I used to hate rest days. Genuinely hate them. Felt like I was wasting time, missing out, falling behind.
Thing is, when triathlon isn't just training, it's also planning, nutrition, race strategy, fiddling with kit, watching content or making my own, there's not actually much space left where your brain isn't somewhere in it. My partner does triathlon too, which is amazing, but sometimes there's no switching off from it.
Actually switching off
So now I'm taking proper days off. Not a recovery ride, not an easy jog, actually off. Went to a new city on my own last week, went to a couple of art galleries to totally zone out. Left my phone in my pocket except for photos.
And I came out the other side just... clearer. Mentally recharged, properly, for the first time in a while. I think I've been so focused on protecting my physical recovery, I forgot the mental side needs the same thing. You can be doing everything right physically and still be running on fumes mentally.
So if you're like me, training most days, thinking about training the rest of the time, maybe find something that has nothing to do with any of it. Even just once in a while.