Rest and Recovery

Both of my coaches, Michelle and Mark, are truly amazing, talented, educated people. They don't know each other yet, but I bet they would totally hit it off! I continue to learn so much from them and am thankful that I found two very talented people that I trust in.

I've recently had reminders from both of them about the necessity of patience through this process, and the importance of rest and recovery. I'm so driven to improve and succeed that I don't give myself enough rest days or recovery time during the day. Mark said it well yesterday, "The difference between an elite, professional athlete and an amateur athlete isn't in their efforts, it's in their recovery time." Our swim lesson was very good, but mostly we discussed ways to recover and give my body time each day to heal from the stresses I put on it. I'm never tired during the day so I take that as a sign that I don't need the rest, but I'm going to be changing that. Every day I'm going to find 30 minutes for R&R time - meditating, a hot bath, napping, or just sitting with my eyes closed in a quiet place. Mark believes I will see improvements faster if I work this into my schedule. I think he's right.

I implemented Mark and Michelle's advice today with taking the day off - almost let my old thinking talk me into going for a swim, but wisely decided against that and opted to write in this blog instead. :) I had to start fasting last night at 7:30 so I can get some blood work done this morning. I just want to make sure I have a perfect bill of health with 7 weeks until the E-Cup!

I'm still on a 20/40/40 plan at 11x's my body weight in calories. I weighed 124.2 this morning so that means 1366 calories. Here were my workouts for the week:

2/26 Biceps/Triceps/Abs - HIIT 30 min on treadmill, 30 min med intensity (HR 150-155) on elliptical
2/25 Legs - 45 min med intensity (HR 150-155) on elliptical
2/24 Back - HIIT 15 min on step mill, 20 min med intensity on elliptical
PM Run 40 min
2/23 Cardio only - 25 min HIIT on step mill, Swim 30 min
2/22 Chest - 20 min HIIT on step mill, 30 min med intensity on elliptical (HR 150-160); eat/stretch and then 30 min swim
2/21 Delts - 20 min HIIT on treadmill; Posing class for 1 hr