I’m actually taking a rest day. Is everyone happy now?
After yesterday’s humbling running experience, I knew that — as much as I hate taking days off — a rest day was in order.
Thank you all for your supportive comments yesterday. I know that one of my major flaws is that I push myself too hard and don’t listen to my body enough. You all reassured me that it’s OK to have a bad day. It makes the next great day that much better!
The rest of my day yesterday was spent shopping (I got a cute top at Anthropologie that’s perfect for both work and play, as well as much-needed new jeans at Gap), watching TV with ABS and ordering in an amazing pad thai dinner.
Last night — late last night — ABS and I went out for his friend’s birthday. The party didn’t start until midnight. I took a power nap from 10:30 until 11:30 in preparation.
The party was at a lounge downtown and it was a bit…intense for me. Very crowded, very minimal clothing on most people, pricey drinks and lots of bottle service. Not really my scene, but we had a good time people watching and the DJ was fantastic.
We didn’t stay at the party long, then ABS and I decided to get a drink just the two of us, somewhere quieter. He got a beer and I had a spiked hot chocolate. Perfect ending to a chilly day!
Today, my body signaled exhaustion: I slept until almost 10 am! That’s a major feat for me. It was nice to leisurely get up, eat some breakfast, watch some “Beverly Hills 90210” on SoapNet and do some foam rolling and easy ab stuff.
Then, it was time to treat myself! I got a pedicure, which is amazing and not something I do very often. I finished reading my book (The Help — anyone read it? I thought it was entertaining, but it wasn’t my favorite.) and now I’m ready to do some cleaning around the apartment.
ABS and I are running some errands later and then we have a dinner date at Tony’s Di Napoli — my favorite place!
And I’m forcing myself not to run, as much as I may want to. Rest, Ali, Rest.
TELL ME: Do you like or loathe rest days? I have such a hard time taking them, even when I know it’s the right thing to do.
13 Responses
I read “The Help” in the fall and really enjoyed it. I think it’s being made into a movie now. I can’t wait to see it. 🙂
I have to read “The Help” for my policy class this semester…I am about to start it:)
The party didn’t start til midnight?! Oh man! I’m too much of a grandma for that 😛
I don’t particularly have extreme feelings either way toward rest days…they’re part of my schedule/workout routine and I don’t give much more thought than that toward them.
Most of the time, I love rest days. They usually come right when they are needed most. I notice that after a rest day, my workouts are that much better. The only time I loathe rest days is when they happen during a planned running day. If my schedule or the weather doesn’t allow for my workout, I get frustrated and grumpy. I’m glad you enjoyed your rest today! It sounds like you did everything you needed to do for yourself.
I have a love/hate relationship with rest days! As much as I feel I need one, its still hard to take that one day and do almost nothing 🙂 Enjoy your date night!!
I’m happy you are resting! You go, go go all the time! Pedicures are my favorite, sorry I slept through it this morning, I would have loved to join you! Have fun at Tony diNapoli, you know how much I love it too!
I read somewhere recently that rest days are when the body actually rebuilds itself so that it can adapt to another day of hard training. If you think of rest days like that, they’re just another–and an essential–part of the overall training plan. You can also think of a rest day as similar to a good, hearty meal after a long run–totally necessary and well deserved!
Nah, I’ve stuck to the same “run 5 days a week, take 2 days off” routine since college. I am glad I switched things up by resting yesterday and running today, though– that wind was crazy! It is hard for me to take longer breaks without starting to feel stir-crazy and lazy, though– I was ready to get back out there 6 days after the NYC marathon!
I LOVED The Help, but was a little disappointed in the ending 🙁 I just got an email from the library that the second book in The Hunger Games series is waiting on me at the library. Yayyy!
…and spiked hot chocolate sounds amazing right about now!
I hate taking rest days, but I definitely think they are important. I didn’t factor too many (or any) rest days into my last training plan and ended up with an overuse injury and had to pull out of three races next weekend. Everyone is different, but I know that for myself, I need to have a complete rest day once a week to minimize the chance of injury.
i definitely struggle to take a “rest” day. but when I get back on my runs the day after…they are so much better. I was excited this week for my long run after my rest day.
Sometimes they can be frustrating, but I know that I need them in order to be healthy-both mentally and physically. I try to look at them as days to take care of myself and get other little things done that I wouldn’t normally do. Great job for taking a rest day!
I think rest days are a necessity and I don’t normally mind taking them. The only time I get annoyed with rest days are when they are forced due to injury. Last week for example, I had to take a few unscheduled rest days because my hip was bothering me.
I would have run through the pain normally, but over the summer I learned that listening to my legs is vital for not getting injured. I’m also resting today because I’m having some metatarsal joint pain.. I’m currently sitting on the couch with frozen veggies under my toes {brr}. I bought new shoes today, so hopefully I’ll be back at it tomorrow!