Labor Day is supposed to be a day off from work. This year is a rare one for me because I actually took the day off. Of course, I have already filled it with things to do with the family, so there probably will not be much actual rest involved. Still, time with the family beats sitting at work, so I will take it.
A rest day seems pretty straightforward. No running. Recover. Take it easy. Easier said than done. Running regularly makes sitting still feel weird. One year I ran at least a mile every single day, and oddly enough, rest felt easier then. There was no decision to make. I knew I was going to run. Give me a day when I am supposed to do nothing, and suddenly I am looking for something to do.
Runner or not, do we ever really get to rest? The calendar always seems to have something on it. Running errands, yard work, coaching soccer, walking the dog, or just keeping up with the boys can make a day without a run feel pretty active anyway.
That is usually what a rest day looks like for me. I may not put on running shoes, but I am rarely sitting around all day with my feet up. The calendar says rest day. My legs may disagree.
Runners are pretty good at finding loopholes. We spend enough time convincing ourselves to keep going during runs, so it makes sense that we can also convince ourselves that certain activities do not really count on a rest day.
A walk? That does not count. Playing basketball with the boys? Not training. A little yard work? That needed to get done anyway. Strength work? Now we may be pushing the definition a little.
Then there is 'active recovery,' which sounds a lot like something runners came up with because sitting still was not going well. And of course, there is the biggest loophole of all. If it never made it to Strava, did it really happen?
Even when I stay off my feet, I am still thinking about running. I am checking the weather for the week, looking over my training plan, or thinking about what shoes I want to wear for the next run. I may even map out a new long-run route, knowing I will probably just end up running loops around the neighborhood again.
Then there is Strava. Nothing makes a rest day feel less restful than opening the app and seeing everyone else out running. I know the miles will still be there tomorrow. That does not stop me from wondering if a couple easy miles would really hurt.
“A runner in motion stays in motion.” I am pretty sure that is what Newton said.
Rest days are needed. I know that. They still feel strange sometimes. Running is such a normal part of my routine that when it is not there, I notice it. There is time I would normally spend getting dressed, heading out the door, and putting in some miles. Now I am just sitting there wondering what to do with it.
That is usually when I walk past my running shoes and start thinking about how short one or two miles really is. Not enough to count as a real run, obviously. Just enough to completely ruin the rest day.
For me, a rest day mostly means I did not run. I may still spend half the day on my feet, check the weather, look at Strava, and think about tomorrow’s run more than once.
I am capable of resting. I just have a pretty loose definition of what counts.
So yes, I took Labor Day off this year. I just plan on spending most of it doing everything except resting.