My very first "rest" week

I promised my coach that I would take is easy after Bear Creek, so this post is going to chronicle my attempt at a so called "rest" week. I have never been good at resting so this is a new challenge for me.

Day 1 - Monday

My new running shoes came in the mail. Of course they show up on my very first rest day. Do you know how tempting it was to lace them up and take them out on the road!? And, they are super cute to boot.

Stop teasing me! I will try you out next week. That's a promise!

5:30 pm rolled around and it took every ounce of self control that I had to stay home. All I wanted to do was grab my bike and head out to EF for bike/run/strength class. But I told myself no, I need to rest and study for my two finals this week. So, I ended up making a delicious dinner and watching a movie with a glass of red.

Quinoa w/ roasted asparagus, beets, chick peas, and feta

Day 2 - Tuesday

I was planning on going to the 5:30 am swim practice, but when my alarm went off, I immediately hit the cancel button and kept on sleeping. It felt so great to sleep until 6:15. I guess my body needed it! I did a swim workout in the afternoon at the salt water pool. It's such a treat to swim in! Here's my workout:

300 warm up

4x100 as 50 catch up/50 swim

2x100 as 25 L/25R/50 swim

2x100 pull

4x200 zone 2 w/ 50 fast each 200

100 cool down

And yes, that's a rest day for me :-) It felt so good to get in the water and move my legs after the trail run. I was starting to feel really stiff. After a bit of studying, I ventured out to try to find a foam roller. I have heard wonderful things about them and decided it was time. I came back with sushi and another movie, and no foam roller. Oops! Rest day #2 complete.

Day 3 - Wednesday

I overslept again this morning! Man, my body is tired! Today, I had a strength training session with Camille at EF. I was skeptical going into this because I have never really focused on strength training and I have managed to improve without it. Maybe this is the ticket to becoming a pro? I did feel like I had reached a plateau towards the end of the season after seeing drastic improvements up until September. 

So, apparently I need to tap into my glutes and core. I guess everything isn't just linear? All I know how to do is swim, bike, run. I did more push ups today than I think I have ever done in my whole life. Total, that is. I also learned how to do a Burpee. Yuck. I don't like them one bit.  I do like planks however, but because I am too good at them, Camille is making me do "walking planks." You get the idea. Another yuck. I'm going to try to stay on the strength training band wagon, so I hope to see some results!

Day 4 - Thursday

No morning swim for me. I decided to sleep in/get up early to study for my final. The test went well enough, I think. Another true rest day. No activity other than riding my bike the mile to and from school. I'm getting tired of resting; it's so BORING! To keep myself busy, I baked some gluten free pumpkin, peanut butter, dark chocolate chip cookies. YUM!

Day 5 - Friday

I couldn't take it anymore! After a very rough week I needed to work out! I got up early and did a 2000 m swim which was a mix of drills and some fast freestyle. It felt GREAT to be pushing it again. After a second disastrous morning in clinic, I decided to test out the ol' knee during lunch. I did an easy 25 minutes on the treadmill. At about 20 minutes I could feel my IT band tightening up, but it didn't hurt per se. I stopped at 25 minutes, which I think was a good decision.

Things I have learned during my rest week:
1. I am NOT good at resting.
2. I am NOT good at doing easy workouts.
3. I am very grumpy when I am not working out! (Ask my boyfriend if you need verification.)
4. Strength training is going to be the death of me.

Time to enjoy the weekend! No workouts planned, just a lot of visiting with friends and family. It should be awesome and I am going to enjoy the best gluten free cupcakes ever, courtesy of Buzz Bakery. Next week, it's back to the grind. Three finals and a week full of workouts awaits!