recovery day 2/13/12

6mi recovery run / 44min

I logged 37mi in the last three days, and because I'm not fully acclimated to that level of work, this was absolutely a "recovery workout" in the more modern and accurate sense: A routine aerobic session done prior to quality day recovery, with the express purpose of putting that recovery in check.

The purpose wasn't to accelerate my short-term recovery in any way, which is how the term "recovery workout" has frequently been used -- the idea being that an easy session could somehow magically help the body recover. Of course, we now know that is nonsense: Workout stress is workout stress is workout stress. If quick recovery is the goal, don't go running. And that holds true for all of the cross-training twaddle.

The purpose here really was to decelerate my recovery. Sustained recovery is how we get faster. In terms of fitness, the body is always doing one of three things: Improving (recovering from workout stress), holding steady, or declining. So when you are building up to a big race and you sense you are approaching the holding steady phase, you have to beat that shit back into submission.