I know everyone takes time off, so obviously it is important. But why?
What would be the cons of training thru to cross country?
what does the body / what happens to the body during time off?
Is it just a mental drag, or would it increase injury?
Thanks in advance. I'm at A meet today but not racing so I'll be on here periodically
I always take 2 weeks off of doing absolutely nothing. Maybe on the second week I'll get back into lifting. I usually have a long season up through the national meet so I'm pretty much competing from September with a short break in December and then straight trough from January to the end of May. By the end of June I'm doing easy runs 6 days a week and then start adding some stady states and light tempo work by the end of July.
My story is simIlar. I think it helps my body recover. And gives us a chance to catch up on sleep, relaX, and recharge mentally
I was the same way basically. It is hard to say how each body would react if you didn't take time off, but ultimately, you would end up not really peaking and just running average for 365 days as opposed to running really well for a couple of months during the year. If you push your body hard enough, you will need time off to recover. Many guys I knew were on the verge of breaking down towards the end of the year. they really needed some time to get back healthy.
What do you mean their bodies were breaking down?!
I mean that when you are pushing yourself at high mileage and hard workouts for 6 straight months, your body slowly breaks down. Recovery days and time off and icing and stretching helps delay the breakdown, but when you are racing hard from January until June, the body really wears down. Taking 2 weeks at the start of June to heal the muscles is crucial before you start building back up again for XC.
College provides a unique challenge in that there really are 3 seasons that distance runners work on. Indoor is bigger in college than it is in HS (nationally) or in the pros. Generally these guys get a week tops after cross and then they don't stop till June.
d1 bro wrote:
I mean that when you are pushing yourself at high mileage and hard workouts for 6 straight months, your body slowly breaks down. Recovery days and time off and icing and stretching helps delay the breakdown, but when you are racing hard from January until June, the body really wears down. Taking 2 weeks at the start of June to heal the muscles is crucial before you start building back up again for XC.
College provides a unique challenge in that there really are 3 seasons that distance runners work on. Indoor is bigger in college than it is in HS (nationally) or in the pros. Generally these guys get a week tops after cross and then they don't stop till June.
ah okay that makes sense.
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RIP: D3 All-American Frank Csorba - who ran 13:56 in March - dead
RENATO can you talk about the preparation of Emile Cairess 2:06
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