Forums >General Running>How long does it take to get back into shape?
Good morning all
This summer I injured my hip and had to take about one month off. I did PT and water aerobics during that time and then gradually started running again. The weather was humid and I could tell I had lost a lot of my previous fitness, and I feel like I did a good job of slowly building back up.
The trouble is, I feel like I can't get past the point I am right now. I am not a super high mileage runner by any means, but close to forty miles per week was average. Daily runs of six to nine miles were easy. Right now I can get in about five mile runs but still need to walk up the biggest hills on my route. Long runs on the weekends can't get over ten miles without serious bad feelings ;( I have had three weeks of 30 miles running and they have been tough. My log is open if anyone wants more details here.
I thought two full months back to regular running would have me back close to the fitness level I was at in the beginning of the summer. Are my expectations off? Do I just need to push myself harder and work past this block?
Thanks for any advice
I don't think you need to push harder. You just need more time. At the beginning of the summer you had a lot of really solid weeks behind you.
Runners run
hi christirei! yeah, I agree you don't need to push yourself right now. You'll know when it's time to do more, I think. Like when the ten milers start feeling like no big deal and your average/easy pace gets faster - ymmv but for me those are signs it's time to add more miles.
Make sure you are not trying to run as far and as fast on easy days. I would even focus on taking to easy (Slower and shorter) days before you try a long run. Also, do not focus on distance of your long run until you feel better. I would 1st focus on getting to a specific time - Say running 2 hours for "Long" ... after a month of getting good 2 hour runs in then, look back to the distance of those runs.
There was a time in life I would get 16-18 miles in 2 hours. After basically taking off since June 2013 and starting back up 7 weeks ago, I was getting 11-12 miles in 2 hours. 1st 2 hour run was a lot of run walking - Basically 6 minutes running and then 2 minutes walking ... repeat. I am still taking walk breaks (Less frequently), but hope to soon be running the whole time.
I am trying to do 3 workouts a week (6-7 days of running): 1 easy speed, 1 hill (Strength, not speed) and 1 long. The other days are there to go slow and recover to get ready to do one of the 3 workouts. If I do not feel recoevred, I take another recovery day before trying a harder day.
It will come back, Mikey is 100% right patience is in order. All of a sudden a long run will go great, then another etc.
I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock
Best Present Ever
^^^ this. My experience (I have lots of experience in having 3-5 weeks of little to no running because of a chronic knee issue) is that recovery isn't linear. Things feel awful for a long time, and suddenly they are much better. Don't know if that's true for everyone, but it has been true for me. Remembering that and not being discouraged is always a challenge.
Funny - every singe run sucked for me the 1st 4 weeks, somewhere / sometime ... not sure when they started only sucking 70% of the time, I had hardly notices the reduction of suck-o-tude.
thanks guys, it's hard to be patient, it doesn't seem like a month off should throw you off so much!
After the worst race of my life this past weekend, which was about 8 minutes slower than last year for a HM( and 20 minutes slower than my pr from 3 years ago), there's no doubt that mileage over the past year is best indicator of race performance and it takes a lot longer than a month or 2 of similar mileage to get back anywhere near the shape we were in. While I can now run double digit miles, running them faster than plodding pace without a few walk breaks is a struggle.
Looks like June and July were down months - If you were down 2 months, I would give it 3-4 to come back. After 4 months, then I would start to worry there is something else going on.
Do you still have any issues with the hip? My issue with speed is more of change in weight and muscle inbalance ... but also includes how long I have been off.
Every day, I run a fine line between good / smart training and over stressing by hip and back that I need to strengthen.
You just need to be patient like everyone says, i can't run right now, kinda banged up, pulled muscles. Groin and a hamstring, anywho, enough about me. The REAL question is how many LICKS does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? I'll have a little booth set up at the Hartford marathon. So, this offer only goes out to the ladies, FREE tootsie pops at the Hartford marathon, only caveat is, you have to lick the tootsie pops at the stand.
I'd agree with the others saying that it takes more time. Yep, its frustrating. I'm about in the same boat. This is week 5 after a 7 week layoff. I'm shocked at how much I've lost, but I'll see a day here or there where I feel it getting just a little easier. So progress is happening, just it feels like a glacial pace. My guess is that it takes 3 - 4 months to get back to pre-injury fitness.
Keep moving forward.
My life long aspiration has always been to be a dirty old man when I grow up - Now I have a roll model
PS - For the 1st time since coming back (8th week) I am sitting here with a head full of runner's high following my lunch run ... I forgot how much I enjoy the buzz.
I too had a much better run than I can remember from recent past, and enjoying the after effect. Fitness gain from the past couple of longer runs? Cooler weather?
I'm in the same boat. This summer was spent travelling, with occasional runs but nothing long or hard. I walked and hiked, but still lost a lot of fitness. I've been running regularly again for about a month now, and though I enjoy my short runs, I have no endurance for anything long. My head says "yes, I can" but my body says, "not yet." It's frustrating, since I had hoped to do a HM this fall, but I'll probably end up waiting until spring.