Just gonna say, as a fellow excessive exerciser... exercise doesn't make you stronger. It's the recovery afterwards and the resulting growth/adaptation that makes you better.
Don't let rest feel like weakness. It’s where the real progress happens.
Don't let rest feel like weakness. It’s where the real progress happens.
I find the tendency of very amateur runners having very strong opinions about running, odd. There are literally decades of research, and while the particulars change over time, the macros tend not to.
He explains why he took Saturday and Sunday off ;-)
"As I rested for two days my body would get a reset. On Monday-sessions I would always be well rested and ready for another hard five days. And if I weren’t well rested, if my pulse was not responding as usual or if my legs felt heavier than they usually did on a Monday-session, I would take notice early. I would know that something was abnormal before it became a real issue and I would throw in some extra rest days and avoid a negative trend."
“Rest doesn’t preclude running” is a very simple, clear thought (followed by “recovery pace”, another very simple concept, well known in running). If you don’t want to respond to it because you don’t know anything about running, that’s fine, but maybe, you know, don’t jump into a conversation you’re not capable of participating in?
"Usually I did not train at all during rest days. I rested both my mind and my body. However, if my friends wanted to go alpine skiing or go for a hike, I would join them. But I didn’t perform any intended active recovery. I tried to live a normal life."
“Rest with zero recovery running” is a very simple, clear thought.
And either way, yeah runstreak is probably not optimal for improving your stamina. I am sure there are more rigorous programs for that.
Obsessively run streaking one mile every day sounds completely bizarre to me and a complete PITA.
Almost as bizarre as those poor bastards that I see doing laps around tiny parks / basketball courts (the monotony would drive me crazy).
Imo, this is OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) expressed as running stats, rather than thimble collections or hand washing. It's about gaining/regaining a sense of control of one's life.
Where do they come from?
The 1000+ days behind me means something. And many days it is what pushes me through.
It would be nice if I could find a ramp down scheme, but then with something else to ramp up, otherwise it would probably be better to just keep going.
Just stopping on a random Wednesday, it would just feel very weird.
(I am not the person in the article, just another guy with a streak)
I stopped running maybe 7 or 8 years ago. This thread has me wanting to go back to a mile a day or so — I'm past 60 years old now and more concerned about my health than I used to be.
21:34 — 65
22:49 — 64
23:04 — 61
23:41 — 64
24:45 — 75
24:57 — 63
25:06 — 67
25:41 — 66
25:52 — 66
26:37 — 63
27:01 — 73
27:31 — 70
27:52 — 74
28:49 — 76
29:29 — 61
30:34 — 78
30:55 — 86
31:03 — 72
31:14 — 68
& another 14 older than 60A healthy relationship with exercise does not look like this and I hate seeing this stuff promoted.
If you hate running and you've only tried it on a treadmill, highly recommend giving it another try somewhere nice outside.
It's not testable at home but if you're curious, google VO2 max.
Presumably their (aaronbrethorst) "resting days" are resting from running, not resting from "household chores" and "letting the dog out".
Should we ask whether you have an unblemished daily streak of "household chores" and "letting the dog out".
It doesn't magically turn dangerous just because the activity is labeled "running".
As someone who vacuums and carries groceries but doesn't run, I find that pretty hard to believe. Maybe if you are a very fit runner? But then those other activities would hopefully also be easier.
Also running tends to be more repetitive and pounding on the joints which requires more recovery time than simply vacuuming. I’ve never heard someone get injured vacuuming but I know dozens of people injured from running.
A mile of slow running is ~11 minutes.
I suspect that the original poster has a better sense of these factors, for their own body, than you do and is much more suited to make these decisions.