Recovery, however, shouldn’t be confused with easy. “Recovery is the thing that enables hard training,” Dixon says. If you’re rested and fueled, you can you push yourself to new heights in key workouts and increase fitness. -The Recovery Approach
This is a good article from Running Times- you can bet that many of us have at one time or another have been carried away by counting weekly miles, or like my weekly sub 7 minute miles.
Doxon's 4 pillars include endurance, recovery, nutrition, and strength. You can bet those key workouts he's talking about are brutal.
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Day After Long Runs
Yes, I probably could have run today after a 15 miler yesterday. My question is, will it help me race faster 2 months from now?
I am banking on the answer being no, but I guess that depends on how much damage my leg muscle fibers have endured and the length of time needed to recover. There is a time and place for overstepping the boundaries of fatigue, but the day following your longest run of the week is probably the best time to lay low or do something else. Intuitively, I like to use 2 hours as a threshold for not running the next day, but that doesn't mean I don't cross train. I feel surprisingly good on the bike the day after a long run!
It's a constant dilema among serious runners- what's more important- a higher weekly mileage total or sacrficing some easy miles in hopes of turning in an extra quality workout? Normally, if I can bounce back with a good session on Tuesday following a Sunday long run, I think I've made the correct decision.
Check out Rethinking Junk Miles- A Fresh Look at Recovery Runs by Matt Fitzgerald
I am banking on the answer being no, but I guess that depends on how much damage my leg muscle fibers have endured and the length of time needed to recover. There is a time and place for overstepping the boundaries of fatigue, but the day following your longest run of the week is probably the best time to lay low or do something else. Intuitively, I like to use 2 hours as a threshold for not running the next day, but that doesn't mean I don't cross train. I feel surprisingly good on the bike the day after a long run!
It's a constant dilema among serious runners- what's more important- a higher weekly mileage total or sacrficing some easy miles in hopes of turning in an extra quality workout? Normally, if I can bounce back with a good session on Tuesday following a Sunday long run, I think I've made the correct decision.
Check out Rethinking Junk Miles- A Fresh Look at Recovery Runs by Matt Fitzgerald
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Hard Easy Principle
Runners are generally aware of the hard easy principle- you reap the rewards of hard workouts by allowing your body to recover and rebuild to a higher level of fitness.
What about recovery? Should you take complete rest and not run at all? Is there any benefit to easy running? How fast or slow should your recovery runs be?
Opinions on this topic vary- check out this interesting thread on the letsrun.com message board.
My two cents on the subject? Here is the post I submitted to letsrun.
Very good discussion here- clearly there are many variations you can apply to the hard easy principle, and it won't be the same for every runner. The key I think may be to evaluate your method of recovery by focusing on your key workouts (intervals, tempo runs, or races). It is there is where you will be able to tell immediately whether or not your recovery runs are too fast or too long. Another twist to consider- not everybody responds to high miles or might be injury prone- if you are one of those then hitting the bike on recovery days after particularly hard workouts is not a bad idea. I think you'll find triathetes in agreement that to some extent cycling can improve running (Ed Eystone has done some decent research on the benefits of cross training). I like to take a mountain bike and find a hill someplace- 2-3 minute climb, and do repeats. Your running muscles get to recover while you can still give your aerobic/anaerobic system a decent workout. I've also heard of ancedotal evidence of spinning classes improving running performance. You can also use other forms of cross training-
You may have read about Lukas Verzbicas- the freshman from Illinois that ran 14:18 for 5K indoors and 8:53 for 2 miles-his primary sport is triathlon.
What about recovery? Should you take complete rest and not run at all? Is there any benefit to easy running? How fast or slow should your recovery runs be?
Opinions on this topic vary- check out this interesting thread on the letsrun.com message board.
My two cents on the subject? Here is the post I submitted to letsrun.
Very good discussion here- clearly there are many variations you can apply to the hard easy principle, and it won't be the same for every runner. The key I think may be to evaluate your method of recovery by focusing on your key workouts (intervals, tempo runs, or races). It is there is where you will be able to tell immediately whether or not your recovery runs are too fast or too long. Another twist to consider- not everybody responds to high miles or might be injury prone- if you are one of those then hitting the bike on recovery days after particularly hard workouts is not a bad idea. I think you'll find triathetes in agreement that to some extent cycling can improve running (Ed Eystone has done some decent research on the benefits of cross training). I like to take a mountain bike and find a hill someplace- 2-3 minute climb, and do repeats. Your running muscles get to recover while you can still give your aerobic/anaerobic system a decent workout. I've also heard of ancedotal evidence of spinning classes improving running performance. You can also use other forms of cross training-
You may have read about Lukas Verzbicas- the freshman from Illinois that ran 14:18 for 5K indoors and 8:53 for 2 miles-his primary sport is triathlon.
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