Why rest days are the hardest

For me, rest days feel like the hardest days, and I realize that that's an amazing problem to have! I remember when I used to feel the opposite, and would relish in days off and dread workouts. Seriously, in high school training for track I remember fantasizing about getting injured (God forbid!!! Knock on wood!!!) so I wouldn't have to run! But still, I can't help but feel so 'off' on off-days - anyone else with me?

Any quality training program has built in rest days, whether you're strength training, running, etc. You need them for your muscles to regenerate, so that you can come back stronger for your next workout. 

I always preach that I use exercise as a form of mental health and that moving really makes me feel my best, but that means that unfortunately on rest days, I don't feel very good.

Take for example this past week, this was all the exercise I did:

Mon: 10km run + 9km biking

Tues: 2x fit factory + 2 dance classes + 10km biking 

Wed: 10.5km run + Argos practice

Thurs: Fit Factory + Argos game 

Fri: Off

Sat: 9.5km run + taught 4 dance classes + 10km biking

Sun: 16.8km run

Now today is Monday, and even though I biked about 4km and had 1 dance lesson, and I KNOW I need and deserve a rest day, I am not enjoying it! And on that Friday off you see above, I did not enjoy that day either (even though I did about 10km of biking that day too; I bike everywhere I go if possible, and don't count that as exercise so it's just a bonus).

I find it hard to not let rest days turn into full-on cheat days. For me, exercise makes me feel good, which in turn makes me make healthy choices. It's all about momentum. So when I stop, and feel lethargic, in turn my eating habits sometimes get off course too. 

I try to compare it to tapering for a race. I'm sure all my runners out there can relate - when taper week comes along you start feeling anxious and the self-doubt rolls in - since you're not running and training how will you possibly kill the race? (For my non-runners: tapering is when you decrease your mileage the week before the race, in order to save your energy and muscles for race day. You have to remember to 'trust in the taper',  trust that you've put in the work, trust the process. It may not feel comfortable in the moment, but after race day it will be well worth it. 

If you're like me and can't stand rest days, do some low-impact work like stretching, riding your bike, walking, dancing, etc. just to keep the blood flowing and maintain your sanity. And remember to be grateful that it's rest you're dreading and not the workout! Look how far you've come!