Rest and Recovery

[MarathonDude]

Rest and Recovery

Runners tend be a very motivated once they get in the habit of training consistently to improve race performances. If training 30 miles each week is good, then 50 or 60 or 70 miles per week must be better. If three repeat miles are good to build stamina, then four or five repeats will do more. If an eight mile tempo run helps in marathon preparation, then a 12-mile tempo run has to be superior. If 18-20 mile long runs build great endurance, then 22-24 mile runs will take you to an even higher level. This is the thought process that is easy to proceed with. Runners keep adding more distance, making track sessions tougher, working harder on tempo runs and increasing long runs with certainty that their upcoming races will be correspondingly faster. However, what often happens is that fatigue, staleness and general malaise sets in. An important part of any training program has been omitted – rest and recovery.

This is the first paragraph of a rather lengthy essay that includes suptopics 1) physical rest and recovery, 2) mental rest and recovery, 3) the joy of sleeping, 4) alternating hard and easy days and 5) bringing it all together. For the remainder of the essay, go to http://www.garycohenrunning.com , click on "All in a Day's Run" and then "Rest and Recovery." I hope this provides some useful information and look forward to your comments on this forum.