The title constitutes the wrong way to view a rest day. This week I am feeling the healing, the way I believe you should view your rest weeks too. There has not been much training to write about, although last night I did run some laps on a high school track, mostly working on form. The prescribed workout consisted of accelerating then deccelerating every 100 meters for 14 laps so as to be able to continuously concentrate on a good stride without ever going too hard for too long. This seemed to work, as the effort did not feel challenging at all. The workout ended up being a 7:40/mile pace with an average HR of 138 bpm.
This morning my plan was to go out on the MTB for a very easy spin around the park to loosen up. However, a quick check of the conditions from the nearest airport (well, the nearest one to report the weather anyway) showed 23 degrees F and "freezing fog," whatever that is. Outside my windows I observe no such thing, as the sun is shining quite brightly. This may account for the reported "real feel" of 36 degrees, but with the forecast highs up at nearly 60, putting off the ride until lunchtime seems like the obvious choice. This is a rest week after all.
Resting requires practice just like any other aspect of training. The body does not get stronger during hard workouts. If you don't believe me, try doing hard workouts for 14 days straight and tell me how strong you feel on the 15th day. We get stronger on our rest days, when the recuperation, healing, and overcompensation effects are realized. This process is just as trainable as any other, and with practice your body can get better at it. Without practice this works just like anything else: sure your body can do it, but probably won't accomplish the task with a high level of efficiency.
One of the things I like about the Polar HRM is the training diary software that comes with it. The product is MS Windows only, but the latest version is pretty stable and the interface is OK. The product can make bar graphs of your training time by heart rate zone, although it does not seem to be able to make these as stacked bar graphs that break out the time by type of workout (running, cycling, etc). Still, it is easy enough to toggle which sports are included in the compilation, so this information is available with only a few extra clicks.
The calendar feature also provides a nice, quick snapshot of what you have been doing. Each workout is color coded, such as orange for running or green for cycling, and if you do one of each on a given day then that box will appear in a gradient of the two colors. Weekly totals are displayed in the rightmost column on the edge of the calendar. Using this, if I track and download every workout (or enter them manually, estimating HR), my training diary is essentially taken care of for me. The cool thing is that at a glance, I can see how many "white days," (ie no workout) are on there. When the whole month looks green and orange, I know I have been consistently working out, even if it was only for a half an hour a day. Monday was only the 8th "white day" in the past two months, so even though my training hours totals remain modest, I can quickly see that some R&R is deserved.
Monday I wanted to train. The familiar uneasiness that comes each day until a workout gets completed was there. I wasn't cooked, I had energy, and I wasn't sore. But I'm not stupid either. Having been through this so many times in the past, I kept my energy in check and did not give in to temptation. By the evening, I was sprawled out on the couch feeling lifeless. Oh yes, there was fatigue. The body just needed to remember how to rest. The past two nights I have slept like a baby, and felt very relaxed. I can feel my muscles reparing themselves, my connective tissue healing up and readying itself for the workouts to come, and my energy stores restocking. Really, I can.
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