Training Tips
Most runners struggle with the question "when should I take a day off?" For some runners there is a sense of pride, accomplishment, or flow to seeing how many consecutive days they can run without missing a day of running. For others, taking days off comes all too easily and the struggle is to keep the number of days off to a minimum. Is there an ideal number of days per week, month, or year that we should run?

Every person is different. Just as one shoe does not fit every foot, nor is there a set plan for how often to run that is ideal for everyone. With that said, don't feel like you need to challenge the Guinness World Record for consecutive days of running (which is somewhere over 10,000). Taking days off is an important part of training, almost as vital as the workouts that you struggle to complete, because days without a run allow your body to recover from the rigors of training. Conversely, missing too many days precludes you from getting into a good training rhythm and makes it hard to achieve anywhere near your potential. You also do not want to be one of those people who races every weekend because it is more enjoyable than the daily grind of training alone and then takes Monday through Friday off as a reward.

Generally speaking, three days per week of running is the minimum that you should run if you want to improve your fitness. For the other end of the spectrum, six days is the ideal maximum. The sense of accomplishment of stringing together a streak of consecutive days is overshadowed by the potential for injury or over-training. Running can be addictive for many people and, like all addictions, should be kept in check and not be allowed to control your life or your running. While I would be a hypocrite if I said that you should never run seven days per week, you should at least take a day off every two or three weeks to allow your mind and body to heal.

There are two types of days off--planned and unplanned. The advantage of having a coach and/or rigid training plan is that you know how many miles and what types of workouts you will be doing over a period of time. A coach can help you maintain a balance between the extremes of over- and under-training. Regardless of whether you have a coach or not, it is important to plan days off. Busy lives and schedules often require it, and you need to plan your running around the activities in your life that often take priority. Ideally, you would plan to take days off spaced evenly throughout the week and month; however, that is not always possible. Many runners feel guilty when they miss a day of running. By planning to take days off, you do not have to feel guilty about missing those days because you knew beforehand that it was part of your plan and you can make sure that the most important workouts are worked into the available days.

Unplanned days off are also important, although they are more difficult to incorporate into your training plan. It is easy to get into a lazy rut and take off several days because the weather is bad, you don't feel very well, or your schedule is too busy. Unplanned days off should be taken because of injury (always), sickness (tough to gauge, but generally when you have any type of fever or serious cough), and occasionally just to have a little vacation. If you choose to take a day off at random, just to have some extra time for yourself, don't feel bad about that, unless they become regular occurrences. It is important to find a nice balance between structure and spontaneity in your running that keeps you physically fresh and mentally reinvigorated.