rest days

ntlbell

Just wondering about optimal rest days..

My current schedule looks like this

Monday run and 30-40 min walk
Tuesday rest/30-40 min walk
Wed run and 30-40 min walk
Thursday run and 30-40 min walk
Friday rest/30-40 min walk
Saturday - Long Run 20-30 min walk
Sunday run 20-30 min walk

I'm wondering If I'm running too many days in a row should I give walking a miss on the days i run. I'm 4 weeks into the schedule and increase by half a mile each saturday

my real fear is when the 3 days come together sat/sun/mon that i might be doing too much and giving the muscles enough rest

Peckham

Running a number of days in a row isn't necessarily a problem - it all depends on the intensity of runs. Ideally you shouldn't do two "hard days" in a row.

I can't understand your schedule to comment though, can you explain it in more detail. For example, when you say "run and 30-40 min walk", how long do you run?

It's good to take a rest day after a long run - legs can be tender the day after a long one.

ntlbell

Peckham wrote: »

Running a number of days in a row isn't necessarily a problem - it all depends on the intensity of runs. Ideally you shouldn't do two "hard days" in a row.

I can't understand your schedule to comment though, can you explain it in more detail. For example, when you say "run and 30-40 min walk", how long do you run?

It's good to take a rest day after a long run - legs can be tender the day after a long one.

Sorry I'll try clear it up a bit

Monday run in the mornings 2m and 30-40 min walk in the afternoon
Tuesday rest/30-40 min walk in the afternoon
Wed run in the mornings 1.75m and 30-40 min walk in the afternoon
Thursday run in the mornings 2m and 30-40 min walk
Friday rest/30-40 min walk
Saturday - 2.5m in the mornings 20-30 min walk in the afternoon
Sunday run in the mornings 2m 20-30 min walk in the afternoon

I'm trying to build up for my first race a 10k and i add half a mile each saturday and then add that half a mile to the longer weekday runs so monday/thursday then up again on the next saturday

hope that makes a little more sense:o

Peckham

That all seems pretty sensible.

The way you are building the runs up makes sense - i.e. slow build up on the long runs matched with gradual build up on the midweek session.

Try to take a stepback week after 3 weeks of build-up - i.e. build-up in weeks 1, 2 and 3 as you described. Then in week 4, do what you did in week 1, then continue on building up in weeks 5, 6 and 7 before stepping back to week 5 again, i.e. so your mileage would look something like this:

wk 1: 10 miles
wk 2: 11.5 miles
wk 3: 13 miles
wk 4: 10 miles
wk 5: 14.5 miles
etc.

Also, try to ensure that your long run does not count for more than 50% of your total weekly mileage.

But most importantly, enjoy it!

MCOS

Peckham wrote: »

Also, try to ensure that your long run does not count for more than 50% of your total weekly mileage.

Why?

Peckham

Maybe should have explained that better. Doing a long run that equates to more than 50% of total weekly mileage increases the risk of injury as the body is ill-prepared to handle the pounding of a long run. The shorter runs prepare the body for the intensity of a long run. It may not be an exact science, but it's a good guideline to work towards. Sure, one or two weeks where the long run is more than 50% of total mileage is okay, but continuous training in that way could be troublesome.