Getting back after a brief lay off (Read 598 times)

So I haven't run since 7/22 because of knee swelling (too many squats w/too much weight). I'm training for the Philly marathon, and ran a marathon back in March, after which I maintained a base of about 30 mpw with long runs in the 12-16 mile range. One knee is still a bit swollen, the other is back to normal. The PT I saw yesterday (who specializes in runners -- real runners, college athletes mostly) says for me (I think he means 'someone with such low mileage'), i should run a 'test week' of 4-6 mile runs, then jump right back into my marathon training schedule. The running store guy coaches loads of people, include his wive who once qualified for the Olympics in the marathon, but has no actual training in running stuff and tends to be very old-school. He says I should run 2-3 miles every other day for a week, and wouldn't have me running a 14 mile long run for another three weeks. The coach I do speed work with said 'You'll be running again on Thursday? Great, we're doing 8X800. See you at the track! " My PCP of course thinks I shouldn't run at all for 6 weeks. So I figure I need more opinions. I ran 3 miles this morning, things seem ok so far. How have y'all worked back up to running after a brief but definite lay-off?

I think you should error on the side of caution........If I were you, I would start off with about 2 or 3 every other day for a couple of times....and if that worked out, then maybe 4 or 5 per day for a few day.... It all is still well, Id take a hard look at my marathon training (a few weeks or months back) and start out at a reduced distance for a few weeks.....and then resume your training... 8x800 are completely out of the question in my opinion (for right now)...stick with log slow distance for a while......You really need to be careful........I have errored by jumping right back into training a few times and ended up on the couch watching running on TV....... I think this is a case of 'less is best' for a while untiil you are positive you are 100% again.........even if you have to skip a marathon to heal...its still worth it.

Thanks. Yes the 8x800s are clearly a bad idea! it's fun to have a group to do track work with, but the coach is a tad insane. For example, my knees were swollen enough that my jeans were tight around the knee -- her comment: "running will help shift the fluid around!" I put her comment in for comedic effect. It's hard to be careful ... even the pitiful 3 miles i did this morning made me feel so much better (mentally). All I could think about was how nice it would be to run 10 or more.

If your injury was a result of squats (as opposed to a running injury), I would agree with your PT that you should test it out for a week (i.e no speedwork or long runs) and then jump back into it if everything feels okay. I've had running-related injuries that have put me out of commission for a week or so, but I've often found that I can get back to where I was within a couple weeks. Obvioulsy, if running exacerbates a non-running injury, you'd need to ease into it more slowly. But I bet you'll be back on track (literally) in 2 weeks. Good luck!