Thank you all for the feedback. I didn't expect the "running" article to stimulate such discussion! It's a nice surprise. I'll tailor the second part of the article to cover the questions raised by the first part. I might even need a third part to cover all aspects I'd intended…

Tom, in answer to your questions:
Every individual's capacity for recovery is different. Even your own recovery rate depends on your age, current fitness, training intensity and frequency, sleep quality and nutrition etc. So the number of runs and Muay Thai training sessions you can tolerate are unique to you. You need to strike a balance between working as hard as possible to achieve greatest gains, whilst not overtraining and beginning a downward spiral of injury, lethargy and diminished performance.

The typical signs of overtraining are:

> Cramp
> Re-appearance of old faults in technique
> Disturbed timing, rhythm and flow of movement
> Lack of concentration
> Reduced ability to observe errors and correct them
> Reduced endurance, strength and speed
> Increased recovery time
> Lack of drive. Quick to give up in difficult situations
> Confusion in competition, departure from usual tactics
> Easily demoralised before competition
> Increased irritability
> Over sensitivity to criticism

Constantly assess the effects of changes to you training frequency and intensity to ensure that you are getting the most out of yourself while not overtraining. You know best how you are feeling. If you are overtraining, cut down the workload.

I personally find that running for 3 to 4 miles using the interval method for the majority of my runs is the most advantageous. I run as fast as I can for 3-minutes and then jog slowly for 1-minute to recover. This pattern repeats until the distance is completed. I've found if I do this running in the morning (on the way to work!), I've recovered sufficiently to train hard again in the evening.
To help with recovery, I'll drink a protein shake after the run and drink plenty of water during the day to re-hydrate.

Wind sprints are very taxing and I personally employ this method only once a week - on an otherwise "light" training day or ideally as the only session of the day.

Hills or stairs are directly comparable to either wind sprints or interval running, depending on what intensity you are using to ascend! If you have access to decent hills, make use of them, they're great for conditioning. :-)

There's a lot that could be discussed with respect to running. My original "summary style" article proposal might not be sufficient. I think perhaps it's time to rewrite the rest!!!!....???