- Forget the 10% rule?
For running eternity, one of the training rules to follow was not to increase your weekly mileage volume by more than 10% per week. Staying within this limit lowered your risk of injury and allowed you to steadily gain endurance. I’ve always thought that sounded like a good idea in theory, but I’ve ignored it many a time without any issues – but I’ve also tried to do so sensibly, like running those extra miles at easy pace and on a forgiving surface like trails. Check out this article by Jason Fitzgerald to see if reconsidering the conventional wisdom might work for your goals.
2. Pretty much every recovery method isn’t really that helpful
After reading “Good to Go: What the Athlete In All Of Us Can Learn From the Strange Science of Recovery” by Christie Aschwanden (2019), I was kind of deflated. Aschwanden basically found that the only recovery tool that is proven by peer-reviewed, scientific study to give a significant boost to recovery is sleep. Specialty drinks and diets, massage, foam rolling, infrared saunas, cryotherapy, meditation – not helpful in a meaningful way to your recovery.
That said, it’s important to consider that if a particular recovery method makes you feel good and doesn’t cause any harm, there’s no reason for you to discontinue it. No one knows better than you how your body feels to you, and as we all know from the placebo effect, if you feel like something is helping you, it probably is a little, even if it’s only mental. I don’t know about you, but I need all the mental health I can get, so I will resume regular sports massage once I can. And I will definitely consider this information when I justify napping and skipping out on foam rolling.
3. Watch a running movie!
If you’ve burned through all your streaming options, check out the Runner’s World “30 Best Running Movies Ever Made” list for some inspiration.
