The Importance of Recovery for Runners
Hi, and welcome back to the Mohsin Salya blog.
For those of you who took part in the recent London Marathon, this article will be about a subject that is probably very close to your heart at the moment: the importance of recovery. It’s a vital part of our running lifestyle – not just in terms of giving yourself a chance to recover from a big race, but also a fundamental element of your preparation and training. So firstly, what do we mean by recovery, and is it really that important?
The right kind of rest
One thing to make clear straight away – by rest and recovery, I don’t mean doing nothing. When your body is used to daily activity, doing nothing at all isn’t a healthy option. Instead, these rest days are for staying moderately active, by taking a walk, doing some stretches or going for a swim. Strength training is also a great option that really complements the miles you’re putting in on the road during the rest of the week.
The rest days you build into your training programme serve a number of functions. Firstly, it’s simply to let your body recover – a really important benefit to remember if you want to avoid the injuries that come with overtraining.
Building on your training
These days are also a chance to bed in the training you’ve during the rest of the week. What do I mean by this? Well, many of the gains you make in terms of fitness and performance in fact occur on the rest days – so your time away from pounding the pavement actually improves the quality of the training you do on the other days and ultimately improves your performance.
A healthy mindset
Another important aspect of taking a rest day – whether those that form a part of your training regime or that come in the days following a big event – is that they’re a great way to avoid mental burnout. By giving your body some time off, you’re also allowing yourself some vital headspace away from running.
My advice is to bring the same level of discipline and focus on the days when you don’t run as on the days when you do – your body will thank you for it.
Until the next time,
Mohsin Salya.
