothing too intense. I've already got some races scheduled for the first of the year, so I need to keep the base I have, but I also don't want to over do it before the "official" Ironman training kicks in sometime in April.

My body will appreciate the rest.