Ever wondered how to strike that elusive balance between pounding the pavement and taking those well-deserved breaks? Strap in, because we're about to serve you a generous helping of insights on the symbiotic relationship between running, rest, and the alchemy of recovery. It turns out that lacing up your sneakers every single day isn't the panacea we once thought – in fact, it's a delicate dance of exertion and ease that keeps our bodies thriving. I'll be sharing eye-opening research and personal anecdotes that underline why rest days are not just a luxury, but a cornerstone in bolstering performance and fending off the specter of overtraining.
Switching tracks, we'll sprint through the storied past of the Olympic 1500m event, celebrating legends like Tatiana Kazankina, Sebastian Coe, and Faith Kipyegon. Their meteoric careers aren't just footnotes in history; they're masterclasses in resilience, strategy, and the sheer will to outpace the competition. As we recount their golden moments and pay homage to the athletic powerhouses of Kenya and Great Britain, you'll be imbued with a sense of awe at what's possible when human potential is pushed to its limits. So, whether you're gearing up for your next marathon or just looking for that extra burst of inspiration, this episode promises to be a front-row seat to the pulsating heart of athletic excellence.
Plus, we have a new feature on the podcast you can now send me a message. Yep you heard it right- Brian's Run Pod has become interactive with the audience. If you look at the top of the Episode description tap on "Send us a Text Message". You can tell me what you think of the episode or alternatively what you would like covered. If your lucky I might even read them out on the podcast.
Ever wondered how to strike that elusive balance between pounding the pavement and taking those well-deserved breaks? Strap in, because we're about to serve you a generous helping of insights on the symbiotic relationship between running, rest, and the alchemy of recovery. It turns out that lacing up your sneakers every single day isn't the panacea we once thought – in fact, it's a delicate dance of exertion and ease that keeps our bodies thriving. I'll be sharing eye-opening research and personal anecdotes that underline why rest days are not just a luxury, but a cornerstone in bolstering performance and fending off the specter of overtraining.
Switching tracks, we'll sprint through the storied past of the Olympic 1500m event, celebrating legends like Tatiana Kazankina, Sebastian Coe, and Faith Kipyegon. Their meteoric careers aren't just footnotes in history; they're masterclasses in resilience, strategy, and the sheer will to outpace the competition. As we recount their golden moments and pay homage to the athletic powerhouses of Kenya and Great Britain, you'll be imbued with a sense of awe at what's possible when human potential is pushed to its limits. So, whether you're gearing up for your next marathon or just looking for that extra burst of inspiration, this episode promises to be a front-row seat to the pulsating heart of athletic excellence.
Plus, we have a new feature on the podcast you can now send me a message. Yep you heard it right- Brian's Run Pod has become interactive with the audience. If you look at the top of the Episode description tap on "Send us a Text Message". You can tell me what you think of the episode or alternatively what you would like covered. If your lucky I might even read them out on the podcast.
So you're thinking about running but not sure how to take the first step. My name is Brian Patterson and I'm here to help. Welcome to Brian's RunPod. And it's me, your host, brian Patterson, welcoming you to another edition of the podcast. Well, today we are going to be talking about rest and recovery for runners. When should we recover? How often should we take days off? At the moment, for me, it's not about taking days off, it's about trying to get out and go for a run, which is my problem, but then maybe that's for another podcast. Anyway, for those that don't have that problem, here are some handy tips and guidance about rest and recovery. Also, we'll be looking at the history of another Olympic running event. So more of that later on.
Speaker 1:
So what would happen if you ran every day? While you know running is great exercise, you may wonder if running every day is a smart idea. After all, it would seem reasonable that the more you put in, the more you get out. That is true in part, but overlooks one key point. Running places a lot of stress on your body, triggering inflammation, micro tears that need to heal. So without rest, you may end up losing ground rather than gaining it. Running every day might reduce the risk of certain diseases, but it can also lead to injuries and general wear and tear on your feet, legs and joints, as we just said, affecting your overall health and your performance. While those risks are something to consider, there are people who still prefer to go for at least a short run every day and feel they reap the benefits in doing so. You know your body best. When setting your running schedule and deciding whether or not to run every day, weigh the pros and cons. The general consensus is that runners need to take a day to recover, at least once a week. Reasons why you might run every day.
Speaker 1:
Despite support for the recovery day or more, there is evidence that running every day may have some benefits. This might come as good news if you just can't imagine a day without lacing up your sneakers. Fortunately, researchers have also shown that it doesn't take a lot of running to reap many of the rewards. One study, for example, found that it only takes about five to ten minutes of running each day to lower your risk of a cardiovascular disease, b, cancer, c, death from a heart attack or stroke, and. D developing neurological diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Researchers have also found that engaging in a short-term aerobic exercise such as running can also help improve cognitive in aging brains.
Speaker 1:
However, there are no significant benefit to running more than around four and a half, four and a half hours a week, but that's kind of, I feel you know. You know, if you are running an hour each time and you are very much like an intermediate level, this means that rather than logging lots of high-impact miles each week, you might gain the greatest benefits by putting in much shorter, more frequent runs. Just two and a half hours total of running per week was found to have the highest benefits in terms of improving overall longevity. This amounts to around 30 minutes of running per day, five days per week. So reasons why you might take rest days and, according to research from the American Council of Exercise, the ACE, the number of rest days you need depends on the type and duration of your workout. While you may need a single day to recover from a one mile run, someone else might need two or three days to recover from running a 10k. Excuse me. Still, others may need several weeks.
Speaker 1:
So a 2015 review of studies published in the PLOS one highlighted the risk of injury due to excessive running. One highlighted the risk of injury due to excessive running. According to research, weekly running distances for between 30 to 39 miles in women and over 40 miles in men increase the risk of acute injury. Overuse injuries such as shin splints, achilles and other injuries like plantar felicitis stress fractures are very common in runners. Giving the body time to repair from the trauma of a run is thought to reduce the risk of these injuries, which can sideline you for a week to a month or more. The more you may find you feel better and stronger during those runs after a day off. So rest days reduce the amount of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone, which can cause depression, fatigue, irritability, sleep problems and other health issues if the physical stress levels remain high. They also give you a mental break and reduce your chances of feeling burned out, bored with running.
Speaker 1:
I know sometimes for me that if I go for a run or sometimes I don't feel that great afterwards you feel that maybe you should sort of get back into it. Or you know if you take too much time off then you're going to suffer mentally, that you know you're not getting back into your fitness. But I found that sometimes less is more. You know. I went running today and also went to the gym and and I just felt a lot better and I think it's because I just gave my body that time to rest and repair. When to take rest days If you decide that you could benefit from rest days, strategically scheduling them is your next step. The best days for rest will depend on what type of runner you are, when you are typically run for and for how long, and if you're training for a specific event. If you tend to run a lot of miles on the weekends, for example, then Monday might be a good rest day for you. If you're training for a long distance event like a marathon, and you do your long runs on a Saturday, you may want to rest on a Friday so you have fresh legs when you hit the trail.
Speaker 1:
Why is it important to train? Why is it so important that let's sort of drill down in that? So the principle of progressive overload, which is one of the basic training principles. Fitness gains in running follow the principle of progressive overload. Basically, this is just a fancy way of saying that in order to keep getting better, you need to keep challenging yourself. You need to keep challenging yourself, and in the world of running, this means that if you want to keep seeing improvements in performance, you need to keep challenging yourself with increasingly difficult training. Running the same loop at the same pace day in, day out will get you fit to a point and then you'll plateau. If you want to keep seeing improvement, you have to add some intensity or additional mileage into your training, so that intensity may be interval running, so you get your heart rate up. So with that in mind, following the principle of progressive overload, you may be tempted to keep adding more and more mileage and intensity to your workouts in order to see incredible gains in performance. But let's not get so fast and let's try and keep this in perspective. No one could keep making their workouts longer and harder indefinitely. It's not humanly possible. Training actually causes microbe damage to your body's tissues and if they are not allowed to recover, you will not only see the fitness gains you've hoped for, but will also likely end up injuring yourself.
Speaker 1:
The role of impact forces. Why is running different? Unlike endurance sports like cycling or swimming, running involves impact forces. These impact forces increase breakdown, thus decreasing the total amount of work you can do before getting injured. That is why top runners train at most 14 hours per week, while the top. Cyclists and swimmers can train twice as much. Impact forces are the reason rest days are important for runners. The most impact related injuries developed over time, but once they reach a tipping point, they often manifest themselves rather quickly. Rest days days when used strategically over the course of a training cycle can heal budding injuries and before you even know they exist. Training without proper rest has also been shown to lead to a myriad of not-so-fun effects, such as decreased performance, constant fatigue, overuse, injuries, altered hormones, poor sleep patterns, decreased immune function and loss of appetite and mood swings. Maybe it's not such a good idea to train like a mad person.
Speaker 1:
So adaptation and rest. No matter how fantastic you feel afterwards when you go out for a run, you're not actually gaining any fitness while you're out there. The gains and fitness happen after the workout, when you're sitting on the couch and being absolute laziest version of yourself as possible. A bit counterintuitive, but I know. But a slight shift in thinking sheds a lot on light on why rest so is so incredibly important. A workout is the stimulus. The rest is when you reap the benefits. You need the workout in order to provide the rest that will make your body adapt and grow stronger, but without the rest, all you've done is break down your body without gaining any benefits. Taking a rest day allows your body to absorb the training, adapt to stress and grow stronger than before, and it also ensures that you're on the days you're on, which allows you to gain more from future workouts.
Speaker 1:
You might be asking what's the difference between the recovery run and rest day. Some serious runners prefer to rely solely on recovery days, substituting slower runs at anywhere from 50 to 75 percent of the maximum heart rate for a true days off. Recovery runs can actually accelerate the recovery process by increasing blood flow. Plus, they have the same aerobic benefit. A general guideline for a recovery run for, let's say, a marathon pace plus one minute through closer to marathon pace if you are newer to running. These runs are not necessarily slow. When you are fit, they can even be somewhat fast, especially near the end. However, when they are most positive, recovery runs still involve impact forces because you are running to stress in the joints, tendons and ligaments. Even the slowest recovery pace can exacerbate a stress fracture. So while rest days may be worse from the pure performance perspective and from how much pizza you can eat for your lunch perspective, any gains from recovery runs can render moot rendered moot by being injured for weeks or months.
Speaker 1:
So I think if you are starting out and I know this podcast is for beginners I think it's better off to have a day off rather than have those recovery runs to have a day off rather than have those recovery runs. So why should you take at least one day off or more from the training week? As we said, when we're starting out a new training plan, you quickly realise there's a lot to do, and that's on top of all other things in your day to day life. So when you see the word rest on your schedule, it's tempting to skip past it and look for the next real to do. After all, why would you do nothing when there's always something to cross off long, long to do list? In a Runner's World article they say the answer into the question simply not, for running is just important as fitting in that long weekend run or that tuesday speed sub speed session.
Speaker 1:
Rest days help to strengthen your body, sharpen your mind, boost your motivation levels so that you can actually want to get out for your next run. Rest is not a four little word, says dr kevin vincent, director of the university of florida running medicine clinic in the us. The big reason you need it is to recover and recuperation. Every time you run, your body has to adapt to get stronger, and that's because when you run, you aren't just building your stamina and strength, you're also breaking down your body, causing those tiny amount of tissue damage with every step. And allowing yourself time to recover afterward is what makes it possible for you to come back better next week, next month, next race.
Speaker 1:
As we said before, as much as athletes focus on their volume of training and the speed at which they do workouts, what they do outside of running is equally important to becoming stronger and more resilient in the future, says Adam Tenford, a assistant professor of physical medicine and rehab at Harvard University in the US and a former elite runner. Dr Bonnie Marks, a staff physiologist at New York University Sports Performance Centre, agrees. If you don't have time to recharge, it can lead to staleness, general apathy about training. In other words, rest right, you'll run better. Avoid time on the physio's treatment table. Stay motivated and gain more reward from your running. Fail to rest properly and you'll slowly, or sometimes rather rapidly, fall apart. Follow these training tweaks to optimise recovery and build a stronger and a more rested you. So let's have a look at eight running recovery tips to help you recover quickly.
Speaker 1:
It's easy to think you've earned those fitness gains while you're sweating. Well, that's only part of the puzzle. You also need that Haley Tankay slog or lung burning interval track session to trigger those improvements. But it's actually during recovery, as we we've said, where the real magic happens. So in this article by bellafortecom I will give a link to all the articles I've come across for the podcast. In the show notes they list the following go easy on the final stretch.
Speaker 1:
When they say when I first started running, I always gave in to the temptation to sprint the last stretch of my runs, says Kieran, and I'm guilty as anyone we know. Let's say, sprint the last interval. But now I always drop the intensity and finish maybe five to 10 minutes at a recovery pace. It's a way of sort of cooling down and after the interval session this might be a deliberate warm down during tempo runs and I just drop the effort 10 minutes from home. Flicking to the active recovery mode helps begin the process of flushing the metabolic waste from those muscles.
Speaker 1:
Get some active recovery, getting your body moving at an extremely low intensity for active recovery sessions is also a powerful tool that helps increase blood circulation and flush out waste, they say. I use this a lot, particularly after marathons or ultras, says Kieran from Velo40.com. The temptation is to hit the sofa and not move is strong, even sitting down straight as soon as you can after crossing the finish line, but I found keep moving slowly, even immediately after a hundred kilometer ultra. There's for those ultra marathoners, or a light stroll in the afternoon the next day often works wonders for easing tightness and fending off DOMS. That means delayed onset of muscle soreness.
Speaker 1:
Prioritise good sleep, and I think this is really important. Sleep is the foundation of good recovery. It's during sleep that your brain and body go into restoration and overdrive. The NHS here in the UK recommends six to nine hours of nights for sleep and while this is also personal, if you're training hard you should aim for the upper end of that. In this article from abualfortecom they say that they now prioritise sleep as doing two things going to bed at consistent times and getting out of bed at the same time every day, within five minutes of waking up. This has had the biggest impact on sleep quality and gives the bedrock on which to build tough training schedules. Now I'm testament to this and I have at least six hours. If I have less than six hours of sleep, my energy levels are really low at the end of the day and, especially if you're working full time, you don't really have the motivation to go to the gym because you're completely I'm completely dead beat too tired to go to the gym after a full day's work.
Speaker 1:
Number four in this list hit the water. You can also take active recovery to the pool to boost your post-run recovery. This is something I have been picked up from the England football team coaches during a visit to the St George's training ground. So the coaches get players to do a series of aqua jogging drills and dynamic stretches like high knees, heelicks, even lunges in the water. The water pressure helps increase blood flow while being underwater means all your movements are supported, putting less strain on already tired muscles and joints, and I think that's a great idea. If you, if you go, if you are a member of a gym and they have a pool, then maybe just swimming or maybe just walking up and down takes the stress of the impact on the joints.
Speaker 1:
Number five in this article from velofortycom they say dress to compress. Compression is a common theme in recovery and running recovery and there are a whole range of products to provide it, from compression tights to fancy compression boots. It also follows one basic principle using constriction to increase the blood flow to key parts of the body, mainly the legs, helping to flush waste faster. They're going to say in the article that during the 190 mile tim's run, this guy, kieran, says he wore compression calf sleeves during the run to reduce the micro tears in the muscles. He also slept in a compression tights afterwards to help promote the blood flow and waist clearance.
Speaker 1:
Self-massage very good idea, this one, number six in this list. Spending 10 to 15 minutes daily enjoying what we would loosely when it comes to foam rollers. We could. We could use foam rollers or a spot of self-massage can work wonders. Massage guns and foam rollers often more targeted light relief to tight muscles and to sore spots. The aim here is consistency. Don't just do this when something starts to feel a bit sore. Do it regularly, after all, and is the best cure for prevention.
Speaker 1:
Number seven on the list is nutrition. It is an important recovery tool After a long, tough run. Taking on carbs to replace the energy lost during exercises, boost glycogen stores, while protein will help repair the muscles and muscle soreness. The best time to start refueling is within 30 minutes of exercise, but it doesn't stop this, as they say in this article, I'm constantly thinking about how I'm refueling my body for performance and recovery, particularly during a big challenge. That means focusing on real food that's nutrient dense for all the main meals, and when you're putting your body on the line, I find that it pays to reward it with what it really needs. So fuel it, ah.
Speaker 1:
The last one is take a deep breath. So when you run, you put your body under stress that triggers an automatic physiological response from your nervous system, kicking it into fight or flight mode. This is a great way for running away from lines and finding the energy to clock a new PB. It's not good for recovery. So for recovery to begin, you need to switch back to what they call a parasympathetic mode. The faster you can do this, the better, and guided breathing is a great tool for this. So maybe if you do yoga, you probably will know about this, or maybe pilates helping you to breathe. So during intense interval sessions, use guided breathing to get heart rate down as quickly as possible and maximizing the recovery time during the next rep.
Speaker 1:
They say here that they found that breathing at an aid stations is doing ultra runs, doing ultra marathons. It's amazing how five minutes of focusing on your breathing can help you feel more ready to put in, let's say, another 15 miles on your legs if you're doing ultra marathons. So most running watches have guided breathing apps. I know on my Apple Watch they do, and it's just a way you can sit still and focus on big, deep, slow breaths and prioritise nasal breathing and try to widen the focus of your vision to make it even more effective. So nose breathing and a wider field of vision are both signals to the body that you're in a calm state. So those are eight tips for running recovery. So go easy in the final stretch. Get some active recovery, prioritise good sleep, hit the pool, compression socks, compress your legs, self-massage, eat right and obviously maybe think about doing some breathing exercises. I've kind of convinced you. It is good to take those active days off to help your body to repair and to help improve your overall fitness. It's not just about doing your training and training hard, but it's also about taking days off.
Speaker 1:
And now for it's that time of the podcast where we'll be looking at the Olympic running events. This week we look at the 1500 metres. The 1500 metres at the Summer Olympics has been contested since the first edition of the multi-sport event. The men's 1500 metres has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1996. The women's event was not introduced until 70 years later, but it has been a permanent fixture since it was first held in 1972.
Speaker 1:
The Olympics final and the World Athletics Championships are the most prestigious 1,500-metre races at an elite level. The competition format comprises of three rounds of heats, stage, semi-finals and then typically a final between 12 athletes. The first man to win the 1500 meters was edwin flack, from australia, in a time of four minutes 33.2. The first woman to win the race was ludmilla Bragina in a time of 4 minutes 1.38 from Russia, a full 32 seconds faster than the first man. The current Olympic record is set by Jacoby Ingebrigtsen, from Norway, in a time of 3 minutes 28.32 and for women, faith Kipiogun from Kenya, in a time of 3 minutes 53.11.
Speaker 1:
I do apologise if I really did completely demolish those names. Only three athletes have defended the Olympic 1500m title. Tatiana Kazakina became the first person to win two gold medals in the event in 1980 and repeating her win in 1976 and soon after. Sebastian Coe became the first man to do so in 1980 and in 1984. Faith Kip Yogan is the latest athlete to accomplish the feat by following up her gold medal in 2016 with another at Tokyo 2021. No athlete of either sex has ever won more than two medals.
Speaker 1:
Historically, athletes in this event have also had success in the 800 metres at the Olympics. Kelly Holmes was the last athlete to win both events at the same Olympics in 2004. In 2012, the 1500 meter gold medalist, tawfiq Mufruli, made both podiums without winning gold in 2016. Kenya is the most successful nation in the event, having won seven gold medals in men and women, and Great Britain has the next highest number of gold medals, with six in men and women. Obviously, the United States is the only nation to have swept the medals in the event, having done so in St Louis in 1904, albeit in the final between seven Americans and two foreigners, in the final between seven Americans and two foreigners. I hope you enjoyed the potted history of the 1500 metres at the Olympic Games. Next week I hope to cover another event.
