Recovery: The Importance of Being Idle

I only managed a very steady 2 hours on the bike this morning, and I feel slightly disappointed by that. Normally a Saturday ride would be at least 3 hours and involve a fair bit of fast pace riding.

I need to drill something into my thick skull though; my body knows better than my mind what it wants, and is capable of doing. Today, after a long week of work, a hard ride on Wednesday, and a lack of sleep due to some unfortunate circumstances (such as our washing machine draining its contents all over the floor sometime around mid-night!); my body and mind were feeling rather fatigued. 

It's tough knowing that race season is approaching and that your team-mates are gearing up for their first race (good luck guys!). But sometimes you just need to relax and take it easy. I'm going to have a restful afternoon and an early night and perhaps tomorrow my legs will feel up to something. Recovery is a fundamental part of our sport; we push our bodies hard, often to the limit, and then expect them to do it again and again. Sometimes, especially when it is cold outside (-8'C here today), an easy ride and a restful day will leave you more energised and in better shape, than trying to drill yourself into the ground even further.

So don't feel too guilty about kicking back with a cuppa and a bike magazine then; sometimes you really have earned it!