Retraining After A Running Injury

Being injured and unable to train is bad enough. Your head says “gotta run” and your body says “no way.” Depression sets in, you gain weight, you feel frustrated – especially if you start back too soon and experience re-injury. Sooner or later, most runners do heal completely - but what happens after you’re healed? This is where the rubber meets the road.

Realize that after two weeks of not running you lose a significant amount of conditioning- some say about half.  So what should you expect after an extended lay-off? A general rule of thumb is that for every week off, it takes about two weeks of “re-training” to come back. After a month or more off you are really looking at having to re-train with a very focused plan.

None of us want to hear this, but an extended layoff means you’ll be training like a new runner again. Leave your ego at home and do run/walk workouts like you did when you first started. Take a day off in between running days. Gradually work into increasing your mileage. You may even want to pull a beginners workout off the shelf and train to that for several weeks.

All of this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should run slower – just less. In fact, there is some evidence that jogging slowly can actually increase your chance for re-injury – so run at your normal pace, but insert walking breaks in between to allow blood flow into your muscles.

The good news is that it actually won’t take you as long as a first-time runner to regain your fitness. Your heart and lungs will probably not give you a lot of trouble, but soreness in your muscles and bones likely will. It is extremely important not to push yourself or increase mileage and effort too rapidly. If you need an incentive not to do this – think about what it felt like to be sidelined in the first place. You’re NOT going back there!

Here’s how:

1.   Plan on taking at least two months to allow your body time to adapt and gradually get used to the physical demands of running once again.

2.   Start with a weekly goal that includes no more than half of your weekly mileage before you took your break. Build mileage slowly and think in terms of “plateaus.” Hold each mileage plateau 2 – 3 weeks, and then gradually begin increasing your total weekly mileage by no more than 10% week over week.

3.   Do not run intervals or other speed enhancing workouts that could cause stress or re-injury. Run at a conversational pace until you can comfortably handle a weekly base of 20 – 25 miles/week. Avoid racing.

5.   If you had an injury that is exacerbated by hills or canted roads, avoid these conditions or walk the hills for the first few weeks (I know, this is tough). Test the waters and go slowly. If you experience pain above a “3” take a 2 – 3 minute walk break to allow the injured area to recover (this actually assists recovery).

When you’re used to pushing yourself hard and meeting goals, it’s tough to impose limits – but truly necessary for a lasting recovery. You must, must, must keep that ego in check and ease into your former training schedule slowly – listening to your body all the way.

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