Yes You are setting yourself up for injury somewhere down the line and burn out. It is good to be young, Start cross training and taking rest days. Alternate your run days every other day do something different on your non- running days. Since you have been running 14 days straight take two consective days and then on the third day ride a bile swim, hike walk or something. then start running again. you need to rest. While on this down time make yourself a work out log to keep track of your training progress. You can use the trainer here on active .com

Good luck

Vicki

I had the same question. I'm doing the Hal Higdon marathon schedule for novices and I can't do 3 days in a row without feeling really sore for 36-48 hours afterward. So I've changed the timing of the runs during the week but kept the same actual mileage for each of the 4 runs. It's really helped.

I agree with the last post. Running everyday is not necessarily bad for you. For one thing you still have youth on your side so you are able to recover faster. Also everyone one is different, some can only handle running 3 hard runs a week and may need those 4 days off, by the same token, that may be all the training they need. Most of the off the shelf running programs out there require at least 3 days off with cross training on the days off. Mainly for safety reasons. For new runners who don't know there limitations yet, it is good practice to help prevent injury. On the flipside, which is the approach I have taken, I sacrificed the performance of some of my first races, because I wanted to see how far I can push myself in training first. So I could maximize the effects of my training later on. I would only recommend the latter if you are willing to put in some serious time into your training, assume that you will suffer some injuries and perhaps less than par early performances in races. This approach takes a lot of dedication and tenacity.

If you are just running to maintain conditioning some days off can do you some good. Cross training helps you balance your bodies strengths, can maintain cardio training, without putting stress on your joints and tendons. If you are racing and really want to get faster, there are ways to make your training more efficient. Without increasing the amount of time you are out per week.