A study in recovery

Our club coach once told me that you need 2 weeks of catch-up training for every week missed. I'd always wondered if this was the case. I guess I now have the answer.

If you look at A study in loss of fitness, you will see the result of the lay-off in terms of loss of pace on the treadmill.

The plot below is the comparison of my heart rate on the treadmill from 4 weeks ago in blue, with today's plot in red. The first 3 miles are the same 9.6 km/h; the 4th mile 4 weeks ago was a cool down, hence a lower HR. The time line is as follows:

Normal 40 mile training week

Gym session - blue plot

Illness - no running for a week

1 week of gentle running - 20 miles - still recovering

A study in loss of fitness

Normal training week - 40 miles

Normal training week - 43 miles

Gym session - red plot

If we count the second week as a neutral week, just trying to avoid losing any more fitness, then it seems that the 2 for 1 rule is correct!