Rest days - anyone else hate them?

Supercell

My running has been going great guns of late. My knee pains that really troubled me at the start are becoming less and less as my fitness grows and i find that even when I'm knackered on a run, by the next day its easy enough to hit the road when before it would have taken a week to recover.
Then came alone Woddle's infernal 1000 mile challenge and i find myself eyeing up peoples totals above and below me and becoming determined thinking "thou shalt not pass"" yes I am a little mad (sad!) .

But i'm not daft enough to forego my rest days.

Today is a rest day and all I could think about today in work was that when I went home I'd just be vegging out in front of the PC and the computer without a post run buzz.

Maybe a weights session is an idea but that's frankly not the same as running around the lovely Wicklow countryside.
So I've been trying to come up with some run ideas for tomorrow afternoon (going to run from Annamoe to Glendalough, around the lake there and back home) after that lovely dentist visit..I have a sore tooth so that's going to be great fun...know what would take my mind of that this evening?..yes..a run!..but i cannot:(

Does anyone else feel at a loss during rest days?, do they do weights or have any suggestions that won't interfere the recovery process?

I fear the only solution may be to spam various forums on boards with quality postings like this .....:D

cfitz

Nope, I like my rest days. When I'm in proper training I find that the day is too short and I don't get to do things I'd like to do. Also, I sometimes find that I'm waiting for my rest day for a day or two coz I feel a bit wrecked. Usually I would train straight after work and often I'd be a bit tired for the rest of the evening - so my rest day is a welcome change to that.

But every day is a rest day at the moment coz I'm sick so I don't have to worry about any of that.

Running Bing

Personally I always enjoy my rest days. Granted Im running more days now than I ever have and only take one rest day a week but I never mind a rest day.


I look on it as time to catch up on other stuff. Ill watch a film or read a book or go for a game of golf or rock climbing. I also imagine that when I start doing more serious speedwork and tougher sessions the odd rest day will be a welcome break;)

Supercell

Hmm, two replies in and i'm already sensing a theme here.
Do I need to kick my own ass utterly in a session from hell like maybe hill intervals to truely appreciate rest days?

Running Bing

Supercell wrote: »

Hmm, two replies in and i'm already sensing a theme here.
Do I need to kick my own ass utterly in a session from hell like maybe hill intervals to truely appreciate rest days?

I wouldnt say so. Im a relative newcomer to running and Im still not really doing guts to the wall sessions. At the moment Im doing exclusively easy running. Its just a difference of attitude and its great to be the way you are i.e. always anxious to be running but recognising the value of rest.

Of course if your taking 3 days off a week and feel dont feel you need them then theres no problem in adding another day and seeing how that goes for you. Its a very personal thing really.

Supercell

Babybing wrote: »

I wouldnt say so. Im a relative newcomer to running and Im still not really doing guts to the wall sessions. At the moment Im doing exclusively easy running. Its just a difference of attitude and its great to be the way you are i.e. always anxious to be running but recognising the value of rest. .

You have no idea how addictive i find this running lark. i'm heading off to southern China on a three week holiday in February and guess what my biggest concerns are..the language?..the funny writing for directions?..accommodation?..food?..disease?..nope!! feckin running tracks and how i'm going to get the miles in!!

My 405 Forerunner gps is acting up and its going to utterly drive me crazy if i cannot measure my distance covered over there and also save a few cool new tracks to motionbased and mapmyrun!!

I'm seriously considering bring a second gps watch as a backup in case i cant measure the miles and times i'm getting in.
This is what happens when I dont get a training run in, my mind goes crazy.

These things are more concerning to me than anything holiday related..though i suppose the warm weather, luxury hotels, exotic food, exotic culture and historical sights might be nice too.

Woddle

Today is a rest day for me and I must admit I have been very restless. My new years resolution was to go 4 days on and 1 day off, today is my 5th day off this month but you need the rest, your body needs to repair if I did still fancy a run on a rest day I would go but do it at an easy pace, I'm hoping to cut my rest days for Feb down to about 3. I think the nice weather has alot to do with it.

cfitz

Supercell wrote: »

My 405 Forerunner gps is acting up and its going to utterly drive me crazy if i cannot measure my distance covered over there and also save a few cool new tracks to motionbased and mapmyrun!!

I'm seriously considering bring a second gps watch as a backup in case i cant measure the miles and times i'm getting in.
This is what happens when I dont get a training run in, my mind goes crazy.

You could just run by time instead of distance.

Pherekydes

I was very obsessive about training when I was younger. I used run, do circuits and weights every day in work! On top of that I used cycle to and from work and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I used cycle to the club and train there, too!! Rest? That was for wimps. No wonder I was ****ing useless! I never allowed my body to recover. My son took up running at 18 and within 12 weeks he beat my best ever time for the mile! His training schedule had more rest days than a corpse's.

Bottom line: Rest is the single most important component of a training schedule. Enjoy them and don't feel guilty. I'm 48 now and I have to take rest days.

Supercell

cfitz wrote: »

You could just run by time instead of distance.

I could but wouldn't know if i was slacking off or making progress and that would bother me - if I'm not able to go faster or longer than I might as well stop trying to improve and a sub 3 will never happen (it will..thats just a worse case impossible, never happen scenario).

Supercell

Pherekydes wrote: »

I was very obsessive about training when I was younger. I used run, do circuits and weights every day in work! On top of that I used cycle to and from work and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I used cycle to the club and train there, too!! Rest? That was for wimps. No wonder I was ****ing useless! I never allowed my body to recover. My son took up running at 18 and within 12 weeks he beat my best ever time for the mile! His training schedule had more rest days than a corpse's.

Bottom line: Rest is the single most important component of a training schedule. Enjoy them and don't feel guilty. I'm 48 now and I have to take rest days.

Thanks Pherekyde, I'm 39 so not a kiddo either and do realise that i probably have to be a bit more careful than when i was 18, i'm just kind of wondering if I was the only person that gets more than a little fidgety on their days off.
Seems like I'm not, cannot wait until tomorrows post dentist run!!

I think I'll plan a weights session next week for rest day as that will give me something to look forward too.

cfitz

Supercell wrote: »

I could but wouldn't know if i was slacking off or making progress and that would bother me - if I'm not able to go faster or longer than I might as well stop trying to improve and a sub 3 will never happen (it will..thats just a worse case impossible, never happen scenario).

If you run in the same place each day over the 3 weeks you'll know whether you went further than the last day.

thirtyfoot

Pherekydes wrote: »

Bottom line: Rest is the single most important component of a training schedule.

I believe in that too. Clever use of rest days can allow you train harder and better. We have a time trial on saturday. When I told one of the girls she needed to rest on Thursday and Friday she nearly cut me in half with a look. Its great when athletes keep wanting to train. Thats the job of a coach to reign them in. Can be hard when you self-coach though.

911sc

Have sex on your rest days, and they'll soon become the days you prefer most:rolleyes:

911sc

cfitz wrote: »

If you run in the same place each day over the 3 weeks

I thought that was the thing not to do, as you body gets use to "this run" by learning where the hills/downs/etc.. are.
Though, don't we all go running same day/same time/same course/same pace?
One thing to do i vary the pace if it is too difficult to change the others.

For instance, RUN1 1h = 20min warm up + [2min @ 95% HRM + 1 min @ 70% HRM] repeat 5 + 10min recovery + 10min marathon target pace + 5min cool down.
For Run2 1h, do more repeats and less running at target pace.
For Run3 1h, do 20min at target pace and less repeats.
For Run4 1h, do 35 at target pace and no repeats.
For Run5 1h, warm up + repeats + cool down (no marathon pace run)
etc....

cfitz

911sc wrote: »

I thought that was the thing not to do, as you body gets use to "this run" by learning where the hills/downs/etc.. are.
Though, don't we all go running same day/same time/same course/same pace?
One thing to do i vary the pace if it is too difficult to change the others.

For instance, RUN1 1h = 20min warm up + [2min @ 95% HRM + 1 min @ 70% HRM] repeat 5 + 10min recovery + 10min marathon target pace + 5min cool down.
For Run2 1h, do more repeats and less running at target pace.
For Run3 1h, do 20min at target pace and less repeats.
For Run4 1h, do 35 at target pace and no repeats.
For Run5 1h, warm up + repeats + cool down (no marathon pace run)
etc....

Well I suppose it would be better to vary it, but if he's anxious to know whether he's improving but he's got no way of measuring distance then it might help him. But I think in Supercell's situation he could just go and enjoy his runs for the 3 weeks, go hard some days, go easy some days, and not worry about distances, probably do him good.

swimforever

Supercell wrote: »

Does anyone else feel at a loss during rest days?

I thought that I was the only one like this!! I'm actually a swimmer, not a runner (I know, I'm in the wrong place but I keep an eye on this board and couldn't resist when I saw this post!). I have one or two days off training in the week and I spend those days just itching to be in the pool or the sea...it just feels strange not to be. I know that rest days are the most important days of a training week, but I wish that my body would just recover on its own!!

Kine

Well, back when I was a few years younger and training my ass off for the 400 (usually involved 8 "sessions" a week...weights, recovery runs etc) I usually felt bored on my rest days. Now I'm older, stiffer, take longer to recover, I sure as hell love them!