When we think of the word rest, we can sometimes associate it with it being a break from training, but really it is part of training. When we looked up the word rest, we read: to (cause someone or something to) stop doing a particular activity or stop being active for a period of time in order to relax and get back your strength. How beautiful is that last part? It’s more than just not doing anything for a day. We need strength to keep running, and it’s a big shift in perspective and growth when you start viewing rest as necessary to regaining strength.
In recent blog posts, we’ve shared how running every day is not recommended for the majority of runners and we’ve shared how easy runs can be a great source of recovery. In this blog, we’ll highlight the importance of rest days and why they are not wasted days.
For many runners, a rest day can feel unproductive. While other people are out logging miles, you might be wondering if you should be doing something. Maybe you feel guilty for not running. Maybe you think you’ll lose fitness one day. Or maybe you convince yourself that an extra easy run couldn’t hurt. But the truth is: Recovery isn’t the opposite of training. It’s crucial in making your training work and feel strong while you’re at it.
Every run, even the easy runs, places stress on your body. Your muscles work hard, your cardiovascular system is challenged, your joints and connective tissues absorb repeated impact, and your energy stores are used up. This stress is needed because it gives your body a reason to adapt and stretch its limits to get stronger and become more efficient. But the run itself is only part of the process that leads to improvement.
The progress that we look for doesn’t happen just in the workouts, they also happen as your body recovers from that workout. During recovery, your body repairs itself, replenishes energy stores, and adapts to the demands you’ve placed on it. Over time, those adaptations allow you to handle more training and perform better. Training creates the stress, while recovery gives your body the opportunity to respond to that stress. Your body adjusts to the balance of these two factors. It’s why more running doesn’t equal better results. If you continually add stress without giving your body enough time to recover, you can end up carrying fatigue from one workout into the next and your easy runs may stop feeling easy. Your hard workouts will become harder than they should be. Your legs may constantly feel heavy, and your motivation and confidence may fade. Instead of moving forward and feeling like you are getting stronger and more efficient, you may find yourself struggling just to maintain your current level of fitness.
The goal of training isn’t to see how much work you can handle and survive. The goal is to give your body the right amount of stress and then allow it to absorb that training. You are not wasting days when you rest. It’s time to allow your body to recover so you can show up for your next workout fresher, mentally ready, and full of trust in your training and ability to attempt various effort levels.
Recovery days may look different from runner to runner. For some, rest days really do mean limiting all activities, including cross-training activities, and putting those feet up. For others, a gentle walk, stretching session, mobility work, or even an easy bike ride can feel good. We want to mention that these rest days do not need to be stacked with other cross-training activities. The key is making sure that your recovery days are actually helping you recover. Make sure you are giving your body that break from intensity- your body will thank you!
In this culture where we see phrases like “No Days Off”, it can be mentally tough to see the value in taking that rest. Rest does not have to be earned. You can have multiple days off in your training week, because your training plan is going to be one that supports your running and ability to recover. You don’t need to be completely exhausted before recovery becomes valuable. And you don’t need to feel guilty for following the rest day on your training plan, moving rest days around, or even those unplanned rest days. If your training plan says to rest, then resting is part of completing the plan.
When motivation is high, it can help you stay focused on the long-term goal. It can be what gets you lacing up to get that run in every time, but discipline can also be what holds you back from lacing up when you should be resting instead. This ability to learn when to push and when to rest is going to help you become a smarter and more experienced runner. A successful training week and training block is going to be one where you complete your key workouts, keep your easy runs easy, take rest days seriously, fuel and hydrate well, sleep as well as you can, and feel motivated and ready to keep going. Rest days are so important.
Instead of thinking of rest days as breaks from training, reframe your mindset to see recovery and rest as training.
