RunningAHEAD - Topic: running breaks

Giant

posted: 5/14/2008 at 1:34 PM

Do any of you need to take a day off because you have to give your legs a break. On my 3rd day of running, my legs are so heavy, I have a hard time running.

midwest runner

Giants Fan

posted: 5/14/2008 at 1:35 PM

Yes, I do...not really weekly though, just by feel. If they start feeling sore or drained, I take the day off (but no set schedule) I just really try and listen to my body. Never a reason to push it if you don't feel like it...after all, that is when most people get hurt. CC

"I think I've discovered the secret of life- you just hang around until you get used to it."

Charles Schulz

jsobo119

posted: 5/14/2008 at 10:34 PM

when I started I could only do back to back... after that I needed a day off... and about every other week I needed 2 days off... If you just started then trying to run every day is probably too much... start with every other day... or 4 days a week... something like M, W,Th,Sa... I just have reached the point after 2 years of running where I can run more than 3 days in a row without rest.

finney

Resident pinniped

posted: 5/14/2008 at 10:48 PM

Doing too much, too soon, too often is one of the best ways to get injured there is. I speak from personal experience. Black eye

Currently I run 3-4 days a week. Part of that is my crazy schedule, I just don't reasonably have time for more, part of it is my tendency toward overuse injuries. Even if I'm doing everything "right" I'm still prone to those nagging little aches, pains, and tendonitises. The only way to prevent that, for me, is to limit the frequency of my runs. This might not always be the case for me (I hope it's not) but I'd rather run healthy for the long term than get a string of injuries again, even if that means only going a few days a week. If you can barely move on the third day, that's your body telling you to stop already. It's a good idea to listen.

Monkey Bunny

posted: 5/15/2008 at 8:08 PM

Yes, definitely. I'm still in my first year of running and it's been quite a process to get the muscles, tendons, joints, etc. acclimated to running. I've been doing alot of cross training, yoga, and massage to help the process. I also have a foam roller and the stick. It's almost where I'm spending as much time managing the running as I'm actually running but I'm looking forward to my body getting used to the rigors of running. I'm also more careful about eating better and getting enough sleep. The other thing I learned was the difference between quality runs, recovery runs and long runs. Hang in there!

2008 Goals

Run Jax Bank 12/21/08 under 4 minutes (1st marathon)
5K 23.99
10K 50.40
1/2 1:52
Manage injuries so I can stick to training plan
Make healthy food choices

ChknWingy

Oh Mighty Wing

posted: 5/15/2008 at 8:14 PM

I can't stress recovery runs enough!! I just became a firm believer after 2 of them... mostly because I just tried them for the first time... they aren't easy because you have to think about going that slow, but man the next day my legs do feel better... But, can you make your log public? I can assume you are just trying to do too much to soon, but with a log we can all try to give better advice based on stats...

running breaks (Read 594 times)