I have used the start of Winter as a time to recover from a long racing season. My racing season usually starts in late winter, peters out a bit after my Spring marathon, and then goes full bore through the Summer and until my Autumn marathon. After the Autumn marathon I give my legs a break.

When I originally thought about writing this article, it was because it was a beautiful day outside and I knew that I’d be spending most of the day inside. After I got home from the store, the only natural light I got was a tiny bit coming out of the soffits as I did work in my attic. I hate wasting good weather, but I want to keep my running to a bare minimum for at least 3 weeks so I told myself to stop fantasizing about going out for a run and to get home and get to work.

After the weekend was over, though, I realized that taking time off is not only hard, but it is hard work. I spent the weekend reinsulating my attic. Spending 2 days in the dark on your knees with all that crap in the air and banging your head constantly is not the easiest way to get rest.

I am not sure if there is really a lesson here, other than to try to use your rest months to get this sort of project out of the way. Manual labor the day before a race probably will not lead to your best performance.