Forums >General Running>2 weeks no running before half marathon... what do I have to expect?
So I aquired an injury I thought could maybe be a stress fracture, but the sports med specialist told me it seems to just be a shin splint. I stopped running a little over a week ago and my shin feels much better and I'm wondering how much fitness I will have lost now coming into the half. I don't have access to go swimming so I ended up resorting to biking.. once.. because the sports med specialist said I can try to bike but he advises not to because it still puts strain on my shin. I was in shape to run 7:15-16 pace for the half according to my calculations, so what should I expect to run now? I was having good workouts and feeling healthy before my last couple of days when I started experiencing shin pain. Should I expect to be able to do 7:19 pace which is sub-1:36:00, or should I just lower my standards to sub-1:40:00 (7:37 pace)?
Any is helpful! need some expert opinion here..
A lot of times my taper has fell apart and ended up with very little running, and it hasn't effected me at all that I can tell, but when I over train a taper or push past an injury or niggle--well that definitely has been more negative on race day.
Also, here's a good article to ease your mind
https://runnersconnect.net/how-long-does-it-take-to-lose-your-running-fitness/
RIP Milkman
A week off is almost no fitness lost. If you felt like you were in 7:15 shape, I think you can still go for that. At worst, you lost probably 5 seconds per mile. 1:36 seems like a good goal. 1:40 is too conservative. I might say you'd be worse off if this happened right before the half because you'd go into running 13 miles with a bunch of zeroes before, but given you can get your zap back in your legs, you'll be fine.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
A lot of times my taper has fell apart and ended up with very little running, and it hasn't effected me at all that I can tell, but when I over train a taper or push past an injury or niggle--well that definitely has been more negative on race day. Also, here's a good article to ease your mind https://runnersconnect.net/how-long-does-it-take-to-lose-your-running-fitness/
From the link: Initial declines in fitness occur rapidly: There are measurable declines in fitness, and enzyme levels associated with performance drop by half in under two weeks.
Also: Though the study did not detect any statistically significant change in VO2 max, the subjects’ were able to cycle at 75% of VO2 max for 80 minutes before the study, and just over 60min after the study—a 20% decrease.
That doesn't sound very mind-easing to me.
OP: Be careful. Racing too soon after an injury can lead to re-injuring yourself. Hard to say how much of a hit your pace will take. I think it will be more than what the other posters here think. You may also find what feels like a sustainable HM pace in fact isn't due to the loss of endurance alluded to in the second quote.
If you truly have the endurance to run 7:15 pace two weeks before a race after proper marathon training, then you should be able to do so two weeks later after a rest and recovery period. The rest and recovery factor for the two weeks will probably offset any very minor loss in fitness, if any. You might try starting out slower like 7:20 pace for the first half (not a bad idea to start off a bit slower anyway). If you truly have the endurance, then you should be able to do a 7:10 the second half. If not, you'll get your 7:20 or hit the wall. C'est la vie, just another race. They're all different. There will probably be another one for you. Good luck.
Interesting article. It mentioned the long term structural adaptations stay intact (capillaries etc.) so, what if you cross-train with HIIT type protocols not involving your injury? Grab a 52# kettlebell and do 20 swings, followed by 30s rest and repeat for 10 minutes.
This will train both the anaerobic and aerobic systems and be zero impact. All I know is I'm coming into this as someone who ran about 6 miles per month or less (yes, you read that right), but as I'm getting serious about running, I can bang out a 10k and even a 10 3/4 mile trail run based almost completely on bodyweight strength training and interval type training with kettlebells etc. I know from long experience (not to mention a gazillion studies) there is a huge carryover from anaerobic HIIT type training to aerobic activity.
Rick
You should do a test run and see if you have pain. If you do, cancel your race. Minor pain, maybe run the race easy if you have self control.
Normally a couple of weeks off with no injury will not decrease fitness
12-22 Last One Standing - dnf 37 miles
1-23 Sun Marathon - 3:53
3-4-23 Red Mountain 55k - 7:02
4-15-23 Zion 100 - 27:59
This was back in November - maybe Sam can give us an update. Advice however doesn't help anymore!!!
HM: 1:47 (9/20) I FM: 3:53:11 (9/23)
2024 Goals: run a FM & HM + stay healthy!
Oops, guess I better notice the date before posting next time.
Late update on what happened.. I surprised myself going on 1:37:00 pace for 8mi with like 900ft of climbing already achieved. Around 8mi I did experience some shin pain and told myself to stop rather than push myself too far. I ended up crossing the line many minutes over 2hrs but at least I finished.. and got 8mi of effort. I rested for some good time after this and I'm off season training for spring track now. Onto the next race, right!