I’ll keep this one brief today as whilst there isn’t a great deal of explaining to do, this running tip is very important. Rest Days. We all need them.
And when I say rest, I mean rest. I don’t mean go for a 50km cycle or 20 mile hike.
Did you know it’s actually when we rest that our fitness improves. That’s when the adaptation happens. So if we’ve put in a hard training session or a Sunday long run, we might have caused some microtears in our muscle fibres.
As long as we give ourselves enough time to heal, our muscles and tendons will repair and be stronger than before. If we don’t take these rest days our muscles will remain stressed and that can lead to injury.
Rest days can also provide us the opportunity to recharge mentally too. Sleep is a key part of this and the more quality rest you can get, the better your recovery will be.
How many rest days should you take?
Good question and that depends on your current level of fitness. Elite runners might only take 1 day off every 2 weeks. But for the mere mortals among us, at least 1 rest day per week, if not 2 is normally needed.
If you have strength and conditioning in your training plan then try and incorporate that into the same day as an easy run. This could then free up another rest day during the week.
What about run streaks?
Run streaks have become popular with Social Media and have brought success to many runners. But I wouldn’t advise it personally as it brings a greater risk of injury. There’s also the possibility it will be reducing your longevity in running.
What’s going to happen in 10 years time? Will your body still be able to cope with the demands of running with so many miles in the legs? If you’re looking for longevity in your running then I would advise getting the right mix of training and recovery in your weekly routine.
Extra Rest Days
The time to take an extra rest day would be after a big race or a tough long run. Injuries have been few and far between among my runners to date, but often when they have cropped up, they have occurred a few days after a race, when putting in another tough session.
In races it’s likely we push ourselves that little bit harder so consider taking an extra rest day to give the body time to recover, adapt and get stronger.
