Many Runners Underrate Rest

They see it as unnecessary. They see it as in the way. They see it as preventing them from making the progress with their running that they want to make. Some are even afraid of it.

Maybe you are a runner like this. You got into running, and, the next thing you knew, you were running every single day and perhaps two or more times a day. Maybe this happened because you started to hang out with runners who never take a day off from running or who never mix light-running days with heavy-running days. Or maybe this happened because you never read or were told that you should take days off or include light-running days in your schedule.

If you run hard every day and keep getting stronger, or at least never suffer because of this, then more power to you! But, if you run hard every day and are suffering from any of these symptoms, then it may be time to incorporate rest into your weekly schedule:

Your motivation to run is diminishing.
Your enjoyment of each run is disappearing.
Your post-run memory of a run tends to focus on the negative.
Others tell you that your running seems to make you angry, or at least irritated, instead of happy or joyful.
You do not like to talk about running any more.
You have lost interest in magazines, books, and blogs about running.
You have stopped registering for races.
You register for races but do not look forward to them as much as you formerly did.
You feel that a race is boring as you go through the motions to complete it.
You get injured repeatedly while running.
You have not recovered from a running injury from weeks or months ago.
Your chip-times in your races are becoming longer instead of staying about the same or becoming shorter.

There is a way out.

Be gentle with yourself as you realize that you have gotten into a rut with your running by underrating the need for rest.
Learn more about the value of rest in your weekly exercise routine.
Change your running schedule accordingly.

You can learn a lot about the value of rest to runners by searching for "how often should a runner rest" or "why you need to rest during your running training" or similar phrases in a Web search engine. But here are three reasons to get you started:

Running is when your body breaks down muscle fibers. Rest gives your body time to rebuild muscle fibers.
Running is when your body accumulates waste products. Rest gives your body time to remove waste products.
Running can be mentally stressful. Rest gives your mind time to de-stress.

Incorporate rest into your training routine to become a happier, less-injury-prone, and more-motivated runner!

About this Author

Kirk Mahoney, Ph.D., loves to walk and run, and his SpryFeet.com website provides practical research for runners and walkers. By going to http://www.SpryFeet.com/Reports/, you can get his FREE "Pace Tables for Runners and Walkers" special report, letting you look up paces needed to complete several different race distances within given durations and for different micro-level-pacing methods.

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