Getting back into running after 2 months off

[Kashara]

Well, I haven’t been on here for a while, and I’m seeking some advice from this excellent site. I did C24k last year, graduating in August 2020 and ran every other day after that, averaging 40 minutes/4-5k, then stopped just before Christmas. It was a combination of cold, darkness, Christmas and personal stuff. I have kept walking though, at least 2.5 miles a day. I’m ready to start running again now. I’m 63 and reasonably fit. Where do I start? Do I go back to week 1 or somewhere in the middle?

[Quackquackquack Graduate]

Don’t know how technical this is but I started at week 6 run 1 and it appeared to work ok. I did it a couple of times before moving on then not long after was jogging for 30 mins

[Kashara Graduate in reply to Quackquackquack]

Thank you. I think I’ll take it slowly to start with, the original programme worked so well.

[Magellan Graduate]

My sister had a similar situation. She did one run each from weeks 1-3, all of weeks 4-7 then week 9. It worked fine for her. If you want to skip bits, do make a real effort to stay slow. Your muscle memory from December might induce you to run at the pace of the experienced runner you were weeks ago, but you will need to pace yourself as a beginner for a bit to give yourself the lowest chance of injury.

[Kashara Graduate]

Thanks, that sounds like a good plan. The slow bit won’t be a problem, when in doubt I always run slowly.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

As stated in the guide to the plan, healthunlocked.com/couchto5... you lose no significant condition in the first two weeks of non running.

After that loss of condition is gradual.

All any of us can do after a lay off is to go out and see what we can comfortably manage, then build back up gently, using C25k or something similar as a guide to weekly increase.

[Kashara Graduate]

Thank you. I’ll be careful.