Recreational Runners Need a Rest Day Too!

myhealthyfriendsfitness

Whether you run 5 miles a week or 5 miles a day, whether you run a 6 min mile or a 15 min mile you should listen to your body and allow sufficient recovery days too. Sometimes recreational runners have a harder time recovering because following a run we are chasing after kids, cleaning house, running errands, and other non-restful tasks. If you are experiencing a few of the following symptoms, you should take a rest day-
trouble sleeping
mood swings
lack of energy
lack of motivation to run
resting heart rate is elevated
loss of appetite
unusual aches and pains in your joints
So take a break, meditate, have a cup of tea and allow those bodies to recover

cheshirecatastrophe

By the time you are actually experiencing the symptoms of overtraining, you need more than one day off.

Taking a rest day or a very light activity day once a week or every so often helps prevent the need to take a SERIOUS break. It is very true that the stressors of everyday life play a part in overtraining, but so does the obsessive runner mindset.

freak4iron

Yah three and four are starting to bother me. I was thinking it had more to do with not eating enough carbs though, i don't run as many miles as a lot of people here, only 6-9/day but it's been almost two weeks since I had a rest day with no running at all. You think just walking 6 would be enough to let your body recover?

cheshirecatastrophe

freak4iron wrote: »

Yah three and four are starting to bother me. I was thinking it had more to do with not eating enough carbs though, i don't run as many miles as a lot of people here, only 6-9/day but it's been almost two weeks since I had a rest day with no running at all. You think just walking 6 would be enough to let your body recover?

For me, recovery has usually meant 2-3 days of NOTHING, a day or two walking, and then a week of slow easy runs gradually increasing in length.

I monitored my resting heart rate coming out of overtraining this time, and following the above schedule normalized my RHR nicely.

When I am not recovering from overtraining, my rest day is usually walking 3-5 miles.

beemerphile1

Many people fail to understand that gains are made on rest days. When you work the muscles you cause damage and small tears, on the rest days those muscles heal and get stronger.