Here’s why rest days matter and how to do them right.
When you’re training for a marathon or another big event, it’s tempting to want to push it hard the whole time, but as Martin Yelling - the official TCS London Marathon coach - explains, effective rest time is crucial when it comes to performing well on Event Day.
Make rest a regular part of your routine
Rest days shouldn’t just be a response to how you’re feeling, says Martin. They should be properly built into your event preparation and training. It’s a good idea to use a marathon Training Plan or our Official Training App, Coopah as they will incorporate rest days into your weekly schedule.
Tune into how you’re feeling
As a general rule, if you're tired you need to take a rest, says Martin, but when you’re training for a marathon it’s not uncommon to feel tired a lot of the time. So, how do you know if you need to take extra rest? “If you’re not sleeping or recovering between sessions, if you’ve lost your appetite, or if everything hurts on what should feel like an easy run – these are all signs you’ve done a bit too much and should take a pause,” he says.
Take time out for minor niggles
If you feel like a minor injury may be brewing, you’re better off resting up for a few days until the pain goes away, says Martin. “Having an initial prevention strategy is a better plan than having to respond to something more serious down the line,” he says.
Eat well
It’s important to eat well on rest days so you’re fuelled for training, says sports nutritionist and author of The Runner’s Cookbook, Anita Bean. She advises runners focus on building a balanced plate: half-filled with colourful vegetables, a quarter with healthy carb-rich foods such as potatoes, pasta or rice, a quarter with lean protein, such as chicken, fish, or beans, alongside a small serving of healthy fats, such as oily fish, avocado, nuts or seeds.
Don’t feel guilty for taking a break
“Put your feet up and watch some TV or read a book or go out and see some friends,” says Martin. “But whatever you do, don’t feel bad about not exercising. Give yourself the go ahead to have a proper rest day without feeling guilty about it.” Training for a marathon is draining physically but can also be mentally taxing, so it’s good to give your mind some time off too.
Written by Sam Haddad. Sam is a freelance journalist based in Brighton, she's been writing about sport and the outdoors for over 20 years.
You can be active on rest days
There are different kinds of rest days, says Martin. “The day after a long run, you might want an active recovery day, where you do a bit of light aerobic activity such as a walk or yoga class or stretching – that can be really good for you,” he says. But sometimes your body will simply need to rest, so on those days it’s fine to do absolutely nothing.
Training plans will have you tapering as you get closer to Event Day, which means reducing the workload on your body. That can lead to massive lethargy, says Martin. “That’s when active moving comes into play as a form of rest,” he says. “You might do a 10-minute run that’s super light and easy but keeps your mind and body ticking over.”
Resting after your event
Most training plans will end on Event Day, and many people won’t want to do much afterwards. But a little bit of moving will help with recovery, says Martin, by raising your temperature and getting the blood circulating around your body.
“If the TCS London Marathon was your big day, then take some proper time off running, perhaps a week or two, though keep walking regularly and perhaps do some light yoga or stretching,” he says.
Even if you’re a regular runner, who has more events coming up, Martin still advises you take a couple of weeks of transition after a marathon before you start seriously running again. “Wait until things stop hurting, essentially,” he says.
Claudia Burrough, competitive wheelchair racer and holder of seven Ultra and Marathon World Records, agrees. She says she’s had marathons where the muscles in her chest were so sore after the event that she couldn’t even sit up in bed, which forced her to rest. “But getting back in your chair and moving around gently is actually one of the best things you can do after a race to help your recovery,” she says.
Written by Sam Haddad. Sam is a freelance journalist based in Brighton, she's been writing about sport and the outdoors for over 20 years.