Rest Days Are Training Days
Overtraining. Injury. Burnout.
3 things runners want to avoid at all costs, but sadly that are very common in runners. One of the best ways to prevent them is to properly rest.
Unfortunately, runners often see rest days as weakness, laziness, or else as an opportunity to do a bunch of other things. Some runners think they’ll lose fitness or fall behind their competitors by taking days off. But rest days are actually very valuable training days! Training breaks down our bodies and in order to keep coming back stronger, we need to allow them to recover and rebuild. Rest days should be scheduled strategically into training every week and approached with intentionality.
Here are a few tips to make the most of your Rest Days:
Avoid the default travel day = rest day
Runners often opt to plan a day off on travel days because it’s convenient. However, travel days are often long and tiring and sometimes involve timezone shifts. Driving long hours is mentally demanding while travel by air is physically hard. Plane cabins are dry and dehydrating and often include snacks we don’t normally eat at inconvenient times.
Whether travel is by air or road, travel takes us out of our normal routine which takes a mental and physical toll. Travel days can be exhausting and even if we don’t run they don’t qualify as a “restful” so we might as well do some training that day. A light run after a long travel day is actually very helpful and highly recommended. It’s a great way to work out stiffness after sitting for a long time.
“Doing” rest
What should runners DO on a rest day? Resting is much more than simply not working out and I encourage runners to get extra rest on these days. Runners who typically wake up really early to run can sleep in on rest days. Afternoon runners can take an afternoon nap. Evening runners? Early to bed!
This is Training
The time normally spent running or working out will ideally be spent “doing” rest. Sleep is the best, but some other great options are reading, laying around, watching a tv show, writing, catching up with a friend, more family time, etc.
It can be tempting to use the time normally spent running instead doing errands, getting extra work done, catching up on chores, or (for the exercise addicts) cross-training - but those aren’t restful activities.
Rest isn’t a magic injury fix
Rest usually helps little pains settle down, but rest alone isn’t a reliable way to get the body back to 100%. Although it can be tempting to mentally check out on a rest day (and we all need this sometimes!) we need to remember the purpose of the rest day.
Rest days are scheduled to allow us to recover and adapt and train even harder when we get back at it, which means we need to give our bodies the TLC they demand even on the days we don’t run. A day off can be a great opportunity to spend extra time on self-therapy or get treatment from a massage therapist or a physio.
What about “Active” Rest days?
I believe in active recovery days! I tell the runners I coach that these days are very similar to a day off, except then happen to jog 20min. Active recovery days have an important place in training, but they are not a replacement for days of complete rest.
Why?
Because even when we do “less” exercise than usual, it still takes up time. Time that could otherwise be spent resting. A light jog or cross-training session may be easy compared to a normal training day, but it does not qualify as rest.
Generally, rest for runners can be activities that do not involve being on our feet. Have trouble sitting still or NEED to keep active? Reflect on why rest is hard to do. Because if we don’t choose to rest, we’ll eventually lose the option. And when the body forces us to rest- it’s usually not just for 1 day at a time.
Nicole Sifuentes is a full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. She is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.