“Rest is Resistance”-Tricia Hersey @thenapministry As a coach and lifelong runner, I’m all too familiar with the “more is more” mentality: more miles/kms, more races, longer races, no days off, running to exhaustion and pressing through pain. I’m also familiar with the fatigue, overtraining and injuries that plague this community. That’s why this August has been all about rest. With titles on my blog like “Run Slow on Purpose,” “Rest days are training days,” “Training, Interrupted” and “Measure Your Effort,” my agenda is pretty clear. Recently, I adopted different language for a day off in the training plan, because somehow, “day off” wasn’t communicating the intention clearly. They’re now called “do nothing days.” It’s starting to connect. People are running easier and slower on easy days. Requests to pause training for a week of rest are becoming more common. I sometimes feel like all my talk about rest is self-sabotaging… Sifuentes Coaching is a business after all! But the last thing the running community needs is one more voice supporting the grind culture. Our culture glorifies DOING. We are elevated by our productivity, the goals we accomplish, the miles/kms we log, for being hard workers. But is anyone ever praised for resting well? For NOT doing the thing - whatever it is? Do you run slow on purpose? Can you sleep in, go to bed early or take a nap without feeling guilty about it? Of course, consistent hard work is essential to progress, but so is rest! True rest is counter-cultural: it takes intentionality and it requires a change in mindset and behavior. At Sifuentes Coaching, rest is part of training. I will always encourage rest. Sincerely,
Nicole
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