Forums >General Running>What will happen if I don't run further than 5 miles for 4 years?
As of December it will have been a year since I ran a half marathon. I've been focusing more on strength training and really haven't been running consistently.
I'm still a young guy who is in some regards finishing puberty, but I'm entering the phase in which I'm going to be able to build a decent amount of muscle mass should I choose to do so. A lot of my research has led me to believe that it would behoove myself and my hormones to get strong now for the next few years, and then once adolescence is well over return to running just to maintain health.
I'm 5'5" and probably will be looking at around 120 lbs for this period, but with some decent muscle mass (way more than I'd be able to maintain if I was running high mileage). So I will probably do runs of 5 miles sporadically, and do biking as well. I'll also more likely focus on getting heart rate up than doing longer, slow distance.
Is it unreasonable to assume that as long as I run occasionally, once I'm through with this phase, I'll be able to return to regular running with no issue?
if you're tired of starting over then stop giving up!
Half Fanatic #846
If you don't have any specific goals, just keeping active like you're doing now sounds good to me.
"I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk. "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt". I ran half my last race on my left foot!
#RunEveryDay
You'll still be 4 years older. Don't stress it! A lot of us didn't start running until older than that.
Half Fanatic #9292.
Game Admin for RA Running Game 2023.
From age 16 to age 27, I gained ~80-90 lbs and didn't run at all.
While I'd be faster if I never stopped, it worked out all right. Keep running and don't balloon up or start smoking like I did. If you stay fit, I can't imagine why you'd have a problem.
"When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." Emil Zatopek
kween
I think 120 lbs. is too low for a guy who is 5'5". Especially with muscle mass.
Nolite te bastardes carborundum.
He's a kid.
MTA: not to mention that is also a normal weight for an adult
He's a kid. MTA: not to mention that is also a normal weight for an adult
Granted, a 20 year old kid, but I'll say around 130 instead just to be on the safe side, especially since I'm closer to 5'6" than 5'5". Anyways, I'm sort of coming to the conclusion that lifting and running is possible. Not really worth stopping running for that long, especially since I've never gone longer than 6 months without running since I was 14.
If you enjoy it, keep doing it. In either case, running will always be there for you. This is prime time man, get out there and pursue whatever athletic activity you're interested in.
And your weight is fine. I wouldn't spend any mental energy thinking about it at this point.
If you enjoy it, keep doing it. In either case, running will always be there for you. This is prime time man, get out there and pursue whatever athletic activity you're interested in. And your weight is fine. I wouldn't spend any mental energy thinking about it at this point.
This
Runners run
I think I'll just run and lift and not worry about it. Thanks for the help.
I know a guy who only runs three 5ks a week but he runs them in 21 min.
He can get in marathon shape in 12 weeks.
He is a good runner but is an SBI agent with two little kids and just doesn't have time to run.
MazyRuns
I had a team mate in high school who was a soccer player turned varsity xc runner, wrestler, and phenomenal sprinter come trwck season. He was also into bodybuilding...I dont know what he weighed, but he was about 5'6" as well. For running, he was usually discounted because of his size, but he blew them all away. He raced and lifted in college and ran much more than five miles at a clip. It is certainly possible to do both when you figure out the right balance.
5K--19:01 10k--40:40 half--1:35:47 full--3:17.28
Feeling the growl again
I know a guy who only runs three 5ks a week but he runs them in 21 min. He can get in marathon shape in 12 weeks. He is a good runner but is an SBI agent with two little kids and just doesn't have time to run.
I knew a guy who only ran 3-4 5Ks per week on a treadmill at work during lunch...at 5min/mile... and ran sub-15 for 5K. Of course ten years earlier he'd run a ton more and beat Bill Rogers in a marathon. If you are generally staying active and fit, you can still run OK when you want to if you get just a few runs in per week and make them a bit more intense.
Do what makes you happy. If you stay active and in shape it shouldn't be a big deal to return to running. It may take you a year or two to get back to where you were at though.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Greetings, Earthlings!
You'll be fine with returning to running whatever you do. But the occasional run, with some high-intensity intervals, will preserve your running fitness, so you won't need to rebuild from scratch. I didn't even start running until I was 22. Within 3 years I was running 5K in 21 minutes and did a 25K at an 8:00 pace. In hindsight, I should have done more lifting; at 25, I was 5'10" and weighed 130-135. I think you have the right idea.