Rest Day

I did a lot on Saturday. I was up at 5am to head into Boothbay Harbor for the annual Early Bird Sale. It's a family tradition. Friends and family come from near and far and sleep over at my Mom's house the night before. Then we head into town, dressed in crazy pajama's and slippers to shop. We take a break to watch the PJ parade and bed race before heading to brunch at McSeagulls for mimosas and lobster and crab omelets.



It's a blast and a fun way to support local  business and catch up with friends and family.

Normally, we then go home and take a nap. Instead this year, we came home and knocked down a chimney! We are FINALLY renovating the kitchen at the family homestead- it's only about 50 years overdue. I got to go up in the lifter and help with the demo. And then i got to carry many, many, many piles of bricks across the yard to the dumpster.

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Then we worked on cleaning out the old pantry in the kitchen. By the time I got back to my own house it was 10pm and I went straight to bed.

Notice what I did not do all day? I didn't run or do any sort of workout. VERY rare for me. My last day off was the day after the Rome Marathon in March. Not because I ran a marathon the day before, but because we had to leave our hotel at 3am for the airport and I didn't get home until after midnight.

I know I should take rest days more often. I felt great today. I tackled a very hilly 9 miler that I haven't ever dared to try before. I ran super fast (for a longer run for me) and felt great. But I just can't do it mentally. At some level I know rest days will be help me recover and get fitter faster, but I just end up feeling fat and lazy that day. I know doing shorter more intense workouts sometimes would also be good for me. I can't do that either. I am so stuck in my minimum of one hour of cardio a day rut.

How often do you take a rest day?