How do I re-start.. ??

[Wifey9879]

Hi guys .. so all was going well with my running journey .. I had graduated and did couple of weeks of consolidation runs. I went out on Friday morning and struggled to make it to the end, completed 20 mins instead of normal 30 due to my chest burning .. later on that day was a positive Covid test.. I have been recovering since then as it hit me hard those initial days, still heavy chest but I’m planning on getting out to do some walks. Slowly slowly for now.

My question is when I feel my chest can take more can I just go back to where I left it or do I need to maybe go out for some shorter runs and build it back in again??

Thanks in advance x

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

As stated in the guide to the plan, 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 for a gentle run and see what we can comfortably manage, then use C25k or something similar to rebuild stamina and resistance to injury.

Be kind to yourself. Covid can take some time to recover from.

This may help yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/yo...

[Wifey9879 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thanks you for your reply. I will take your advice and also read the link, I have no expectations whatsoever on how I will be once I go out I was just curious to see if there was a good way to go about it that’s all. Thanks again, much appreciated

[MissUnderstanding Administrator]

A similar thing happened to me. I was mainly tired so I tried to be extra careful with my runs, basically checking at a quarter, half and three quarters of the way through to make sure I wanted to carry on. I found I was fine to pick up from where I was before but if you find you need to go back a few weeks, that’s absolutely fine too and it’s better to go easier than you think you need to than to push too far and feel exhausted.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Wifey9879 Graduate in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Thank you for your reply, absolutely I will just take it one step at a time and see how I feel that way.

[MrNiceGuy]

Sorry to hear that "the big germ" appears to have pushed you back to pre-graduation stage.

However, since Covid has affected all who test positive differently, don't become disheartened by sudden loss of performance. Assuming you've not been too severely affected, it shouldn't take too long to re-discover previous form.

As with any return to running, following either injury or illness, simply gauge how the body feels upon returning to a pace that previously allowed you to run for 30 minutes. If it's too difficult, ease off a little and perhaps consider a return to weeks 7/and or 8 of the C25K plan, thus, allowing you to attain something that still remains achievable.

It's always better to complete a run believing that you could have done a little more (thus encouraging motivation), than to end it prematurely, frustrated over the fact you couldn't maintain intended pace or distance.

Even if you can only manage 20 minutes of running upon eventual return, it's still better than sitting on the couch and lamenting the fact you could once run for 30...something that will return, provided you continue to lace up and head out there 🤗.

[Wifey9879 Graduate in reply to MrNiceGuy]

I have replied to your comment it just didn’t appear to reply directly, sorry about that ..

[Wifey9879 Graduate]

Thank you for your reply .. I plan to take it easier and build up to where I was before Covid. I feel that currently my chest wouldn’t be able to manage the demand but I don’t mind taking it slowly and maybe mixing walking in initially if I feel I can’t quite manage it.

I feel optimistic about how much I managed to achieve and this is just a little hiccup to get over, I have no pressure on myself to be a certain level or condition, I just want to feel well enough to be out there giving it a go

[Devon_straggler Graduate in reply to Wifey9879]

Would some planned run-walk intervals ('jeffing') help you get back into your stride? As I understand it from people who use jeffing regularly (it's not just for recovery), you can make the run and walk intervals whatever ratio you like - but it plans the walk in instead of waiting for you to feel tired, and can make the running segment feel stronger because you have recovery time. You could skew your initial runs towards generous walking intervals, and hopefully it will feel very manageable, and then increase the amount of time running as your fitness returns? I'm sure it won't take long.

[Beachcomber66 Graduate]

Hi Wifey9879. I have just recovered from Covid-19 too. I started back with a 1k run and built it up by 1k run on run after that until I hit 5k. Every run was slow; it took me 4 runs to manage 4K in about 30 minutes. Just listen to your body; you will soon be back on song.🙂