Rest: It Does a Runner Good

I know several runners who feel guilty if they take a rest during a training week so they'll cross-train or just do a really easy run instead. I've never had a problem with taking my rest days. Should I feel guilty? Does that make me less of a runner? I don't think so. Look at any training schedule—5K, half marathon, marathon, triathlon—they all have rest days. They're not there just because the creator of the training plan drew a blank and had nothing else to put down for those days. Rest days are a vital part of training.

Dictionary.com defines rest as "to refresh oneself, as by sleeping, lying down, or relaxing." The key word in this definition is refresh. Actually, a runner could replace refresh with repair, because that's exactly what a runner's doing on those days off—repairing, rebuilding, strengthening.

When you exercise you actually break down muscle tissue as well as deplete it of its glycogen stores and fluid. Bryan Heiderscheit, Ph.D., P.T. the director of the University of Wisconsin Runner's Clinic says, "It's when you're not running that the muscle rebuilds itself and becomes stronger. If recovery is insufficient, you'll break down more than you build up." Professional marathon and triathlon coach Joe English says, "Although it may seem counter-intuitive to many runners, much of the benefit of any workout comes in the time after the workout while the runner is recovering from it. It is during the recovery process that runners reap the benefits of the workouts themselves. Another way to think about this is that the improvement that is seen over time develops during the recovery periods between the workouts, so cutting that recovery short actually stunts the growth of the runner, by not giving him or her the time to develop."

If you've ever felt blah, disinterested, frustrated, or even depressed during your training, this could be a sign of overtraining. Elizabeth Quinn of About.com suggests that the following may also be signs of overtraining.

Possible Signs of Overtraining:

• Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
• Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
• Pain in muscles and joints
• Sudden drop in performance
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
• Decrease in training capacity / intensity
• Moodiness and irritability
• Depression
• Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
• Decreased appetite
• Increased incidence of injuries.
• A compulsive need to exercise

Not only do rest days allow your body time to repair and rebuild, it allows your mind to rest and refocus. Training for any race, especially an endurance race, can be mentally taxing. If you're overtraining and experiencing decreased training capacity or intensity, then you're going to get frustrated. Depending on your personality, you may berate yourself, become sullen, or just quit because you're not seeing the progress you expect. You're telling yourself, "I'm working myself like a dog. Why am I not making any progress?" That's just it, you've just told yourself the answer to your problem but you're not listening carefully enough. You're working yourself like a dog. You need to pull back, re-evaluate your training plan and put in a rest day or two.

An easy way to tell if you're well rested is to check your resting heart rate each morning. If you notice any marked increased in your resting heart rate from its normal rate, this could be a sign of overtraining.

Make good use of those rest days. Take time to do some of the things that you've been putting off due to your training. Find that novel you've been meaning to finish since last summer or pick up a copy of Once A Runner by John L. Parker. I guarantee an afternoon of reading that awesome book will have you running like a new man/woman on your next training day! Okay, okay....if it will make you feel better, read it wearing your running shorts, singlet, and running shoes while sipping on a sports drink.