Resting Smart

I recall when I made my decision to run my very first marathon back in the late 70's.

I had no running experience. Didn't have a clue about dieting or how to set up a training program.

Resting was something that never really crossed my mind.

All I knew was, that I'd better run lots because a marathon was a long way. So, I ran pretty well everyday. One year I ran every day except for Xmas day.

I was afraid to take days off, because I felt I would lose the conditioning I had gained. However, I would have days when I ran less. My theory back then was that there was no point in even putting my running shoes on for a run of less than five miles. So, that was the shortest my runs would be. About 45-50 minutes. My longest went up to 4 or 5 hours.

There were many months in those days where my run total was around 400 miles. Even if a race was coming up, I would run up until race day and run the day after the race.

I just never had a clue.

It ended up just where you might think it would. I had surgery on both knees once they finally just gave out. Fortunately for me the arthroscope was just being pioneered and I was able to avoid the 16 week recovery that usually resulted when they had to do the traditional open knee surgery.

It finally dawned on me that I had to take it easier and it was just in time for the beginning of my Ironman career.

So I did what most triathletes do now. I tried to set up a training program that would allow for rest days. For instance, I would take every Monday and Thursday off and train the other five days. I did that for years.

It wasn't until years later that I realized that this method is flawed as well.

When you think about it, how much sense does it make to have preset rest days?

What if you have a long bike ride scheduled for Sunday and you feel like crap? Well you probably do what I did. You do the workout anyway because its scheduled. What if on Monday you feel great? Well, you probably do what I did and take the day off because its scheduled.

It finally dawned on me that scheduling rest days is a flawed concept. It makes more sense to me now to take a rest day when you need it, not when its scheduled. So I tried it one year in the build up for Ironman number 9 or 10.

This is how it worked.

I still wrote out a basic training schedule to make sure I balanced the three events. I even left blank days. But if I got to that blank day where no training was scheduled and felt great, I would just do an unplanned workout. Sometimes I would train 12 or more days in a row. Sometimes I would train just 2 days and feel tired, so I would take a day off. I just went with how I felt.

If I went out for a run and went half a mile and knew it was going to be a struggle, I turned around and walked home and took a rest day. In prior years, I would have forced myself to do the run because it was scheduled. When you think about it, how much good would you really get from that run? Probably not much, and if ever you are going to get injured, it will most likely be one of those times that you should have just turned around and called it a day.

If I felt like I needed it, I would sometimes take an entire weekend off and do nothing associated with Triathlon training.

That first year of trying this, I probably took more rest days than I ever had in previous years. It seemed like I was always training when I felt really good. And I was.

On race day I didn't know what to expect. It just blew me away. I set personal bests in all three events and it was my fastest Ironman ever. Not just that. I felt really good doing it. It led me to believe that most of the early years, I was probably going into the race tired. Like I had left my best bike ride and run somewhere out on the training course.

If you are doing weight training, then rest days do have to be structured for those workouts. You should always have a rebuilding day in between weight workouts. You don't want to be lifting weights 5 days in a row.

If you are working to a structured training plan with preset rest days, I would give this some serious thought. Especially if you are pushing yourself through some workouts and taking a day off when you feel great.

Ultimately you want to be at your very best on race day, and a training year without properly timed rest can prevent you from giving your best effort.

Train and rest smart and you will be rewarded when the gun goes off. home page