Benefits of a rest day

Ahh!  Rest!

I love a rest day – and it’s not just because I don’t have to run on the rest day.  I actually miss the run, just a little.  Here is what I love about the rest day:

• I don’t have to plan my meals around my running schedule.
• My legs feel stronger and ready to run again after a rest day.
• I don’t have to plan my shower around my running schedule – and believe me, you want me to shower!
• Rest days give me a chance to catch up on the running gear laundry – and believe me, you want me to wash my running gear

• Mostly, rest days remind me that I really enjoy running. 

I miss the friendly chatter with my running buddies on rest days.  We usually check in with a text or two.  In my last post I murmured about half marathon training, but after a day off even the long run wasn’t so very daunting.  In fact, in some ways it felt better than the shorter training runs I had completed earlier in the week. 

The benefits of a rest day are partly physical and partly mental.  I feel reenergized in both body and mind after a day off. Think about it ...

We have been charged with a commandment to observe a day of rest in which we honor the Lord.  Perhaps the correlation between body, mind, and spirit is stronger than many would suppose.

Happy Running!