If you're feeling fine then there's not really a reason to skip a day. Total mileage per week is more of a factor than how many days a week you run. Ease up on miles occasionally for a recovery week but skipping a day is up to you.

ETA: I take one day off typically.

The fewer workouts you do, the more volume you can add too. So, if you cut speed work/hills back to once a week or once every other week, you could do more easy running as you wouldn't have stressed the muscles as much.

If you are feeling fine, keep on keeping on!

When I've done Runner's World run streaks and run every day for 35 or 40 days, I feel better than when I take 1-2 days off each week, and I've had fewer aches and pains when I've run every day than when I take days off (to be fair, 1-2 of those days were 1 mile runs, so pretty low key as far as a scheduled run goes!). Everyone responds to the stress of running differently, and if your body responds well to running every day, I don't see why you can't keep doing it!

SKME2013 wrote: »

Thanks Kristine for your input. I assume though that you have been longing much longer than I have (10 months)? I will play it by ear and make sure that I do get a rest day at least every ten days or if I feel like it.
Stef.

I've been running off and on (mostly on) since high school, so I started about 7 years ago, but I got back into running fairly seriously last April after 8-9 months off. Last summer I was training for my first marathon and running 6-7 days a week with no injuries, no aches, etc. The last few months I've been running 4-5 days a week and have had way more come-and-go problems!

I think one rest day a week or going on a 10 or 14 day cycle is a good plan, and one that I think I will be implementing soon myself!

If you are running just to run AND there aren't any particular injuries or wear and tear that you are ignoring or overlooking, then there isn't really a problem running everyday.

However, there is a reason for the rest days on most plans. First, most plans are a plan for a specific running goal with varying loads and stress for the running machinery. The rest days, even those days that are the recovery runs, are designed for recovery from the previous stress cycle. It is basic physiology. If you look carefully at those plans, there are cycles within the plan.

The plan I'm currently using basically calls for running nearly every day. In reality, dealing with life, I run between 5 and 6 days per week. Most runs are on the order of 45-60 minutes (not distance based, but time associated with pace and heart rate based training).

But each running day has a different pace and goal for the day as the plan goes from a base building to peak and then taper phase. So, the average weekly running base (at my current training paces and capacity) is something over 40 miles per week. It peaked out at over 52 miles of running during the peak week. People who can run faster and keep their heart rates down in the process can obviously go farther in a week than I can.

But compared to the last plan I used, there is a whole lot less weekly variation in distance with this plan.

In contrast, the last plan I used had a minimum of 3 days running per week (two days of timed runs which included some interval work, one of distance), suggested a fourth day of specific running/training, a true rest day, and then recommended cross training days (no step machines) on the other days. But if you mapped it out for pace and distance, it was an oscillating mileage, first on two week cycles and then, as the long runs approached the longer distances for marathons, three week cycles.

The week between the progressively longer runs was roughly half the mileage of the previous week. It was less stressful on the body since running was not daily and it was producing more dramatic speed increases.

After this next marathon, I plan to go back to the 3-4 day per week running training / maintenance.

dalhectar wrote: »

22-23 hours of day of not running, decent sleep, & nutrition- allows me to run daily. I have three days out of the week that are hard or long days, and 4 days just for easy running and recovery running.

A daily commitment to running helps me make sure making time for running, which also means I have time for family, work, myself, and everything else.

+1 for this, I am using one of Matt Fitzgeralds 80/20 level 2 plans which is basically running 20 out of 21 days. I find it easier to set aside time every day rather than carve out time on x days a week. I need routine to do things that I am likely to put off when it is cold, wet and windy.

I take a rest day after any grueling run I have. Grueling run is something like a tempo, interval or hill workout. Basically if it is a run that I hate doing and/or leaves me sore, I take the next day off from running.

SKME2013 wrote: »

Thanks for your input, very much appreciated! I need to digest the information a bit. At the moment I am following my own, completely unstructured plan (bad idea) just to up my mileage. I also try to follow loosely the 80/20 rule. At some point I need to look at a more structured approach should I really want to face my first full marathon in September. I just want to finish it without injury and before the cut off time

Well, given the mileage you are already putting in, and with a bit more structure so that you are getting the progression of long, slow runs in for the distance endurance for the marathon, and if you don't go out too fast, completing it within the time cut off should not be a problem.

OTOH, people who run 6-7 miles per day, every day, without putting in those long, slow runs (and I emphasize slow) have no idea of what waits for them at the marathon distance. A half-marathoner acquaintance of mine who runs the half in just under1:50:00 was really, really surprised by the marathon distance. Granted, he probably did not train so thoroughly as he should have. He did fine relative to the cutoff time. But the fact that I was 20 minutes behind him at the halfway point and five minutes behind him at the finish was humbling.

I think that the frequency and type of rest days is going to vary a lot from person to person. I love running and will run every day if I can. But it's not always in my best interest, so I, personally, have three rules of thumb:

1. Always remember and consider the importance of a rest day. In other words, never underestimate how much rejuvenation you can get from a rest day. If your weekly goal is 30 miles, it doesn't really matter if you get that through 5 runs or 6 runs or 7 runs. It's all about what works for you.
2. Always listen to your body. If it's telling you to rest, you probably should. There is nothing wrong with taking an unplanned rest day if your body needs it. Just shuffle your schedule around.
3. If you find yourself feeling like you NEED to run that day, not that you WANT to run that day, it's often a sign that you could use a rest day. No one single run is going to make or break your training. It all comes down to what you do over the many months leading up to the race.

SKME2013 wrote: »

STrooper, yes I agree. Some people have told me a full marathon is not double a half but feels like triple a half. I have no idea how it feels to run more than a half distance, but hope to find out when upping my miles slowly.

Here is what it feels like LOL
Mile 1 to 12. "Wow, this is really easy"
Mile 12 to 16. "mmmm, this is getting harder, but no problem"
Mile 18. "grrrr, what moron talked me into doing this, oh yeah, that was me"
Mile 20. "I hate life"
Mile 25. "I wonder if anyone would notice if I just crawled off into the bushes and went to sleep?"
Mile 26.2. "Yaaaaaay, and Never again"

One week later. "I'm signing up for another one"