I've been trying to teach this to my team...

Maybe coming from one of the elite will help....

"I constantly remind myself that resting takes confidence. Anyone can train like a mad man but to embrace rest and to allow all the hard training to come out takes mental strength."

 --Ryan Hall, member of the 2012 Olympic Marathon Team

If I were going to give myself some credit, this is a category that I feel like I have earned my "A" in over the years. When I first graduated from college, I felt like I had to run everyday. I felt this way for many reasons: to stay in shape; to stay sane; and to continue to get faster.

It was only after several years of  trying to juggle hard training + long hours + little sleep that I realized you know, this rest stuff really does wonders for you, and it's healthier for me mentally too. Since I'm not training to make an Olympic team, there comes a point where the rest is not only beneficial for your body to make training adaptions but it also keeps running in perspective. While some may think running is my life, I do try to make sure that there is balance. I think before I was in an unhealthy place, needing to run all the time---and like any other addiction, you slowly need more and more to fulfill the craving. I knew I couldn't run more and more... so while I love running, I try to remind myself that the days without running are just as, if not more, important that the days I run. Because if I "miss" running that day, I also know that I'm still doing it because I love it.

So... if you find it 'hard' to take days off.... challenge yourself. If you go 110% everyday... you'll never really know what your 100% looks like on race day.

This week is a 'recovery' week for me... although I don't have much to recover from last week, I had an off day today. I was pretty excited about it. My legs are still feeling the effects of 5k effort in cold rain from yesterday and tomorrow promises to bring another new challenge, intervals at half-marathon effort. I'm hoping to take the 'refresher' from today to tomorrow's workout and kick it's butt. THAT's why I like rest days. It makes me feistier for what lies ahead.