I’m going to start taking Mondays off from running, mainly because I’ve started a training plan that has rest days then, but also because I’m coming around to seeing a day off a week as insurance against injuries, as argued in this article.
Having a day off when you don’t need one is far better than not having one when you do need one.
Could I listen to my body and play it by ear?
Ideally, yes. But I find it difficult. If I usually run on Mondays, it’s hard to take one off, even if I suspect I probably should.
In fact, the last two (slight) injuries I’ve had reared their heads after I ran easy on a Monday after a few days of hard training.
I had no pain. I went for an easy run. I had pain afterwards.
The main cause of the injury wasn’t the Monday run, but it was the trigger or the last straw. If I hadn’t have gone for a run on those Mondays, I might have dodged the injury.
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