You can teach an old dog new tricks!

They, whoever "they" are, say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I beg to differ. As I get older I am learning new things every day. This includes my training and workouts. Do I always apply these new tidbits of wisdom and get wiser. Nope. No surprise there. I think that athletes, professional and weekend warriors, are very slow to try new things. We tend to stick with what we think works, even if it doesn't. You could beat us over the head with all sorts of evidence, scientific studies and real world results and still we would say, "I know what works for me".
My big sticking point has always been taking a day off or a rest day. I generally try to do something, anything, every day. It doesn't always work due to work or family obligations, but I do try. The workout may not be long or hard or high quality, but I try to get a few miles on the books. It is what has seemed to work best for me. I still believe this. I am learning to take some of the workouts much easier though. I am learning to take-wait for it-breaks during a workout. GASP!!!! It has always seemed blasphemous to me to take any kind of rest or break during a workout. On my longer runs I would resort to a shuffle rather than walk. God forbid, that would mean I'm not a runner. Runners don't walk. Well, this one does now. On my longer runs, especially trail runs, I am learning to take walk breaks. I do it either by time or I walk the nastiest hills. I did this on my 20 mile run on the Ice Age Trail a couple of weeks ago and then did a mountain bike race three days later and still did okay.
Another example. I did the longest road ride of the seasons last week on my day off. Nothing epic but a long ride for me. I did 55 miles on a pretty warm day. It had been in the upper 80's to low 90's most of the week and was still warm on Thursday. I had plenty of water, energy drink and some bars and hit the road. I had a route in mind but did a little wandering. About half way through I stopped at a historical marker in the middle of nowhere and stretched the legs, rested my butt and ate and drank a little. About an hour later I stopped at an intersection and did the same thing. I finished the ride feeling tired but satisfied. I admit I still feel a little guilty about taking these breaks, but I am learning to relax. These breaks, along with not always trying to push the pace and kill myself is helping. At least I think it is. By then end of last week I had ridden 5 days for over 180 miles and run twice for around 13 miles. This while working 6 days in our first heat wave of the season. Yeah, I was tired by the end of the week, but not exhausted.
I am going to keep trying this "new" method. As I get older, I am learning to listen to my body and slow down. My brain is accepting the fact that I am not some pro and resting means I can go longer and faster later.