The Return To Running Begins.

It’s been 106 days since the Commonwealth Games, which means it has been 106 days without running. However, this week marked the end of the running hiatus as the red light switched to green, and I was told I can begin the return to running. It won’t be quick, and I definitely won’t be getting outside for a 20 min jog let alone a session, but the build can begin, which is VERY exciting.

What does this look like?
If you are someone that has never had a serious injury, or you are not a runner, you may be wondering what the return to running looks like? Well, it is very very gradual. The first few ‘runs’ will predominantly be walking with a few minutes of running. For example, I will be starting with 9 minutes walking followed by 1 minute running x4. The walking will then gradually reduce as the amount of running increases. The goal after 4 weeks is to be running 3 miles continuous. This will then slowly build before intervals are slowly reintroduced. It is a long process, but doing it cautiously is the most important thing. Mostly because, I do not want to end up with another injury because I did too much too soon.

This is the point where I have to control my determination and excitement. It is easy to get carried away as soon as the word running is mentioned, but I have to remain patient and remember that the process is a very gradual one.

Where will I be running?
When returning to running, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered. One of these is the surface I will run on. Sometimes soft ground is better, but most of the time this can be uneven and bring the risk of rolling your ankle. I will therefore do my build up on the treadmill. For now, the treadmill is the best place to run as I can control most variables and simply focus on running strong and stable. My Noble Pro treadmill will therefore be my safe haven for the next while.

What else will I do?
Now running is returning, it is the priority. Therefore it will be done on fresh legs before I do any other training. However, I also want to stay fit, and whilst the running is very low, cross training will help keep my fitness. My training will therefore continue to mostly be cross training so the fitness does not fade. The amount I do on the elliptical will however slowly increase so more training is fully weight bearing, but I will continue to do sessions on the bike or in the pool.

When can I race again?
This is still a very unknown question. It is too early to be able to put a race in the diary as we do not know how the build up will go, but it is also not a pressure that I need to put on myself yet. Racing is something that is at the back of my mind until I am at a stage where I’m running higher volumes/intensities. Once I’m at this stage, then we will be able to set a race goal.

This is just the start of a very gradual build up, but I’ll keep you updated along the way and take you on the journey with me. I’m very excited just to take a few steps to start with.