is it really better to skip a day running, should i sprint on off days, swim every day, run others?
i've got a bit of a beat up body, will running everyday injure my leg that hurts like hell the day after.
Also, where to find best overall daily Workouts. Thanks

Back in my days of high school x-country and track we ran everyday, and some afternoons you'd come home sore, but you lived through it.

The basics from what I hear around this forum is that muscle tissue needs at least a day to heal and regenerate itself. Currently I just work different muscle groups each day, like run one day, go swiming the next, and take Sunday off, but do my calisthenics everyday. If you're looking for daily Workouts, this website has many, go check it out.

...I'm waiting for osinskird to post here though, lol, he's the pro at this sort of thing and will help you out <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

I think Antons advice is right on. Depending on what your training for will dictate when you rest. When your on a XC team you would run everyday. I have a buddy who is a pro-runner and he runs every day and twice a day four times a week. Rosco if you are hurting you should take it easy. The OL-H used to have two "off days" a week, Wednesdays and Sundays. If you overtrain now you will never have a chance to be at the OL-H. I talked to my friend about what the right thing to do is and he advised against the intervals (I'm guessing that is what you mean by the sprints, or something similar). Unless you are in great running shape he said that intervals are sure to cause injuries, or in your case worsen your injuries. Like Anton said look at the Workouts, I would say do just that but tailor them for you. My buddy is awesome he runs the 50 mile endurance races in 6:10 and has tried out for the Olympic Marathon Team. When he looked over the times and requirments for PJ/CCT he suggested a running program that is a half marathon training program. It is actually very reasonable, it will make it so 6 miles is no problem and 15 is no stranger. It is a combination of Slow runs, Long Runs and Tempo runs. He said save the intervals for after you have been doing the program for a while and you are strong. If you are interested in it I would be happy to share it with you and his reasoning for why it is effective. It is great to have the help of somebody that is talented and knowledgable, and better yet he is now interested in the career field, he has ran for the Army and Navy athlete programs and is ready to turn blue.

Good Luck.

i know i wasn't the target of the offer, but if i may.. i would be very interested in the workout and what your friend has to say about it

thanks

dan

You are too kind, Antons! Here goes: It will not get you much benefit to run every day, and yet, it will increase your chances of overtraining drastically. I would have at least a day of rest in between runs. After one mesocycle (3 or four weeks), you may add in intervals, as they will be the single most effective tool for increasing your speed. Three runs/wk is a good general rule, with one of them being an interval workout. Keep the intervals at at least 600 meters, and no more than 1600, or they won't help you much in the long runs (no pun intended). I usually aim for about 800 meters. After an interval workout, give yourself two days of rest instead of one. Fill your non-run days with swim Workouts, and take at least one day off/wk, and you should be good to go for about 2 to 3 months. After that, you are going to want to increase your volume. If you are lifting at the same time, check this thread out.

osinskird,

what is your feeling about the routine on the FAQ page? i've done it in the past and present and it has helped to make a 7:30/mi. pace no problem for any distance, but not sure what to do to lower the times...

norm, like DS, i am also interested in this workout you speak of. maybe you could post it?

thanks

It is a good routine, running-wise. However, I am inclined to say that it seems to require too much work for too little benefit. You can get down to a 7:30 pace a lot more easily, and certainly without putting so many miles in. The workout is designed with the age-old training rule of "specificity" in mind, so it attempts to mimic the rigors of running at the indoc by having you run almost every day. You do not receive much added benefit for this. My suggestion is to put in those good rest days up until about six weeks or so before the indoc, and then start increasing the frequency of your runs until you are running 5 days/wk. The reason you are doing this is not to increase your stamina per se (you should already be able to meet a 7:00/m pace at this point), but to strengthen the connective tissue and bone density in your legs so that you don't get shin slints or stress fractures when you suddenly increase the volume of running you do upon arriving at indoc. Intervals are the key to increasing your speed. They push up your anearobid threshold so that you can run faster while still staying within the energy pathways that use oxygen (going beyond the threshold is what makes you tire out and have to stop).

I finally typed up and posted the workout some of you expressed interest in. You can check it out by clicking on the following link.

http://www.specialtactics.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=000050