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I have been training atleat 5 days a week since mid August and my speed is way better than it has ever been. Only problme is I have little spots everywhere that just nag me, like a recovering strained calf or a slight shin splint. I can train through all of these things, an I have been for months. But my question is would it be such a bad thing to take a week off?

I vaulted saterday and took sunday off, then monday I just did some upperbody weights an today (tuesday) I basicaly layed around house and slept (with about 4 hours of Wii to keep me in shape). Then tomorrows Chrismas eve and then Christmas. So should I try to throw in a running work out over the next two days or does anyone think that taking off till sunday would be benificial?

My next meet is January 17 and Im hoping for a big PR there... expically since I tied my PR of13'6 at first meet two weeks ago and January 17th meet the entry height will probably be around 13'9

I have always felt that rest is the most important thing you can do--often more important than working out. Something that has worked very well for me has been a full week off every four weeks of training. During the week off, I'll go play frisbee with my friends, or go swimming, or maybe go for a light jog if I'm getting antsy, but NO WORKING OUT! ;-) And I usually find that I feel so much fresher, faster, and jump great the week I come back.

Good luck!

As long as you feel confident about your level of fitness, a few days of rest is definitely beneficial. I would also recommend not just sitting around and doing nothing for those few days, but try to get in some light cross training.

It takes 20 weeks to improve your Vo2 max 20%, and interestingly enough your Vo2 max can go down 50% of what it took so long to obtain in just about 10 days of inactivity. The same is generally true with muscular strength. However it can be re-obtained much more quickly once the body is conditioned to exercise.

Taking a full week off when thinking about macro-scale training cycles can be beneficial, however, on the micro-scale in terms of one track season one week off can have a seriously negative affect on your performance one or two months down the road. Active rest sessions, even a 20 min run on your 1 or 2 days off can give you an internal rest without loosing what it takes so long to achieve, without beating your body up further.