We were told from our coach that we could swim, bike and run (since these are great activities for overall health) but the goal is to return to training on Monday the 26th feeling excited to put in some hard work for the next 8 weeks. We were also given guidelines as to what we could do IF we did swim, bike or run in terms of duration per workout and total duration spread over the week.
Here's what my recovery week looked like:
Monday - planned 65 minute ride to spin out the legs from the race/travel
Tues - 20 min outdoor pool swim
Wed - 70 minute EZ spin
Thurs - 30 min strength + massage
Friday - 28 min outdoor pool swim + dry needling with my PT
Saturday - 2 hour kayaking
Sunday - 80 min bike + 18 min run
Total: 7 hours and 15 minutes of "exercise"
This break was just what we needed - mentally and physically. Campy got to go on a lot of walks, I swam outdoors twice in my mom's neighborhood pool (without lane lines and a lot of current flowing around) and I rode my road bike three times.
Throughout this week break from training, I enjoyed living a slightly different lifestyle. One week of minimal exercise does not result in any change of muscle mass, strength and endurance so I never felt the need to do more exercise to maintain fitness or significantly alter my nutrition because I was worried about weight gain. If anything, I've worked my body so much over the past six months that it deserved a break and lots of nourishment to help with recovery.
I also liked having a bit more time and energy to get some extra things done around the house and some to-do's that have been lingering on my to-do list. I also enjoyed having more free time. I enjoyed not having to wake up with an alarm and having a workout plan for the day. It was nice to have a normal appetite throughout the week and to have a more low key evening - with a bit more time relaxing on the couch. I don't believe that athletes should have massive changes in the diet between peak training and off-season eating for the foundation of the diet should always be a healthy and nutritious diet and then when training increases, it's supported by additional calories/carbohydrates and sport nutrition. In other words, there is always wiggle room in the diet when an athlete increases training volume but you shouldn't feel like your diet needs to be restrictive when you go from 10+ hours of training a week to less than an hour a day.
If you are feeling unmotivated to train, training feels like a chore, you are constantly feeling flat, you are a bit more moody than normal, your appetite and sleep habits have dramatically changed and you struggle to put together quality workouts, you are in need of a break. If you have been struggling with health issues, remind yourself that training breaks the body down. If you are already broken, it's very hard to adapt to training stress. Let the body repair itself before you start training again. While exercise may help improve your health, if you continue to train with compromised health, you may be putting in double the work for half the (or no) results.
There will be times in your season when you need to train in a fatigued state. You must still do everything possible to support the training (nutrition, sleep, fueling, hydration) as your body will be tired, training may not always be "fun" and your muscles will feel sore and heavy. But if your body is unable to recover from sessions, you feel like it takes a lot more work to experience performance gains, you train through sickness/health issues or you are no longer seeing positive adaptations from your training investments, you've crossed the line from quality training to haphazard training.
Every athlete needs a break - mentally and physically. Don't be afraid to temporarily step away from structured training so you can maintain longevity in your sport. Physical overload is good to a point but too much progressive training without proper recovery does more harm than good. Most of all, if you do take a break, make sure you really enjoy the break so that you return to training feeling recharged.
The break was just what I needed. I started the week feeling exhausted, sore and enjoying a break from training and now I'm rejuvenated, healthy, rested and excited to train again.