This week has easily been one of my most successful weeks of working out that I can remember. I define success as following through with my plan, avoiding substitutes or downgrades in quality or quantity, working out six days a week, and, with my eyes on the SF Marathon prize, running four days a week.

The single most important variable for me this week has been scheduling my rest day in advance when planning for my week of workouts. I planned my rest day for today this week around the following workouts:

• Monday: 5-mile run
• Tuesday: Diesel class at Crunch
• Wednesday: 3.6 miles of intervals
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: 8-mile run
• Saturday: 18-mile run
• Sunday: Yoga class at Crunch

Now, I haven’t completed the workouts that haven’t been crossed off, but barring a crazy happy hour after work, I’ll be able to accomplish the rest of the workouts I’ve scheduled.

My biggest issue during the week is usually getting enough sleep. I’ve discussed my issues with sleeping at length, and one of the most disruptive things I can do is wake up exhausted, decide to take my rest day due to my fatigue, and attempt to return to sleeping bliss despite interrupting my sleep and potentially feeling guilty that I didn’t work out as planned.

Planning my rest day far in advance has proven as successful as planning workouts in advance. I know it’s not rocket science that planning is the key to follow through, but I never really considered the importance of a planned-in-advance rest day until this week. Lesson learned!