Hot bath or cold bath

[Sasha Pachev]

Adam - you are actually right. I am not trying hard enough in a way. It takes more nervous energy to run my body into the ground than I am able to generate. It is quite frustrating. You see the prize money run away from you, you do not want that to happen, you do all you can, and you still cannot go any faster. You are barely breathing, your muscles do not hurt. You finish, and you feel good, too good.

Neurological ability  is a very odd limit. You cannot push it more often than a couple of times a week, even then you need to do it very gently. It responds well to sleep and taking it easy. It does not respond well to any kind of hard brain work that requires concentration. Which, unfortunately, is how I get my bills paid.

[Adam R Wende]

Sasha, With that being said would a regular rest week "refuel" this drive. I've noticed you are consistantly on the top of the mileage board. I looked back and you haven't been under 100mpw since the first week of Dec (and under 80 the week before with St. Jude). Would a week every now and then under 100 or even a regular scheduled week under 80 mpw help reset your body to be able to have that "extra push" to get over the hump?... I know you have said "slow twitch runners tend to lose aerobic endurance quickly upon cessation of mileage" but I do think that complete muscle recovery and repair every now and then helps you push through the next wall. Just my two cents.

[Sasha Pachev]

Adam:
The problem is that I am not hitting muscle fatigue limits. So no reason to rest the muscles. I need to rest and nourish the nerves, which can be difficult. What I found about the nerves - they rest when sleeping, relaxing, or running at slower than 7:00 pace. They work to the point of slow gradual death at speeds as slow as 6:30. They also work just as hard during a lot of non-running activities, which you often cannot control. So that throws a wrench in the equation.

[Josse]

Sasha, With that being said would a regular rest week "refuel" this drive.

I am a big believer in regular rest weeks, I do them about every 3-4 weeks.  I think they do just what you said, and allow me to train harder on the other weeks.  When you decrease your mileage you could replace that running time with sleep time and help the nervous system recover, Right?

[Tom]

I have to agree with Josse on this one. I've started doing rest weeks usually every 4 weeks the last couple months and I think they have helped me alot to stay fresh. I usually schedule a race at the end of the week to spice things up a bit.

[Josse]

So know that is has changed for hot bath or cold bath to recovery, I will add more.  I think as a runner you have to do regular matience on your body to preform at your best and get the most out of your training.  This may be differant for everyone but, in my opinion, some of the best are- regular massage or self massage with a rolling pin or stick,  scrapping is one of my new favorites,  an ice bath after runs or just icing a sore area,  chiropractics (when the body needs it),  fueling and sleeping properly,  taking recovery weeks.  I am sure there are more that can be added to the list but these are some.  I feel if you take care of yourself your chance of injury lessen, but doesn't excuse you from it.  Alway listen to your body signals, they will be there we just tend to ignore them (even myself).  But remeber it's the long hall that matters.