Rest days

Guest

OK, so it's like this.  I'm trying to make myself have one rest day a week basically so I can recuperate for my other rides (47km to and from work 5 days/week, anything up to 250km on the other day, depending on where I feel like going).  The thing is, I feel so damn bored right about now (about 6.15am).  

All I seem to want to do right now is ride.  Maybe I'll  have to find myself a 10km errand to run today or something.  How do you amuse yourself on rest days?

???

Guest

Sounds like your addicted, you habituated chemically dependent person  ;D

Whats the temp like at 6am? down here its only friggen 2-5 degrees that time of the day  :

Guest

Try these:

• Take the rest day when you are most fatigued.
• Do some active recovery - 30 mins to 1 hour of very light cycling or a short walk.
• Go for a massage.

Guest

Up here it's about 15 degrees or so.  The thing is, we have people getting around in tracksuits at that time of day  

Actually, I've been to parts of Queensland where it isn't nearly as hot as people think (like, 12 degrees in the middle of summer!!!  Anyone else ever done any riding at Stanthorpe?)

Guest

The first one could be a problem.  As a commuter I don't always get to pick and choose my rest days  :   Maybe I'll just have to do one of those flat, stupidly easy rides every so often.

Guest

Do you train during the week?  I usually go out at 5am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the weather is surprisingly pleasant in the mornings.  (In JHB)

Guest

I know a bit what you mean Chris_L.  Today is my rest day...Mondays...always.  I was just saying to my friend earlier that I feel like I should be doing something.  At least when I am at work, I can look forward to a good swim, bike, or run in the evening.  And, on the weekends, it is my main event.  Then, Monday hits.  And, this was a particularly crappy one.  I want a stress relief.  I want to get out on the bike, jump in the pool, go for a run...but, it is rest day.  I think what I love the most about my rides is going out and disappearing for a while.  Riding along, watching the country unfold into fields of green, and escaping inside yourself.  

That is why I don't like rest days.  They may be rest for my body, but not for my mind.  I know I need it, though.  My legs remind anytime I hit a stairwell.  It just sucks.  But, I suppose it is a necessary evil.  Believe me, you won't feel so cool when your legs cramp you out of a ride 50kms from home.

You aren't the only one, Chris_L.  

Guest

I know.  I've only ever had cramps on the bike once and it sucked.  Mind you, that wasn't caused by overdoing it.  The real reason was discovered when I got home and took my shoes off.  I discovered five leeches swimming in a pool of my blood!

I'd gone for a walk in the rainforest at Lamington National Park earlier in the day, and evidently they'd climbed into my shoes and chewed their way through my socks.

Guest

I had this problem once, but now I work too hard to get any free time.  :-[

In the past I would think about what I wanted to be doing off the bike when I was on it and use this as my rest activity.  Somehow this never involved walking with leeches in my shoes!  ;D

crankin

I agree that a rest day should be taken when one is most fatigued...but if you are peaking for a particular event, you may need two (or more) in the week before.  I went from 25 hrs down to under 10 in the week before our state championships...  Talk about being bored!!! I sometimes swim or go for a light hike-always get a deep tissue massage...not as relaxing as it sounds...ouch!   But I can attest to "peaking" for a race, it is amazing what a body can do when it is fully recovered!

"Persistence", if you compete on Sundays you probably want to get on the bike and do a recovery ride Monday...just a  light hour of spinning;   it will help your muscles from tightening and prepare you for the next few hard training days.  

ciao!

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