On the 9th day, she ran.

It's been a solid fall of training....culminating with the race month of October.  From the Hartford Half, to the Dash for the Splash 5K (with a PR!) to the Stoudt's Brewing Distance Classic 12K.

Who knew this month would be a race month?  After the 12K, though, my body declared that I was done.  The day after the run a cold came in and took over.

Thankful that I didn't have any races in the near future, I took a week off from working out.  Yup.  A whole week.  No easy yoga, no elliptical, certainly no running.  (Even with a few days in the 60s.)  I slept in, I went to bed early.  I drank lots of water and tried to cure the common cold with double stuf oreos.  (This cure is still in need of more research.)  I watched my calories add up on My Fitness Pal...with a big zero each day next to calories burned.  But it didn't matter.  My body was done.  It needed love and naps, hydration and more naps.

My weekly email came from Daily Mile....."your friends miss your training...."  I know.  I also know that rest is a healthy part of training and staying in shape.  Without any big races in my immediate future, on a day I'm on the sleepier side, I'll rest.  I wish you could log in rest days on daily mile, because it is such an important part of taking care of your body.

I'm not a big fan of taking an entire week away from working out.  My daily workouts clear my head and help to keep my mind clear and focused.  I felt a little off last week...but that was probably a combination of the cold and the not working out.

I feel a bit better this week.  Still a little stuffy, but well rested and ready to ease my way back into some fitness.

Yesterday's easy 5K on the treadmill was the perfect beginning.  I forced myself to start off slow.  It felt great to see my gym buddies yesterday and today.  It's good to be back.

I'll definitely be ready for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and some other silly runs throughout the winter.  I should add, too, that I do have rest days built into my workout schedule.  I like those days.  But after along fall, my body wanted some true rest.

I can't speak for anyone else when it comes to working out and caring for yourself....but I know that rest days are a good thing.  And listening to your body is a very good thing.  I know that I probably could have squeezed in a workout last week...but I took the rest route instead, which has made for a great beginning to this week.

Until the next post...

PS.  This post was written under a napping cat.  She clearly understands the importance of rest.