Yesterday might possibly have been the nicest day of the year, so far, but alas I had a rest day planned because I felt like I needed it. I also wasn’t feeling my best but when I got off work and saw the sun shining and the mild temps, of course, I wanted to run. I debated running vs. not running the entire commute home. I knew my feet needed to rest. The Plantar Fasciitis is hopefully almost gone and I do not want to do ANYTHING to aggravate the situation so that was basically the deciding factor to continue as planned with a short cross training session on the bike trainer rather than going for a run.
I may have mentioned a billion times before that riding on the trainer is like running on the treadmill. It is harder because it is boring but the good thing about riding in my dining room on the trainer is that I can blast my iPod. So the times goes pretty quickly for these short workouts since I can listen to my favorite songs, very loudly. Another bonus is that I am getting acclimated to the warmer temps for 13.1 Miami Beach in 16 days!!!!! a bit before spring/summer arrives. I also enjoy not having to layer up for the outdoor temps. Yesterday I wore one of my favorite items of SWAG, the Sunburst Half Marathon shirt from 2011. This was one of the A4 shirts I received last year and I really like the brand, especially in the women specific sizing. It’s soft, cute and I could wear it every day. 
So all in all, it was a short but sweet workout. I calculate my trainer miles at 15 mph. I figure I ride slower inside than out so this is a fair estimate. Yes, I would have rather been running but focusing on recovery and injury prevention is MORE important than logging a few extra miles and ending up with 8 months of injuries from being stupid not listening to my body. I want to be healthy this year so I can walk without pain be my best. I will listen to my body and rest when necessary, regardless of the weather, or an invitation to run with a friend or an extra time slot without the little man.
Rest is just as important as the mileage. I encourage you to also remember to rest when you need it.
What is your favorite thing to do on a rest day? Do you cross train or take the day completely off? Or do you leave it to your body to decide?
Happy Running! Amanda – TooTallFritz
TooTallFritz 
Yes….rest or recovery is equally as important as the running. I certainly am a great example of the chronic injured runner, but probably not so much cause I don’t build in rest or recovery, but likely more from just being older and running way to many marathons and races over the past 4-years…..the cumulative effects of not enough prolonged post-marathon recovery (i.e. 2-4 weeks best).
Usually on a rest day I am doing some form of x-training, or at least some stretching or core/leg strengthening routines. Today (Friday) is even nicer than yesterday. My schedule calls for rest since I have 19-miler Sat-morn, but it is so nice out there it is going to be really hard to pass up an opportunity to run in such nice weather conditions. Maybe a compromise will be just go out for a long walk!
I take a lot of rest days and that means doing nothing but that is only because I have grade 3 arthritis in both knees, so I have to be sensible and listen to my body!
It’s like you’re talking directly to me, Miss Amanda.
Achilles issues here… I KNOW I need to stop running through it… I KNOW I need to see someone and have things worked out…, but I haven’t yet…
Meh…