Sometimes we love them, other times we hate them, but we all know we need them every now and then. Rest days are a tricky one, especially for distance runners.

We all feel we need to be doing more to become a better runner, and somehow sitting on the sofa doesn’t feel productive, but it does a lot more than we realise.

Photo: Natalie White

They can be referred to as ‘recovery days’ or ‘adaptation days’ as this is essentially what they are for but often we think of them more as ‘lost days’, which they definitely aren’t. 

The frequency of rest days varies from athlete to athlete. One runner may benefit from consistently having the same day each week reserved for their rest day, another may work in a 10-day cycle, or someone else may take their rest day as and when they feel their body needs it and others may have none at all. 

Why do we need rest days?

Factoring rest days into your training schedule is just as, if not more important than the hard work you put in. Having a regular day off helps to keep you mentally and physically strong. 

Physical benefits. 

Carfagno and Hendrix (2014) say ‘athletes are pushed routinely to the limits of their physical abilities. When tempered with periods of rest and recovery, a highly demanding training schedule can have tremendous benefits’.

Therefore, when our bodies have the opportunity to recover from the intense training we put them through, the outcome can be significantly better than training alone without any time to recover. 

When we push our bodies to their limits, our muscles tear, and need to repair in order to regain their strength. However, this process struggles to occur without proper time allotted for rest.

Rest days allow the repairing process to take place, thus helping our muscles to repair and get stronger, allowing us to ultimately run faster. Rest days allow our bodies to go harder in sessions as you will feel stronger, less fatigued, and raring to go again. 

Sometimes your body just tells you when to rest. Photo: Natalie White

Mental benefits.

Rest days aren’t only to be cherished for the physical effects they have, but also for the mental.

However, as much as you love running, no matter who you are, you have days when you find your motivation and energy is low, and this is ok. If you find yourself itching to go out for a run on rest day, you don’t have to. Staying strong and allowing that hunger to build up, just for one day, will make your training to come much better in quality and enjoyment. 

Time with loved ones.

With a busy training schedule, whether you are up early in the morning to run, or conscious of being in bed at a decent time to recover properly, it can be difficult to spend a lot of quality time with your family.

Whilst lockdown has made this juggling act easier for some, it isn’t in times of normality, especially if you are at work during the day.

It is important to embrace the extra time you have available on a rest day and use it to catch up with your friends and family, even if that is over Facetime or Zoom at the moment. It also allows you to enjoy other activities whole heartedly without being time constrained.

Personally, over lockdown, I have discovered a newfound enjoyment for playing volleyball in the garden or hitting a beach ball as hard as I can with a cricket bat and seeing who can get it the furthest. 

Melissa using Laura Muir to make sure her rest starts straight after the race in Glasgow 2019. Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

What the elites do.

Rest days are taken by everyone, even some of our countries most elite runners’ factor in much needed ‘adaptation days’. Here is how they spend them:

A lot of elites truly embrace the importance of rest days. Melissa Courtney-Bryant, European indoor 3000m bronze medallist (2019) and 1500m Commonwealth bronze medallist (2018), is just one of those who recognises the importance of taking it easy on your rest day.

“So, I don’t have a rest day every week, so when I do have one I really like to relax and just rest!

I tend to sleep in even if it’s just not setting an alarm that day to let my body recover and wake up naturally. Instead of having my usual pre run porridge I make pancakes or have eggs for breakfast as I have more time to spend in the kitchen. In “normal times” I’d get physio or a massage now we are in lockdown I’m relying on my husband to be my physio with the help of my actual physio on video call, so I spend some time having treatment.

In “normal time’s” I might go out for coffee or lunch on a rest day but right now I’m spending a lot of time chilling either watching Netflix’s, sat in my garden or like everyone else in lockdown I’ve got into puzzles! I really like to make the most of actually resting on my rest days to make sure I’m fully recovered for my next session.

Part of a coaching philosophy

Also coached by Rob Denmark, alike Courtney-Bryant, Amy Griffiths has the same approach to her rest days. She too believes you should make the most of the being able to relax and refresh.

I love my rest days and I take full advantage of them. During lockdown the basic structure of my rest days hasn’t changed much. Some rest days I’m more active walking my dog or doing activations/drills in my garden. Others I lounge around doing my final year uni work – the recent sunny weather has been amazing for this! 

I don’t have a set rest day each week like some athletes. My coach will slot them in throughout my training block when he feels they are needed. They typically fall on a Monday or Friday. 

I think rest days are really important at certain points within a hard training block both physically and mentally. 

Physically it’s a chance for my body to relax and recover before cracking on with training again. But ultimately it’s a day where I can switch off mentally and refocus.

There was only one sofa to rest on at the finish so it was a bit of a rush. Photo: Andy Peat

Middle distance runners love rest days too

800m runner, Lynsey Sharp, makes sure she incorporates a regular rest day off every Sunday to allow your body to reap the weekly gains she makes. 

‘I have every Sunday off! Usually a fairly quiet day- Saturdays are a big training day so I’m usually knackered by Sunday!! I try to get up later, make a nice breakfast such as pancakes, go for a dog walk, etc. I’ve lived in England for 7 years and I’m still not used to the everything closing at 4pm law (not a thing in Scotland) so usually a mad rush to the supermarket so I can start the next week stocked up! I then usually take ages making dinner because I have nothing else to do!

Mixing rest with busy work days

Isle of Man’s half marathon record holder and Fast10 athlete, Ollie Lockley, told us how he usually spends his rest days, and how he feels better for still getting in a bit of movement. 

‘Well normally I would take a rest day when I am fairly busy at work, just so I don’t have to worry about fitting in a run and I can concentrate on work.

However, at the moment I haven’t got much going on, and if I’m honest I can’t remember the last day I took a full on rest day. For example, last week I took a day off running, but I still did an easy 45min cycle, and a walk in the afternoon. I will always do something light even if it is just an easy walk (I just can’t sit on my ass all day!! Haha). 

But to fill my free time I enjoy watching documentaries, reading or listening to podcasts. When the weather is nice, I love to sit outside with a nice coffee doing this!’

Rest days as part of injury rehabilitation

Experienced GB runner Louise Small has been absolutely amazing with her patience and determination to recover from her achilles injury. She is truly appreciating the importance of allowing her body to absorb the rest. Now on her way back into training, Small told us how she spends her rest days in lockdown.  

‘I’m currently running about 25 miles a week. No particular structure I just wake up in the morning and decide what I want to do which is very empowering and also refreshing. Currently, I’m having at least one rest day a week and my other days off are filled with a long walk or cardio on the ski machine…

On my rest days currently: I tend to work on my dissertation, I’ve just started getting back into playing the piano after a 12-year hiatus! Catch up with friends (over FaceTime at the moment).

Most importantly I use rest days as an opportunity for my body to absorb all the training to reap the benefits in the future. After this injury I’ve also come to realise that it’s ok to have more than one rest day in the week if you need it. As elite athletes we often get very fixated on only have one day off a week and normally it’s Friday. You should do what’s right for you and your body. Be confident in your training and ability.’

Like Melissa Courtney, Hayley Carruthers knows the importance of resting after a hard effort. Photo: Ian Walton for Virgin Money London Marathon

Some find it difficult to take rest

Even though we know we should take rest days, and enjoy them, it isn’t always as easy as it sounds! Recent World half qualifier (postponed due to Covid-19), Hayley Carruthers has enjoyed slowing down a bit after initially finding it a challenge. 

‘I have started doing 30 mins of yoga on my rest day and reading a lot! I’m really enjoying the slower pace of life. I’m working from home so that keeps me busy during the day. It was difficult at first to ‘rest’ because training is reduced but now, I’m really getting the hang of taking time for myself and feeling grateful to be healthy.’

Whether you enjoy your rest days or not, there is so much you can gain from implementing them into your regular training schedule. There is no frequency that works for everyone, so learn what works for you and keeps you feeling fresh physically and mentally. 

References 

Carfagno, D. and Hendrix, J., 2014. Overtraining Syndrome in the Athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports, [online] 13(1), pp.45-51. Available here.

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With the teams from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now in Australia ahead of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on 4th April, the Queensland meet at the State Athletics Facility provided the perfect opportunity for athletes to test themselves against fellow Commonwealth nations and other international competition.

England’s Laura Weightman, who will compete in the 5000m in the Commonwealth Games, opened her outdoor track season with a win in the familiar 1500m. The two-time Olympic finalist clocked 4:05.89 to finish ahead of Wales’ Melissa Courtney in 4:06.70.

Scottish pair Eilish McColgan and Step Twell finished third and fourth in 4:08.70 and 4:09.67 respectively. Also competing were English trio Rosie Clarke in fifth, Jess Judd eighth and Iona Lake 10th.

In the men’s event, Welsh duo Axe Rowan and Tom Marshall finished 11th and 13th clocking 3:48.72 and 3:54.38 respectively. Australia’s Luke Mathews won in 3:37.16 ahead of USA’s Kyle Merber.

England’s Kyle Langford won a close men’s 800m race in 1:48.29 ahead of Australia’s Jordan Williamsz. Fellow English athlete Charlie Grice, who will compete in the 1500m next month, finished third in 1:48.41 and Scotland’s Chris O’Hare sixth in 1:49.41.

Clocking 2:03.13 Sarah McDonald finished second in the women’s event ahead of Team England teammate Alex Bell who ran 2:03.71, with Scottish medal hope, Lynsey Sharp 0.04 seconds off in 2:03.74.

The race was won by New Zealand’s Angela Petty in 2:03.04, with English pair Adelle Tracey finishing sixth and Kate Snowden eighth.

In the first of two men’s 400m races, England’s Rabah Yousif finished third in 46.81 and Dwayne Cowan sixth in 47.06, with Martyn Rooney finishing as runner-up in the second race clocking 46.88.

Scotland’s Zoey Clark finished third in 52.69 and England’s Anyika Onoura was fifth clocking 53.46 in second of the women’s 400m races. In the first race, England’s Emily Diamond finished third behind Jamaica’s Stephenie-Ann McPherson and Australia’s Morgan Mitchell.

England’s Dina Asher-Smith clocked 11.31 to win the second of two women’s 100m races, with Northern Ireland’s Amy Foster fourth in 11.81. In the first race England’s Corinne Humphreys clocked 11.93 to finish second to Jamaica’s Olympic champion Elaine Thompson.

In the first 100m races, England’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey clocked 10.65 to finish fourth, with compatriot Adam Gemili clocking 10.51 to finish second in a later 100m race ahead of Northern Ireland’s Leon Reid in third who ran 10.75.

England’s T46 athlete James Arnott clocked 11.87 to finish third in the fourth 100m race ahead of Welsh duo James Ledger in 12.16 and Morgan Jones who posted 12.17.

Earlier in the competition, the England quartet of Asha Phillip, Dina Asher-Smith, Bianca Williams and Corinne Humphreys got the better of the Australian 4x100m team that featured Sally Pearson.

In the men’s race England’s 4x100m team of Richard Kilty, Zharnel Hughes, Adam Gemili and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. were also victorious.

Anyika Onoura finished clocked 23.85 to finish third ahead of English teammate Alicia Barrett in the first women’s 200m race, with Northern Ireland’s multi-eventer Kate O’Connor in sixth.

England’s Bianca Williams clocked 23.56 to finish behind Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in the second race.

Matthew Hudson-Smith finished second in the first men’s 200m race, clocking 20.98 behind Botswana’s Isaac Makwala.

While England teammate Zharnel Hughes, who was the victim of a gun attack earlier this year, won the second 200m race in a super quick 20.23, ahead of Northern Ireland’s Leon Reid in 20.90. England’s John Lane finished sixth.

In the 400m hurdles, it was an England one-two with Jack Green and Jacob Paul clocking 49.80 and 49.96. Teammate Meghan Beesley was third in the women’s event clocking 56.45.

World indoor champion Andrew Pozzi finished fourth posting 13.99 in the 110m hurdles with England teammate David King second in 13.92. Welsh duo Curtis Matthews and Ben Gregory finished fifth and sixth in the second event.

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O’Hare continued his great start to 2018 with a personal best performance in Boston that also improves his own Scottish indoor record.

In a field that included fellow British runners Jake Wightman and Jordan Donnelly, it was 27-year-old who made the decisive move at the bell taking over the race from USA’s Garrett Heath.

Wightman followed suit and the Scottish pair raced around the final 200m with O’Hare always looking comfortable out in front. O’Hare crossed the line to win in a PB 3:37.03, with Wightman second in 3:37.43, while Donnelly failed to finish the race.

Both men ran the qualifying standard for the World Indoors and now sit 5th and 7th in the UK all-time rankings.

Last weekend in New York, O’Hare became the first British male winner since 1965 of the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games.

Next up for the middle-distance star is the British Indoor Championships, where he will surely be full of confidence after his two recent performances on the boards.

Sarah McDonald ran the world indoor qualifying standard in her season opener with personal best performance in the women’s 1500m.

McDonald finished fifth in 4:07.62 behind Ethiopian winner Dawit Seyaum in 4:04.38. Hannah England just missed the standard clocking 4:11.25, finishing a place behind Ireland’s Ciara Mageean in ninth.

Over 3000m Steph Twell clocked an indoor PB 8:41.94 to finish third ahead of world steeplechase champion Emma Corburn. USA’s Jenny Simpson took a great win in 8:40.31. Twell now moves to number six on the UK all-time list.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 3000m race, Jonny Davies finished sixth with big personal best 7:50.18. Last week at the Meeting National Elite in France, Davies won in a then PB of 7.56.13. Edward Cheserek, one day after running the second-fastest ever indoor mile, won in stunning fashion with a super fast personal best 7:38.74.

Lynsey Sharp finished fourth in the 800m with a season’s best 2:02.20, finishing behind Canadian winner Jenna Westaway. While Harry Aikines-Aryeetey clocked 6.66 to finish fifth over 60m with world 100m silver medalist Christian Coleman taking the win in 6.46.

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Following the heat’s on Thursday night, the 1500m men got back on the track for the semi-finals in the London Stadium.

With twelve making it through to the final, only 0.63 seconds separated the first and seventh from the two semi-finals, setting up the prospect of another close middle-distance final on Sunday evening.

Current world silver medalist Elijah Manangoi of Kenya took the first of two races in 3:40.10. Close behind was reigning champion Asbel Kiprop in 3:40.14, and such was Kiprop’s confidence in his speed over the home straight, he could afford to sit at the back of the field for most of the race.

Britian’s Oslo Diamond League winner Jake Wightman, struggled to get out of a messy pack in the middle of the field.

With 800m to go, Wightman was well placed, but just overcooked it going into a fast 52-second last lap, crossing the line in 3:41.79 for 8th.

Czech Republic’s Jakub Holusa showed no ill-effects from Thursday’s earlier round, taking almost four seconds off his heat time, clocking 3:38.05 with a 10m sprint for victory in the second semi-final, the fastest time on the night.

Close behind was Keyna’s Timothy Cheruiyot, while Britain’s Chris O’Hare ran an impressive and confident race for a solid fourth place, almost switching off the burners as he coasted over the line in 3:38.59.

O’Hare, who will line out in his second world outdoor final on Sunday, said: “A bit of a weird race. I knew that if I could be in the top five at the bell, I would be fine.

“It didn’t feel great to be honest but I have a whole day off and will relax and recover and get ready for Sunday.

“Medals are the goal. Nobody goes into the final with anything else in mind and I am exactly the same.”

800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya, US record-holder Ajee Wilson and Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba, the Olympic silver medallist, all won their semi-finals and looked strong, while 2015 world silver medalist Melissa Bishop advanced, finishing second in the first race.

In the women’s 800m semi-finals, Lynsey Sharp was the sole British athlete to advance to Sunday’s final.

The 27-year-old finished fourth in the second semi-final in 1:59.47, clinching a fastest loser spot. In a dramatic set of events, Sharp was initially disqualified for a questionable obstruction offence on Charlene Lipsey, as they approached the finish line. Both athlete’s arms interlocked, with replays showing Sharp’s eyes were closed at the time, dispelling any notion that Sharp intended to do it.

But, following a successful appeal, the British athlete was reinstated for Sunday’s 800m final.

In the first semi-final, Britain’s Adelle Tracey ran a strong race finishing 6th in 2:00.26. A personal best for the 24-year-old, but not quite enough to advance further.

GB team-mate Shelayna Oskan-Clarke was also unsuccessful in her efforts for a place in the 800m final. Running in a strong third semi-field, that featured the Rio Olympic silver and bronze medalists, Oskan-Clarke finished 6th in 2:02.26.

It was a shock US one-two in the women’s 3000m steeplechase final. USA’s Emma Coburn clinched the gold from compatriot Courtney Frerichs, with Kiyeng Jepkemoi of Kenya taking bronze.

Coburn won the race with a superb water jump, sprinting to cross the line in 9:02.58, setting an American and a Championship record in the process.

The 26-year-old is the first American to win gold in a global steeplechase championship since 1952.

Frerichs’s silver medal time of 9:03.77 was a personal best for the 24-year-old American.

The post Chris O’Hare eases to 1500m final, while Lynsey Sharp has dramatic wait for final spot appeared first on Fast Running.

The field for the IAAF Diamond league meet includes every medalist from the Rio Olympics, as well as the World Championships indoors and outdoors, and the last four IAAF Diamond League winners.

The international track & field meet will take place over 2 days, May 26th and 27th.

In addition, Hayward Field will see the return of its record holder and an American who is the youngest ever to run under 1:58 on its historic oval, both coming at previous memorable Pre Classic races.

You want fast times? Everybody in the field has a sub-1:58 lifetime best.

Lynsey Sharp, 26, is a two-time Olympian who ran her fastest in the Rio Games – and the fastest by anyone from Great Britain since Kelly Holmes won the 2004 Olympic gold in Athens. Ranked No. 2 in the world in 2015 by T&FN, Sharp’s 1:57.69 at Rio was a PR by more than second, bettering her best from earning silver at European Championships in 2014.

Caster Semenya will return to Hayward Field as the owner of two Olympic gold medals, the first ever in this event. The 26-year-old South African used a tremendous finish in Rio to repeat her London victory from 2012. It was her fourth global title in a career that has seen ups and downs beginning in 2009, when at 18 she was the youngest ever to win the World Championships.

Semenya’s 2016 season was clearly her best yet and showed a return to form not seen since 2012, when she first won Olympic gold and last ranked among the world’s top 10 by Track & Field News. In 2016, Semenya demonstrated impressive range from the 400 (winning the Diamond League final in 50.40) to the 1500 (winning the African Championships gold in 4:01.99) in addition to being ranked No. 1 in the world by T&FN for the first time since 2009.

This will be only the second race in the U.S. for Semenya – she was 2nd to Jamaica’s Kenia Sinclair in the 2011 Pre Classic. Semenya is undefeated in the 800 since September 2015, a streak currently at 12 races.

Francine Niyonsaba, who will turn 24 on May 5, won the World Indoor title in Portland last year. Last summer she became the first woman from Burundi to earn an Olympic medal with her silver from Rio. Niyonsaba’s Pre Classic victory in 2013 at age 20 produced Hayward Field’s still-standing record of 1:56.72 – her only other race on U.S. soil besides last year’s World Indoor gold.

Niyonsaba first captured attention in 2012, coming out of nowhere to win the African Championships at age 19. That summer followed with her country’s first Olympic final by a woman (5th) and a season where she ranked No. 3 by T&FN. She was dominant last year, winning everywhere except to Semenya.

Ajee’ Wilson, who will turn 23 on May 8, had the unfortunate luck of running in a slow Olympic semifinal consisting of all three medalists from last year’s World Indoor in Portland. Wilson earned the silver at Portland but in that fateful Rio semi the other medalists advanced while Wilson was left out of the final.

It was a feeling Wilson had never experienced before, and she has been on a tear ever since. She has yet to lose this year, including an American record indoors of 1:58.27 to win the Millrose Games in New York. Wilson nearly won the 2015 Pre Classic, losing by .05 seconds to a defending world champion as her 1:57.87 at age 19 is still the youngest sub-1:58 time recorded at Hayward Field.

World ranked No. 2 by T&FN in 2014, Wilson is among America’s best-ever on multiple levels. She swept the 2014 U.S. indoor and outdoor titles, the youngest to do so since a 15-year-old Mary Decker in 1974. As a 19-year-old, Wilson was a finalist in the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, where she ran an American Junior record of 1:58.21. Her international experience includes gold medals at the 2012 World Juniors and 2011 World Youth Championships – she is the only American to win either title.

Marina Arzamasova, 29, is the defending world champion, winning gold at Beijing in 2015. An Olympic finalist in Rio, she also earned bronze at the 2014 World Indoor. She is the second-fastest ever from Belarus in this event since dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, when she was just 3. The two-time Olympian earned her first major medal in 2014 at the World Indoor.

Margaret Nyairera Wambui, 21, earned two bronze medals last year, first at the World Indoor then at the Olympics. The latter was Kenya’s first Olympic medal in this event since 2008, when Pamela Jelimo struck gold. She ranked No. 3 in the world last year by T&FN, her first in the top 10. Wambui won the World Junior gold medal at Hayward Field in 2014. Her 400 PR of 51.39 is second best in the field to only Semenya.

Eunice Sum, 28, of Kenya led the T&FN world rankings from 2013-15 and earned three-straight Diamond League crowns in the same seasons. The 2013 world champion earned bronze in 2015. This will be her sixth Pre Classic appearance, winning the 800 in 2015 and setting lifetime bests in two other events – 1500 (4:01.54 in 2014) and 3000 (8:53.12 in 2012).

Melissa Bishop, 28, set the Canadian record of 1:57.02 while being just a foot out of a medal at Rio after being silver medalist at the World Championships in Beijing. She has been ranked No. 4 in the world in each of the last two years by T&FN, the highest by a Canadian since Abby Hoffman—now an IAAF Council member—in 1971.

Joanna Jozwik, 26, is an Olympic finalist who is Poland’s third-fastest ever, but the first finalist since 1980. She ran her PR 1:57.37 in Rio to finish 5th. Jozwik was ranked No. 5 in the world last year by T&FN after No. 8 in 2015, when she also made the World Championships final. Her first-ever sub-2 race earned her a bronze at the 2014 European Championships.

Watch out for Selina Buchel, 25, who won her second European Indoor gold last month in Belgrade. She set the Swiss national record of 1:57.95 in 2015.

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