Why Rest Days Make You a Faster Runner | With Olympian Colleen Quigley

If you've ever skipped a rest day because it felt lazy - this episode is for you.

This week on The Runna Podcast, Coach Anya sits down with Runna athlete and Olympian Colleen Quigley for a quick Coach on Call episode on running recovery - the science, the signs, and the judgment calls that actually make the difference mid-training block.

Whether you're in peak week and second-guessing your rest days, or pushing through fatigue you probably shouldn't be - this one's worth a listen.

In this episode, you'll learn:
🛌 When to take a rest day: read your body, not just feel
💪 Why rest days make you faster: muscle repair and bone recovery
📊 Active recovery vs complete rest: which one you actually need
🏊 What an Olympian does on recovery days: Colleen's routine
🚫 Myth busted: "If you're not sore, you don't need a rest day"

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⏱️ Timestamps:
0:00 "The only training that counts is the training you recover from"
0:52 Meet Colleen Quigley
1:09 Myth busters
2:20 What is a rest day? And what it definitely isn't
3:22 How an Olympian learned to love the rest day
4:54 Active recovery explained
6:13 Why doing nothing can actually make you feel worse
6:44 How to know when you need a rest day
9:37 HRV, wearables and what the data is actually telling you
11:17 The science: micro tears, muscle repair and why bones take longer
13:06 Cortisol, hormones and the fight or flight reset
14:21 "You are more than just a runner" — the mental side of rest
14:43 Key takeaways: rest days are non-negotiable