The cumulative effect of a structured training programme has the habit of creeping up on you. One day you might feel like a world beater, the next you are struggling for motivation and finding it difficult to complete sessions as well as you had been. The tendency to over train is a very real one for most runners and is understandably something to avoid. Programmes should be guides to your running and should not be followed slavishly. If you need an extra rest day take one. If you feel like running off the watch and ignoring pace then do so. Another way of helping to avoid the tendency to over train is to keep a little bit in the tank at the end of each session. It is said to be one of the key training principles of Kenyan runners; to not be exhausted at the end of a session, but to save something for the next day. That way you finish strongly and confidently. So if at the end of a speedwork session on the track or running hills you feel that you could manage one more repetition, then that is your signal to stop.
In the long run, 5% too little is far better than 5% too much.
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