When you don’t complete a scheduled workout, the Training Peaks software that I use, colors the workout as red.  I chose to take a rest day today, so my scheduled bike ride is marked with that red color.

It is not a bad thing to take an occasional rest day from your training. If you train consistently, taking a rest day doesn’t mean you will lose any fitness. In fact, it may add to overall fitness because several days of really good training usually follow a day off.

I am not that fatigued at the moment, so I didn’t need to take a rest day for physical reasons.  I took today off more for mental reasons.  I had a very busy day scheduled, which meant I would need to work hard to squeeze in a workout.  I just didn’t feel like working hard to squeeze a ride in.

I know that not working out today was probably a good thing, because this evening I am sitting here, and really looking forward to training tomorrow.  My motivation to get out the door and run in the morning is very high.  That’s a very good sign that my well timed day off was a good decision.