Jo on active rest

If you plan to have a fairly long end-of-season or post-marathon break – a month, perhaps – have a few days of no running, but then think of the rest of the break as an active rest. Try to keep your body ticking over by doing some easy running on some days. It doesn't need to be part of a schedule, just do it when it fits, even if it's only 15-20 minutes. During the earlier years of my career, I used to think it would do me good to completely rest and not run at all. However, I realised that the loss of conditioning led me to pick up injuries on my return to training. Later in my career, when I changed my approach and kept some running going, I found I could then progress back into normal training more successfully.