Rest day running?

[Kimberami]

Today is supposed to be my day of rest, but I felt so good I that I decided to run anyway. I did a week 2 run today. I feel great. Am I making a big mistake?

[Cazvs Graduate]

I asked this a few weeks ago and got some great advice. One person said that even if you feel good, your muscles still need time to repair. Experienced runners that run every day will do shorter runs on rest days. I decided not to risk it (impatient though I am!) because I like running and don't want to risk injuring myself so I have to take a whole week off. I do yoga or weights on my days off. Not the same thing but it keeps me occupied.

[Saruma Graduate]

you definitely need the rest days, so it isn't a good idea to do this regularly. Your rest days are as important as the run days in terms of allowing your muscles to repair and build strength. If you are feeling a bit twitchy between runs, perhaps try an exercise with less impact- such as walking or swimming.

[JanetteADF]

all of the running injuries I've had so far were from not waiting between runs. but there are those times when you just can't wait a whole day for a run, one those i usually half my usual distance and slow down a little, since then i've had no problems

as the posters above have said, you could try doing a different exercise on your rest days- i'm a big fan of picking up then putting down metal

[pingle Graduate]

Definitely take your rest days from running Kimberami! Especially if you are starting from a position of being fairly unfit or if you have not run before, your body needs the time to rest and repair. You might get away with it on the earlier runs but as you build up distance the rest days are essential. Some people even find that 2 rest days are necessary at least for a time.

If you have to be doing something then as saruma suggests maybe, walking, swimming or cycling or download one of the strength and flexibility podcasts. All that stretching is great for avoiding stiffness. You have the rest of your life to be out running - it would be a shame to scupper it by picking up an injury through being too impatient. Good luck and enjoy!