Easy recovery run vs day off (Read 924 times)

What criteria do you use when deciding between a short easy recovery run and a day of rest?

I'm not quite as strong as Mikey..... I normally schedule running days for Tue, Wed, Thru, Sat and Sun.....but if I feel good on Fri, I will often run that day, but usually (not always) take off on Monday. My criteria after a long run is simply how I feel. Occassionally, if I had a long run or did some 'fast' running, my body tells me I need a rest day and then i will take it... I also run various loops from my house and always start with a one miler that starts and ends at my house and then go on from there....some days when i really think I can/should run, after one mile I realize i needed a rest day and then stop..... Also - my log has a few holes right now because of a storm and issues that I had to deal with over the past couple of weeks......not planning any gaping holes in my training over the next year.....

I was feeling a bit beat up after Saturday's run this week - a rolling 14 miler at a decent pace with one whopper of a hill and a few medium ones. I ran 3 miles yesterday for a recovery. It was slow and the first half I kept thinking "Ugh, should be resting" but things loosened up for the second half of the run. This morning when I woke up, I felt pretty good. I think that if it's just my legs that feel beat up, a short run is the way to go. If it's the whole body run down beat up feeling, a day off might be a better option. I'm curious to see how others chime in.

Other people have a harder time after a day off than if they never took a day off--I'm kinda like that. I always feel crappy the day after a total off day. But physically I think you're almost always better off running really easy than doing nothing. I think getting circulation to your muscles speeds recovery as long as you keep it short and really, really easy.

Exactly. I almost always feel sluggish after a complete day off. I also agree that an "active" recovery is better. Get the blood flowing to the muscles that need the nutrients.

It's a matter of choice for me. I used to run every day of the week, but I was basically an obligatory runner or addict at that point. Nowadays I like to take one day off a week just so I have one day free. Otherwise, when I take extra days off, it is a matter of time and priorities. I promised myself that running would never take away from important time with family and friends. So if I get a call from a friend to get together, and I haven't spent time with them recently, then I don't sweat skipping a run, even if it would be a "key workout". While running is important to me, it's not more important than the people I love. EDIT: While I still have legs, I can always have more time to run, but I will never know how much time is left with my family and friends. Very rarely I will just not feel like running, so I take it as a sign to just skip running that day.

you look like you are logging good weekly mileage ... indulge in a sleep day. For me, I take a day off a week [before a long] -- more mental and make the DW happy that the 5:15 alarm doesn't wake her too ... I never used to run recoveries ... now I do. Result = more mileage; feel better; no injuries [which is wierd ... more mileage / days = less injuries for me.] But what do I know? I'm still a plebe.