by Matt Fitzgerald

* Whenever you run again within 24 hours of completing a key workout (or any run that has left you severely fatigued or exhausted), the follow-up run should usually be a recovery run.

* Recovery runs are only necessary if you run four times a week or more.

o If you run just three times per week, each run should be a “key workout” followed by a day off.

o If you run four times a week, your first three runs should be key workouts and your fourth run only needs to be a recovery run if it is done the day after a key workout instead of the day after a rest day.

o If you run five times a week, at least one run should be a recovery run.

o If you run six or more times a week, at least two runs should be recovery runs.

* There’s seldom a need to insert two easy runs between hard runs, and it’s seldom advisable to do two consecutive hard runs within 24 hours.

* Recovery runs are largely unnecessary during base training, when most of your workouts are moderate in both intensity and duration. When you begin doing formal high-intensity workouts and exhaustive long runs, it’s time to begin doing recovery runs in roughly a 1:1 ratio with these key workouts.

* There are no absolute rules governing the appropriate duration and pace of recovery runs.

o A recovery run can be as long and fast as you want, provided it does not affect your performance in your next scheduled key workout.

o In most cases, however, recovery runs cannot be particularly long or fast without sabotaging recovery from the previous key workout or sabotaging performance in your next one.

o A little experimentation is needed to find the recovery run formula that works best for each individual runner.

* Don’t be too proud to run very slowly in your recovery runs, as Kenya’s runners are famous for doing. Even very slow running counts as pre-fatigued running practice that will yield improvements in your running economy, and running very slowly allows you to run longer without sabotaging your next key workout.

Active Expert Matt Fitzgerald is the author of several books on triathlon and running, including Runner’s World Performance Nutrition for Runners (Rodale, 2005).

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