Can I still do my HM?

[Lizcanrun]

Hello all, hoping for some advice. I had got up to 10M, which I did 4 times when I got an ankle injury, (weak glutes), which led to a knee injury (other leg - v annoying). The long & short of it is that I've only done 4 v short runs over the last 5 weeks. I have to start back cautiously, but assuming everything is OK, do you think I'll be able to run the HM I've got a place in at the end of June, or will my fitness have gone?!

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All's you can do Lizcanrun is build that fitness back up, trying to avoid injury, only you'll know where you're at

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

How frustrating for you! You have about 2 months, so 8 weeks. It may be tight but not necessarily impossible - especially if you aren't too worried about pave. The key thing is not to rush at it and reinjure yourself. Build your distance back gradually and at an easy pace. You could always approach it as a run/walk half marathon. But as Imc50 says, get out there and see how you feel, erring on the side of caution and listening to your body! Good luck!!!

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Thank you

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Ahhh that’s a shame Lizcanrun. 10 miles is so close to HM, you were doing so well.

As the others have said, only you will know. Are you injury prone, or were these recent ones one-offs? If you’re not, and you’re happy to take it slow, you’d probably be ok to build back up again in 8 weeks and run your HM with an open mind, walking some of it if needs be (you might not need to!) 😀

But if you’re likely to reinjure yourself doing this, is it worth it? Could you defer, or enter a race later in the year? You’d hate to be on the IC for an extended period of time all for the sake of pushing your body before it’s ready.

But hey, it might not come to that!

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Thanks CC. Sage advice. I guess I'll have to take it slowly and see...

[Beccym Marathon]

You can always walk some of it. You have time to get some training in. My first half I hadn't run more than 10 miles.

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon in reply to Beccym]

Thank you

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You will have some residual fitness but it really depends whether the injuries have totally gone or if they are still niggling. My knee is still niggling so I am taking things very slowly on building back to hm. If your injuries have gone, ie no pain, niggles, soreness post exercise, then you could move back up on a quicker plan. Only you know how you feel. You need to be back to running three times a week before you start building, you say you have done 4 very short runs in 5 weeks, is that one a week or are you up to 3 runs a week? It will be tight but potentially doable depending on where you currently are with your running.

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon]

Hi, I did 2 runs after 3 weeks out, got another injury, then had a week off. This week I have done 10 mins, 4 days off and then 18 mins, but with a 2 min walk after 10 mins (as per physio instructions). Bizarrely, I seem to be running a bit faster than I was before (not on purpose) and I don't feel any less fit when I run. I have been walking a lot while on the IC, so maybe that helped...

[nowster Metric Marathon in reply to Lizcanrun]

Getting faster after some rest (and lots of walks) is something that I've also noticed.

What sort of distances have you run in the last couple of weeks?

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon in reply to nowster]

Between 2 & 3k!!

[nowster Metric Marathon in reply to Lizcanrun]

Oh! I'd suggest you try a 5k at some point, then work up to a 10k and see how that goes.

You shouldn't have lost that much in the last few weeks and, as observed, sometimes the rest allows you to become stronger.

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon in reply to nowster]

If all feels good, do you think I should stick to the extra 10% a week, or could I go a bit faster?

[sTrongFuse Half Marathon 10 Miles]

It's frustrating to be so close and then suffer a set back. As everyone else said, you just have to listen to your body and see how it goes. The fact that you are back doing short distances is a good sign and you can build up a fair bit in 8 weeks.

Give it a try, take it easy, and see how it goes. There's no crime in walking bits of it if you have to if you haven't quite got the full distance in your legs.

[Windoze Half Marathon]

Maybe look at Jeffing as an approach. I did around 20 HMs in about 5 months and not one injury (apart from falling down a hole....)

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon]

For fear of sounding stupid, what is Jeffing? Heard it a lot...

[RunWillie Metric Marathon in reply to Lizcanrun]

Jeffing is a nickname to refer to Jeff Galloways run walk method. It’s a strategic rest interval. Run walk Run. You run for a short segment, then take a walk break, run and keep repeating the pattern 👍🏻

[Lizcanrun Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

Sounds good!