Rest days often feel like cheating. They're not.
That guilt you feel while lying on the couch, watching everyone else post their training online? Ignore it.
Here's what's actually happening. Training breaks you down. Rest builds you back up. That's not a nice idea, that's the whole mechanism. Skip the rest, and you're not building fitness. You're just adding fatigue.
I watch this happen constantly. A "light jog" that's not light once you look at the pace. An "easy spin" that quietly turns into work. Athletes think they're going the extra mile. That it will make them better. They're actually skipping the part that makes the training count.
Then they're tired all the time. And wonder why they're not improving.
So take your rest day when it's scheduled. All of it. No light jog. No easy spin that isn't easy. Nothing.
Your legs will thank you next week. Your race times will too.
