Rain Day, Rest Day

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I heard it raining when I woke up this morning. So, no run today.

This is a good thing!  Skipping the morning run serves two purposes.  First, I can make today my rest day.  I make sure to take at least one day off from running each week  to give my body some rest.  This is important, as well as practical.  Your body needs down time to recover and repair/strengthen itself and its muscles.  Also, running can put a lot of pressure on your joints.  Again, a rest day gives those joints some needed recovery time.

Some runners and trainers say that a day off serves as a mental break as well.  This may be true for some. If you need it, take it! But as for me, I could not disagree more! Running IS my mental break! It is my Zen time!  I love this time! Quite often, it strengthens me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually much more than it does physically.

My other reason for passing on today’s run is somewhat less sophisticated.  Quite simply, I am a fair-weather runner.  Not to say that I never run in the rain.  On a number of occasions, I have raced rain clouds back to my house or car and lost, getting soaked to the core. Once I even found myself running when it started raining, sleeting, and snowing all at once! (Perhaps that is a story for the next rain day.) But I am not inclined to set out during a deluge.  I have rain gear if I need it. And when push comes to shove, I go.

But, this is rarely an issue.  You see, I set my weekly goals to allow for rain days.  Instead of planning a 4 mile run on Monday, 7 miles on Tuesday, etc., I merely decide on a distance and six routes I want to run in a given week. I write them on my bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker.  Each day I pick a route and mark the mirror when I return.  If Mother Nature decides to rain on my run one day, no worries!  That day becomes my rest day for the week.  I just pick up on my weekly list and goals the following day.  Most of the time it works out, especially in the spring!

So today, I will enjoy my rest day.

Looking ahead, tomorrow I am Pasadena bound!

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