how important is the rest day

Dave said:

I've been running most days for about a year and have decided to do my
first half marathon at the Gold Coast in July. I have looked at a
couple of formal training plans to work up to this distance and most
recommend a rest day every other day. I usually only have one day off a
week (2 tops) substituting 9 holes of golf for my usual morning run.

How important are the alternate days off? I feel that I will be running
less if I follow one of these training regimes and I don't want to do
that, but I do want to be well prepared to compete and complete the
half. I'm not particularly concerned about my times, I currently
average about 6.5 min kms so I guess the half will take me about 2 hrs
20 or so.

Dave
(age 54, a few kgs overweight which is why I started running in the
first place)

Do what works for you. Some people (like myself) run every other day and
may run longer on those days; others run every day; and many run 4-6
days/wk. It depends on an individual's recovery time, available time
schedules, etc.

Many basic (ie, not advanced) race prep schedules (assumes already have
some base) will have 2-3 key workouts per week - long, speed, hill or
tempo or something along those lines. The other days may be easy
running, cross-training, or rest.

Here's a couple different schedules that vary from 4 to 6 days/wk
running. I'm not advocating them (I don't use schedules so not sure how
well these work), just providing examples of some that have more days
running. But these will give you an idea of types of workouts to do and
how to build from week to week. I'm sure there's more out there. Just be
sure to use caution on building duration and intensity - i.e. don't add
both at same time.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s1-51-55-0-6851-1-2X5X8-4,00.html
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s1-51-55-0-2197-1-1X3X6X8-5,00.html

Dot

--
"Remorse - a good trail always makes you feel sorry that it is over no
matter how tired you are" - Matt Carpenter

very impory

Dot said:

Dave said:

How important are the alternate days off?

Do what works for you. Some people (like myself) run every other day
and may run longer on those days; others run every day; and many run
4-6 days/wk. It depends on an individual's recovery time, available time
schedules, etc.

I second what Dot said. If you're doing well on 6 days a week, you
don't need to cut back to 3.5 or 4 because some schedule says so. (And
someone who's comfortable on 4 days probably shouldn't pick a program
which calls for running 6 or 7...)

OTOH, do be careful to "listen to your body" and take more than one day
of rest if you need it. If the training schedule you choose gives you
much longer and/or faster runs than you've been doing, you may find you
need more rest. Better to get it voluntarily, before an injury makes
rest mandatory.

"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've been running most days for about a year and have decided to do my
first half marathon at the Gold Coast in July. I have looked at a
couple of formal training plans to work up to this distance and most
recommend a rest day every other day. I usually only have one day off a
week (2 tops) substituting 9 holes of golf for my usual morning run.

How important are the alternate days off? I feel that I will be running
less if I follow one of these training regimes and I don't want to do
that, but I do want to be well prepared to compete and complete the
half. I'm not particularly concerned about my times, I currently
average about 6.5 min kms so I guess the half will take me about 2 hrs
20 or so.

Dave
(age 54, a few kgs overweight which is why I started running in the
first place)

I agree with those who say find out what works best for you and go with
that, and that will change over the years. Schedules are useful, but should
always be adapted IMO. OTOH, when pushing your training, you might never
feel "comfortable" with it, or fully rested. If you want to use a schedule,
I would choose one with lighter mileage than you think you can handle, and
then improvise on it, maybe going further one or two days a week *when you
feel good*. It's better to have a flexible structure than one that's at your
very limit which will demoralize you psychologically when you can't keep it
for some reason.

The concept of hard day - easy day is important to staying healthy, and
recovery / rebuilding / supercompensation is what it's all about. You won't
learn your ideal recovery time period for a while (years), because stress
can accumulate with you unaware of it until you have a week where you're
legs are dead and you're completely out of gas. Normally unless you're very
experienced, you just don't see it coming. If I've overdone it, I take a day
or even two days off completely, and do either light cross-training on the
bike, or nothing.

-Tony

Tony S. said:

I agree with those who say find out what works best for you and go with
that,

Of course he, and "they" are all wrong. Just listen to me, and nobody
else.

First a common sense observation. You don't get stronger when you run,
you get stronger when you rest after you run.

Having said that, the amount of rest really depends on your age,
genetic makeup, etc. So, it is hard for anyone except yourself to
determine the amount of rest you need.

This is how I view my running. My daily runs pave the way for my long
runs. The frequency and lengths of my long runs are determined by my
current objectives for my runs. I rest at least 2 days a week. More
if I need to do so in order to prevent injuries.

im envious. im 42 and can only run 4 times per week.

Quoted message said:

im envious. im 42 and can only run 4 times per week.

You're not envious, you're a punk. Run on trails, your legs will thank
you.

Let your body guide you.
If muscles stay stiff or your resting heart rate starts going up,
that might suggest a rest day.

I found some age dependence over the decades. I didnt pay
attention to rest days in my teens, but started about a two days
a month when I was running 100 kmpw in my 20s.
I'm up to about six a month now in my 50s, mainly to rest joints.