Recovery workouts serve no direct benefit for your aerobic development on that day, but it can help to enhance its development on the next day. For me it is simple, what can I do today, that will improve my tomorrow. If that means not doing anything, then so be it. If it means doing something at a low effort level to speed up recovery by stimulating blood circulation, then I do it.

Complete rest days are more complicated, since it basically has more to do with your current weekly volume, and your "past" volume numbers. In VERY general terms, 15+ hours a week, one "off-leg day", 10 or less, might be better off with two "off-leg-day". Off-leg-day = no running/cycling. This isn't a rule of thumb, just a guideline.

A coach's plan is only effective if it is followed. The context of a book, and the context of the training philosophy of a coach, both have very different goals (book=general, it wasn't written for you, coach=specific, it was written for you). I know this isn't what you were asking, but the point is, they are both right in the context of what their goals are.

They only wrong way to do things, is if they don't fit your personal needs as an athlete, or person (life outside of training/racing)

I'm with vjohhnson on this one, usually the more hours per week you do, the more recovery sessions you have. I don't know whether its because when you are exercising so much your body goes into sleep mode or goes all funny with a complete day off, and hence a recovery session serves the purpose better.
You mentioned hearing of pro's doing recovery sessions rather than days off, often this is partly related to the fact they do at least 2 sessions a day and often 3 depending on who it is, and I tend to think people can really only get 1-2 very high quality sessions in each discipline in a week maximum, so the rest need to be easier to allow the body to recover from or be fresh for those 'key' workouts.
For the mere mortals doing lower frequency, often there is not as much 'extra' in between those key workouts as people do not have as much time to train etc, so tend to go with the quality workouts and then rest days(days to be a good parent, partner etc etc too) and the occasional recovery session too.
As vj also said, it depends on the person and how it fits their schedule and it is effective if it is followed correctly.

I have only one training season under my belt, and really felt the recovery sessions were a waste of time because they did not seem to demand anything form the aerobic or strength standpoint. My visit to a sports medicine doctor yesterday for a diagnosis on knee pain gave me a new perspective on the issue. It turns out that I have inflamed tendons in my knee from the muscles that run up my femur (would not know how to translate as the diagnosis was given to me in spanish). I have to undergo a couple of weeks of physical therapy to reduce inflammation and asked the doctor if I had to give up exercising for those two weeks. His response was very interesting as he said I need to do recovery workouts (no running) as it will help with circulation to the tendons. He said that improved circulation was going to help relieve the inflammation, and due to the fact that tendons get very little circulation, it was very important to do those recovery spins to maximize the blood flow to the area...

The only recovery workouts I do are swimming. On my "off days", I often add a technique-focused swim with zero hard laps. This is the only workout that I feel truly lets me recover. Anything else, I'll work too hard at!

I'll do a recovery swim, and a recovery ride. I don't believe in the notion of a recovery run. too hard on my body

IMO recovery workouts (recovery is very relative to the user) are more beneficial than just plain "not doing anything" most of the time for the following reasons.

1- If done properly- its speeds recovery by flushing out toxins and lactic acid build up.
2- helps to burn off calories. Remember, on training days your consuming 2,500-3,000 cals a day. If you take a rest day you should drop your caloric intake to match your burn thus causing you take in same 2,000 for that day. For me that's hard to do. My body has become so regulated that taking in 2,000 cals seems like I'm starving and I feel miserable.
3- good cardio training to just keep the body used to pumping.

With that being said, there are times when you just need a day off. Like when you pushed your body so hard it becomes hard to function (race).

I'd listen to your coach before listening to a book. The book may be talking to a certain targeted audience on a specific training regiment (moderate intensity).

Gains are made in recovery, not in the pains of training.

I like to do them because they make me feel better. I will be less sore after I do them, and it seems that my next workout is more comfortable - I'm not as sore when I start. I also tend to agree with the flushing the toxins idea but I don't know that I've ever seen any studies on that. It sure feels that wa though...

I do find that recovery swim sessions seem to help me a lot...

-C

There is no doubt that recovery workouts are beneficial to any athlete, especially those that train for endurance events! Depending on the volume of your training, and the goals of your season, you should shoot for a minimum of one recovery day per week. These workouts are simply ones that allow you to continue utilizing your aerobic engine, but at the same time do not overload it. Unfortunately every athlete is different, but a few good rules of thumb regarding recovery workouts are as follows:

1. Low Volume (30-40% of time spent on longest training session that week in respective sport). As an example, let's say you did a 80 mile long ride and it took 4 Hr (20mph average). Then a good recovery ride would be a 20 mile ride at a lower pace.

2. Low Intensity (60-70% Effort). If you average 8 min pace on your middle to long distance runs, then the intensity of your recovery run should be about 9-9:30 min pace. It isn't about speed or distance, it is about allowing your body to RECOVER!

3. Focus on Technique Drills during your recovery workouts. Recovery workouts are a great opportunity to spend some time improving your overall efficiency. Try some swim drills to improve stroke length, or some calisthenics for becoming a more efficient runner.

Want some more tips? Check out www.triathletetalk.com!

I still have yet to hear someone tell me what a recovery run really is... If "it is about allowing your body to RECOVER", then why would this involve a high impact activity such as running? I understand the benefits of an easy, technique-focused swim. I benefit from the easy spin on the bike to flush out the legs. But "recovery run" just sounds like an oxymoron. What am I missing?

[quote=dkhartung] But "recovery run" just sounds like an oxymoron. What am I missing?[/quote]

Your not missing anything at all. People misuse the term "recovery run" for runs that are just that: runs (with no intensity). These runs are merely runs to build up mileage without intensity. Adding on the mileage without the stress of intensity (building a bigger base to work off of). For me out of a typical week I have 2/4 of my runs that are of these mileage builders. 45 minutes in duration with no intensity just cruising speed. This helps me add 12-14 miles a week to my mileage so that when the time comes I can inject more intensity into my week (IM peak weeks) without increasing my mileage by simply replacing these "recovery runs" with intensity workouts.

For the bike I have 0/3 recovery rides right now (nothing is a recovery on the trainer). I will have one recovery ride a week though come IM peak time of 2-2.5 hours.

For the swim I utilize 2/5 swims a week as recovery (really one one). One is no intensity, but tons of volume (3,700-4,000) and the other is purely recovery (2,200 after long run).

Recovery workouts are immensely important, but funny enough, are difficult to do. I take complete "Off" days very rarely and instead throw in Recovery Days. These days usually consist of a Very light swim, or a Very light bike. (Doing a light recovery run is difficult and I usually avoid them). The bike usually is a light spin, while the swim would be very light and few form Intervals and kicking. When you have a competitive nature, this becomes difficult, especially if you start feeling great.

During these workouts (usually an hour), I take a bottle of Heed + Endurox R4 with me. My theory is that drinking the sports drink during a recovery workout will allow my body to recover quicker, and store my glycogen in the muscles (just like eating loads of pasta to pack the energy warehouse). Based on how I feel and perform on subsequent days, I see this theory to be pretty accurate.

In addition to recovery workouts, doing extra "recovery workouts" the same day is important. This may include a stretching workout, ice bath, massage, or breathing exercises. These recovery exercises and recovery workouts can be found at the Endurance Workout Database. www.MCTTriathlon.com

Great Luck with Training!