Autumn Marathon

What is your “rest plan”?

After finishing two half-marathons within one week, following an extended period of regular CrossFit and endurance training, I took four days off.  To be honest, it felt kind of strange.  I was on a business trip and without the usual workouts, my evenings were completely empty.  It’s not that I don’t take days off during the typical training weeks: usually I work out five days out of seven; occasionally, I’ll do a double workouts (eg. endurance and strength on the same day).   Point is I’m really not a workout fanatic.

One of my CrossFit trainers recommends taking a block of days off every three or four months to allow the body to recover.  While I have not polled my other CF or running coaches/mentors, this seems to be a common enough practice.  

Another aspect of rest is refreshing your body and mind through adequate sleep.  I do even less well in this area.  My sole New Years resolution for 2011 was to get 7.5-8 hours sleep per night, but nearly halfway into the year I am averaging my usual 6.5-7 hours.  It’s not that the difference in energy, concentration and productivity are imperceptible.  Editing the post, for instance, would have been much easier had I not slept only six hours last night.

I am curious to know what athletes at all levels do in the way of taking regular or extended time off.   How do you work rest into your exercise routine?