The Art of Recovery, this week on the pod! Recovery isn’t just sleep and nutrition—it’s a whole art form, and I’ve come to see it as a skill we develop over time. One of the biggest shifts in my own training was learning to periodize not just by weeks or training blocks, but on a day-to-day level. Watching elite athletes train in Ethiopia, for example, taught me that recovery isn’t just tolerated—it’s prioritized. These guys would hammer hard sessions and then shuffle 10-minute miles the next day, fully committing to going slow. That contrast between truly hard days and genuinely easy ones is where the magic happens. Recovery isn’t passive; it’s strategic, and it’s built into the rhythm of training. But it goes way beyond the physical. Mental and emotional recovery is just as critical—especially in a sport like ours that asks so much focus and commitment. For me, mental rest means giving myself permission to step away from the grind: no workouts on the calendar, no thinking about splits or macros or long-term goals. Whether it’s a post-race downtime or a walk during a tough week, that kind of “doing nothing productively” helps me stay grounded and come back sharper. And especially during life transitions—divorce, injury, big travel—I’ve learned to lower expectations, not in a defeatist way, but as a strategy. Because stress is stress, and your body doesn’t care whether it’s from a breakup or a threshold session. If you’re out there feeling guilty about rest, remember: it’s not the opposite of progress—it’s where progress actually happens. Tune into this weeks podcast to hear more about the art of recovery and what I’m getting up to in this training block! Linked in bio. Available wherever you get your podcasts & on YouTube. #herecomeschaski #tystraining #runningpodcast #projecthimalaya #trainingtips #runcoach