On my running schedule for today my trainer wrote that if I wanted to take today as a rest day to do it. So I did. This morning I slept in until almost 7:00, after turning the lights off at 9:30 last night. After all of the running I did over the past three days, it felt great to sleep. As I got out of bed I noticed a few things. First, my legs are not as sore as I expected after running twenty miles. Second, my plantar fascia were tight, but loosened up after stretching. Third, I felt something I didn’t expect – my abs were sore. Just goes to show how important a strong core is. As a result, I did do a Pilates workout this evening.

For the most part, today fits in the category of “rest day”. I had to go back through my training log to find out when the last time was that I did not have a cardio workout. It was September 28th, the day before I ran the Akron Half Marathon and just over seven weeks ago. That has to be one of the longest periods I have gone without a rest day. My body had been sending me signals that I needed a day like this, no wonder after seven weeks without a break.

So without a big workout to write about, I came across a quote from a runner that fits for a rest day – Emil Zatopek, famous for what is known as the Zatopek Effect for resting before a big race. He is quoted saying:

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.

Whether a person is training to get fit, stay fit, or win the race, this quote holds true. Quite frankly, anyone who has run with change or even a few Gu packs in pockets knows it is annoying. Some of us train for races. Some of us do not need a race to stay motivated. Having hope and dreams, however, makes the journey so much more meaningful.