"Back"ing Off Before Getting Serious

I don't take many days off with no training at all. I know recovery is an important part of the process but I like to recover with mellow runs or rides rather than by taking days off completely. Today though I opted for a day with no activity. For some reason my lower back has been sore since last Thursday. I think it needs a day or two without stress to feel better. My legs have also been feeling really heavy for the past 10 days so it really makes no sense to try to do too much right now. I am also at a transition point in my training so this seems like a perfect time to get recovered and ready to move forward. For the past 8 weeks I have done basic cross training that has increased in duration gradually to the point I'm at now. My next two weeks is going to be a somewhat jumbled mess of activity as I am taking a vacation to Utah in which I will be doing some hiking, biking, backpacking, rafting, and as much running as I find time to fit in. I will get in a nice mix of exercise but it won't be organized or specific in any way. When I return though it'll be time to get serious. At that point I will have 6 weeks before the 24 Hours of Kincaid and 9 weeks before my main running races of the summer begin. I'm definitely not entirely confident that I will be able to transition from being in shape for a 24 hour bike race to being in shape for a 25 mile mountain running race three weeks later, but it'll be fun to find out. I'm really getting excited to race again. I wish it wasn't still so far away. By the time I do the 24 Hours of Kincaid it will have been over 4 months without a serious race!